The blooming flower in the heart.

How should I talk to her?

Should I start with, “Hi…”?

What? Who talks like that?

Raghav glanced at Maya.

She was busy writing in her notebook.

Good.

She hadn’t noticed him looking.

Maybe I should talk to her after class.

No, no, no.

That sounds even worse.

Or I should say…

“Excuse me…”

…

Huh? What? Who talks like that?

Or I should just say…

“Hey.”

…

I think that is even worse than saying “Excuse me.”

WHAT SHOULD I DO?

While Raghav was thinking about that, Maya was thinking about something else.

Oh… whom should I ask?

Maya looked at Raghav.

Raghav was lost in his own thoughts.

Why is he making such a weird face? Is he always like this?

Maybe I should ask him…

No… what if he thinks I’m bothering him?

What should I do?

Maya hesitated.

She looked at Raghav again.

He was still staring at his notebook, completely lost in his thoughts.

She raised her hand slightly.

Then stopped.

“…”

Maybe I should just ask him.

Slowly, Maya reached toward Raghav and tapped him on the shoulder.

“Hey.”

The moment her finger touched his shoulder…

It felt as though hundreds of flowers had bloomed inside his heart.

His heart skipped a beat.

Everything around him disappeared.

The noisy classroom.

The teacher.

All of it faded away.

The only thing he could see was Maya standing in a garden filled with countless flowers.

Yet among all those flowers…

She was the only beautiful thing he could see.

“Hey, Raghav.”

Maya shook him gently.

“Huh? What?”

Raghav answered quickly.

Maya pointed at the corner of the desk.

Someone had carved:

M️R.

Raghav stared at it.

For a ridiculous second…

His heart refused to believe it was a coincidence.

But the next second…

He had already imagined spending the rest of his life with her.

“…Raghav?”

Maya’s voice pulled him back to reality.

“Huh?”

Why is he acting so weird? Or is he always like this?

Maya wondered.

“Who wrote this here?”

“Huh? I-I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?”

Maya raised an eyebrow.

“Then why are you panicking?”

“Or…”

She narrowed her eyes playfully.

“Was it you who carved this?”

“N-No! It wasn’t me!”

Raghav replied almost immediately.

Maya looked at him for another second before letting out a small sigh.

“Anyway, forget it.”

She placed her notebook on the desk.

“Do you know how to solve this question?” she asked.

As she leaned a little closer to show him the problem…

Raghav’s heartbeat began racing once again.

His face turned bright red.

For a moment, even the simplest words refused to leave his mouth.

“Hey… are you okay?”

“Your face is really red.”

“N-No… I… I’m all right.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“It… it’s just hot here.”

“You know… summer.”

The ceiling fan was running at full speed.

Maya looked up at it.

Then back at Raghav.

Raghav laughed nervously.

“Are you serious?”

“Am I making you nervous?” Maya asked.

“N-No! You are not!”

Raghav replied almost immediately.

Maya tilted her head.

“Then why are you acting like that?”

Before Raghav could answer…

“Never mind.”

“Can you help me with this question?”

“Show me which question you’re confused about,” Raghav asked.

“This one.”

Maya pointed at the question in her notebook.

“Okay, I’ll show you how to solve it.”

Raghav took his pen and started pointed to each step.

“See this step.”

Maya nodded and wrote it down.

Raghav looked at her without realizing it.

Maya suddenly looked up.

Their eyes met.

“What?”

Raghav froze.

“N-Nothing.”

Maya laughed softly.

“You’re really strange.”

“…”

Raghav quietly continued explaining the question.

“And that’s it.”

“Oh… it was so easy.”

Raghav opened his mouth to ask something, but—

Right then, the bell rang.

Everyone left the classroom.

Someone called Maya.

“I’m coming.”

And she left without saying goodbye.

Raghav was walking home…

He was smiling like an idiot just because Maya had talked to him.

He kept replaying the conversation in his head.

Her voice.

The way she laughed.

Even the stupid question she had asked him.

He smiled again.

Maybe today wasn’t such a bad day after all.

He slipped his hands into his pockets and continued walking.

For a while, nothing disturbed his thoughts.

Bzzzt.

His phone suddenly vibrated.

Raghav stopped.

“…Who wants to destroy my peace?”

He pulled out his phone.

It was an unknown number.

“Hello?”

“Um…”

“Is this… Raghav?”

The moment he heard that familiar voice, his heart skipped a beat.

“…Maya?”

His grip around the phone tightened.

The corners of his lips slowly lifted.

“I wanted to say thank you for helping me today.”

“It… it was my pleasure.”

For a while, no one spoke.

The phone remained silent.

Then…

“See you tomorrow, Raghav.”

Hearing his name from Maya made Raghav even happier.

The call ended.

Raghav looked at his phone.

The call lasted…

27 seconds.

He smiled.

Then he looked up at the evening sky.

“…See you tomorrow.”

He whispered those three words to himself.

Then, suddenly—

“YESSSS!!”

His shout echoed through the empty street.

A dog barked somewhere nearby.

He didn’t care.

That night felt longer than every other night.

For the first time in a long while…

It felt as though hundreds of flowers had bloomed inside his heart once again.

“Maya, don’t you think he looks kind of stupid?”

Maya’s friend asked.

“He might look stupid, but he’s not.”

“And he’s so adorable when he’s nervous.”

Her friend smiled.

“Maya, I know you love him. So why don’t you confess to him?”

“You know he’s never going to confess to you first.”

Maya blushed.

“I know… but I also know that one day he’ll definitely confess to me first.”

Maya’s friend sighed.

“Who knows when that day will come?”

Somewhere inside Maya’s heart…

A flower bloomed.