BURNFLY

**The world is small.

Can you fit the world into me?**

As I walked down the empty street with my suitcase in my right hand and a candy apple in my left, the white snow covered everything in its beauty. The sound of my suitcase wheels clattering on the cobblestone street accompanied my steps, creating a picturesque scene. And I was alone in this postcard-worthy scene. Alone... as if neutral. As if no one was by my side. Like me...

Despite it being midday, the streets were deserted due to the freezing cold. Even though I was in a famous neighborhood, I was alone on the street. The only sounds were the clattering of my suitcase wheels and the crunching of snow under my boots. I liked both of these sounds. I smiled despite everything.

Today was a day I left the orphanage with a smile after years of crying. The only things that had changed over the years were my height, weight, and maybe my face. Everything else—my fears in my head, the scars on my soul, the scars on my skin, the scars in my hair—remained the same, but I could still move on with my life.

When my phone in my coat pocket rang, I stopped and put my cold fingers into my pocket. I was used to seeing “Unknown Number” on the screen by now. The woman who had been calling me for years, whose relationship with me I couldn’t quite define, was the one calling. I didn’t know who she was or our relationship, but she had helped me in many ways. I didn’t think she was a bad person; otherwise, Uncle Kenneth wouldn’t have allowed her to talk to me. I was sure of that at least.

“Hello,” I answered the call.

A familiar soft-toned voice began to speak. “You left the orphanage, dear.”

I nodded as if she could see me. “Hmm,” I murmured. “I did.”

During my years at the orphanage, she was the second person who took the most interest in me, and I had theories that she might be a lawyer like Uncle Kenneth. Or maybe an unknown relative? They might have kept it a secret for my safety. I experienced many things I didn’t understand. But whenever I asked her who she was, she would brush it off, saying she wanted to protect me, and I could somewhat guess it had to do with my parents’ death. That’s why sometimes asking questions seemed pointless. Because I was already afraid of the answers I might get.

“I’m glad. I hope the outside world doesn’t wear you out, my dear Arya,” she said in a soft tone.

“Thank you for convincing Uncle Kenneth and helping me out.”

She laughed quietly. “You’re welcome. You’re almost eighteen anyway; you were going to leave soon.” Yes, I was almost eighteen... “You know your house address, right? I won’t call you unless necessary, but that doesn’t mean I’m leaving you alone. Don’t be afraid.”

Fear was a routine of my nights, but at least I wasn’t afraid of living. Every wound left a scar, and the scar of my wound showed itself in the arms of the nightmares I saw at night.

“Okay,” I could only say to her. I glanced at my boots. “Ma’am,” I muttered, not knowing how to address her since I didn’t know her name.

“Yes?”

“Aren’t you going to tell me who you are or anything about what happened to my family?”

“It’s not time yet. When the time comes, I will come to you and we will talk. Be patient and don’t think about it,” she said and hung up without waiting for my response.

As I sighed and looked at my phone screen, the quiet street was filled with shouting. Then I heard the sound of running. I turned towards the direction of the sound. When a young boy who burst out from the corner collided with me and sped past like lightning, I stumbled a couple of steps. Before I could regain my balance, another man, who I assumed was chasing the boy, appeared from the corner and, being close to the corner, noticed me at the last moment but couldn’t avoid colliding with me. The sound of my candy apple shattering on the concrete ground and my scream now filled the quiet street.

The man who fell on top of me reflexively placed his hand behind my head so I didn’t hit my head hard on the ground, but I couldn’t say the same for the rest of my body. It hurt.

Surprised and in pain, I looked at the man on top of me. His dark brown eyes had a warm tone like earth, but his face was the opposite. He had a cold expression and furrowed brows. His chiseled jaw was clenched, making him look quite angry, but maybe he was just in pain from the fall. Maybe that’s why he clenched his jaw.

“Where did you come from?!” he grumbled.

I put my hands on his chest and lightly pushed to get him off me. “I-I was already here,” I stammered, bewildered.

He looked into my eyes for a moment, then got up and helped me up. As I brushed off the snow, I realized I was already wet.

“Are you hurt?” he asked, scanning me carefully with his brown eyes and then looking towards the direction the boy had run.

He was chasing that boy earlier, but now he seemed more concerned about whether he had harmed me than catching the boy. Why was a grown man chasing a younger boy like that? Having grown up in an orphanage, the part of me inclined to side with children urged me to stall the man a bit longer so the boy could get away.

“You broke my candy apple,” I said in a displeased tone.

Though he seemed surprised for a moment, he quickly pulled out a fifty-lira note from his pocket, grabbed my right hand, and placed it in my palm as if I were a little child. He put his other hand on my left shoulder, leaned down due to his tall height, and looked into my eyes. Despite being a man, he had a beautiful face. He smelled like frost and cigarettes.

“Buy yourself a candy apple and we’ll call it even,” he said, and without waiting for a response, he started running. I stared at the money in my hand and then at him in surprise.

“Hey,” I called out to him. “I didn’t ask for your money. What am I supposed to do with this?”

He didn’t hear me or didn’t care. He ran and disappeared from sight. Taking a deep breath, I picked up my fallen yellow beret, shook it off, and put it back on my head. I looked at the money in my hand. What was I supposed to do with it?

I put the money in my coat pocket as I continued walking, feeling uneasy. My hand was cold outside, but the money had become a burden inside. I didn’t need his money; I could buy myself a new candy apple if I wanted. I had said that to let the boy escape. I should probably donate it or something. I wished I had the chance to give it to him. Maybe he lived around here. They said the world was small.

When I reached the foot of the Galata Tower, I shook off all my thoughts and filled with excitement. I loved this structure, and now I would be able to see it every day. Smiling, I checked the location of my new home on my phone. I was bursting with excitement. I wasn’t eighteen yet, but it was only a few weeks away. Now I could live my life by my own rules and maybe lead a more normal life.

I smiled bittersweetly at the thought. I had a home now, but I would never have a family with my mom and dad again. As my shoulders slumped, I leaned my head back and turned my eyes to the sky and the clouds.

“I love you,” I whispered sincerely. Then I closed my eyes. “God... please don’t let me lose hope. I have nothing else to hold on to.”

Settling into a house is, of course, easier than finding a place in a community. For quiet people like me, making oneself liked and accepted is a difficult task.

The building standing before me was a three-story ordinary school for everyone, perhaps, but it was far from ordinary for me. There were many things going through my mind as I stood here, but now I could only think of one thing. It was the name of the school written on the arch of the wall, painted in a beautiful shade of burgundy. **Private Phoenix High School.**

**Fire...**

I shivered with the chill running through my body. Feeling my body tense, I tried to relax my muscles. At least, I tried. Taking a deep breath, I turned my eyes to the clouds.

“It will be okay,” I whispered, comforting myself.

I walked towards the school entrance without taking my hands out of my coat pockets, feeling a bit hesitant. I knew my class and its location, as I had a chance to see it when we registered. So I headed directly to the stairs. At the end of each corridor or at the beginning of each stairway, there were cute signs showing where everything was. It was almost impossible to get lost in the school.

Just like the exterior, the interior of the school consisted of burgundy and white details. The school uniform included a burgundy jacket, black pleated skirt or pants, white shirt, and a tie or badge with the school’s emblem. However, students were allowed to customize it to a certain extent. Wearing a sweater over the shirt was allowed. They looked quite stylish.

As I got closer to my class, I took deep breaths to calm my heart, which was pounding with excitement. Being shy and introverted, opening a closed door was a big deal for me, so I had to comfort myself again, but I opened the door.

As the warm air of the classroom hit my face, I felt the eyes on me. I entered completely and closed the door behind me. I placed what I hoped was a warm smile on my face despite being nervous.

“Hello,” I mumbled, walking to the middle of the classroom.

“Is she the new student?” I heard a girl ask someone.

Then I saw a girl get up. “Are you the new student?” she asked me directly this time. She had beautiful blue eyes and was smiling at me.

This made me smile too. “Yes,” I confirmed. “I transferred.”

“Welcome then,” she said kindly. “The seat next to me is empty; you can sit here.”

Feeling an unintentional gratitude towards her, I smiled gratefully and sat next to her where she had just stood up.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” she said cheerfully. “I’m Brooke,” she introduced herself, extending her hand. Her eyes were as blue as the sea, fitting her name.

I took her extended hand with a smile similar to hers. “I’m Arya.”

She made a face showing she liked my name and propped her right elbow on the table. “You have a beautiful name. What does it mean?”

Thinking of my mother, my smile became a bit sad, but I continued to smile. “It’s an old term used by sailors. My mother heard a sailor say it and named me Arya.”

I could tell she liked the story from her eyes. “Wow,” she said in an admiring tone. “Even the story is beautiful.”

I smiled sincerely. I also loved my name. “Yes, I think so too.”

Brooke turned more towards me, full of curiosity. “So,” she asked, “where did you come from? Did you move here?”

Her question made me hesitate for a moment. I wasn’t sure if I could tell her my real life. I pressed my lips together. I didn’t want to lie to my new friend. A vague answer would be better.

“I already lived here,” I murmured. “I just changed schools.”

Fortunately, Brooke was curious but not too nosy. She didn’t pry. She nodded as if she understood and checked the time on her silver watch before turning her beautiful eyes back to me.

“Do you want to go to the cafeteria? I didn’t have breakfast at home, and we have some time before the class starts. We can grab a bite.”

I hadn’t had breakfast either, and I thought this could be a good opportunity to bond more. I liked Brooke; it felt like we could become good friends.

I nodded eagerly. “Sure.”

My enthusiasm made her smile. She stood up immediately. I took off my bag, grabbed my wallet, and we left the classroom together.

As we walked to the cafeteria, I glanced at Brooke. She was also one of those who wore a sweater over the school shirt. She wore a beautiful black and white sweater and looked very nice. My eyes caught the school emblem on her jacket.

“Do you know why the school is named Phoenix?” I asked her out of curiosity.

I wondered if people knew where the school’s name came from and what had happened to those people.

Brooke shook her head as we descended the stairs together. “Unfortunately, it doesn’t have a beautiful story like your name. In short, the school was initially named **Private Golden Youth College**, but after the owners died in a fire, it was renamed **Private Phoenix College** in their memory.”

I put my trembling hands into my coat pockets.

“Their last name was Fire and they died by burning... a bad coincidence,” she said, pressing her lips together with a sad expression.

As my heart ached, I just nodded. Coincidence... It wasn’t. I didn’t know what it was, but I knew something was up. People thought it was a bad coincidence or an accident. They tended to call things they couldn’t explain coincidences, but I wasn’t someone who believed in coincidences. Everything had to have a reason. It had to... But I didn’t know anything.

When we entered the cafeteria, I didn’t have much appetite, but the open atmosphere lifted my spirits. I loved wide open spaces. Brooke and I got a breakfast menu and sat at one of the tables where the sun was shining directly on us. She was talkative and friendly. I warmed up to her quickly.

As we chatted and tried to finish our plates before class started, I was startled when the chair across from me was pulled out. I turned my eyes to the source of the disturbance. A fair-skinned, long and slender young man with colorful eyes and a slim but tall figure, about our age, looked at me with a smile and then at Brooke.

“New student?” he asked, sitting down in the chair he pulled out. “Introduce us, Brooke?”

Brooke smiled at him, indicating they were friends.

“Arya,” she introduced me to him. “Leo.” Then she turned to Leo with her blue eyes. “Leo, Arya.”

“Nice to meet you, Arya,” said Leo with a smile.

I returned his smile slightly and nodded in acknowledgment. Leo took a slice of cucumber from Brooke’s plate while glancing at his watch.

“Keep your dirty hands off my plate,” Brooke scolded, pushing his hand away.

Leo laughed as he stood up. I wasn’t quite sure about their relationship. Were they friends, or was Leo always teasing Brooke? But they seemed close.

Leo said, “See you in class, ladies,” as he left, and I turned my curious eyes to Brooke.

“Childhood friend,” she explained with a smile. “He’s a very good person and friendly. I’m sure you’ll become friends in time.”

Making friends...

I smiled eagerly. “I hope so.”

Brooke and I hit it off immediately, as if our stars had aligned. She not only helped me in classes but also showed me around the school and always sat with me during meals.

When classes were over, we walked to the bus stop together. There was a private university owned by the same family that owned our school very close to our high school. Since both schools were built in a forest, the only thing separating them was a steel fence. There was a bus stop just outside the school, and because of the proximity of the two schools, the bus stop was always crowded, just like today.

To avoid getting wet in the rain, Brooke ran under the shelter of the bus stop, and I followed her with a smile, not in a hurry. I loved rain and water.

Brooke squeezed herself under the crowded shelter and extended her hand to me. “Come on, Arya,” she called out to me as I stood in the rain. “You’re getting wet.”

I smiled at her concern. I never quite understood people’s rush to avoid getting wet in the rain. Getting wet could be uncomfortable or one might get sick, of course, but this rush still seemed excessive for all that. People who worried about big things often skimped on sharing their anxieties.

With a smile on my face, I said, “It’s okay,” shaking my head. “I love the rain.”

Brooke shivered as if she was cold in my place and hugged herself. “It’s very cold,” she said, trembling comically.

I chuckled at her expression. I liked the cold too, as long as it wasn’t burning. Even the cold could hurt a person. There were so many things to fear and protect oneself from for someone afraid of burning.

When Brooke’s smiling eyes turned curiously to the university, I looked in that direction too, wondering what had caught her attention. But nothing seemed noteworthy to me.

“Are you looking for someone?” I asked, turning my eyes to Brooke.

With a slightly embarrassed expression, she nodded slightly. “I’m looking for Ethan,” she mumbled. “Leo’s brother,” she explained, and then lowered her voice a bit. “The boy I like. Of course, he doesn’t know.”

The fact that she liked her childhood friend’s brother reminded me of a sweet love story, and a smile spread across my face. Although Brooke was talkative, she didn’t seem to have many people to talk to in the class. So I was happy that she had told me about the person she liked so easily. It meant she trusted me, and we were friends, and making a friend on the first day made me very happy.

“How old is he?” I asked out of curiosity.

I wanted to get closer to her, to share things, and one day to tell her what I had been through.

“Twenty-one. He’s in his second year because he took a preparatory year. When I start going here, he’ll be in his third year.”

I smiled at the thought of her having a dream of going to the same university as him. “Do you want to go to this university?”

She nodded, confirming my guess. “Maybe he’ll notice me, but it’s a bit hard.”

At that moment, I realized that Brooke actually had no hope. She seemed to like him but thought she would never get a response. I had initially thought we were very similar, but I realized this was where we differed. I had always been very hopeful. I never lost my positivity, always comforted myself, and never lost hope. My mother always said there was always hope.

As my smile turned sad, I leaned closer to her and gently touched her arm. “Why do you think so?”

“He’s friends with my brother,” she said in a sad tone. “He probably sees me as a little sister.”

I didn’t like her being hopeless, so I took my hands out of my pockets, held both of her hands, and squeezed them as if giving strength. Love wasn’t something to give up on easily, in my opinion.

“If it’s meant to be, he’ll definitely notice you,” I said passionately and decisively. I believed strongly in fate. “If he’s someone worthy of your love, you shouldn’t give up without trying.”

My passion and determination made Brooke laugh, and she also squeezed my hands, looking into my eyes with her sparkling blue eyes.

“You’re so right!” she said suddenly, her cheerfulness and determination returning. “I won’t give up without trying.”

“Hmm,” I agreed with a smile.

Brooke laughed and leaned in to kiss my cheek. “Thank you,” she said with a giggle.

“You’re welcome,” I replied with the same giggle.

As we huddled together against the cold, talking about general things, Brooke suddenly stopped mid-sentence, her eyes sparkling with excitement, and leaned in to whisper to me.

“Look, there he is,” she said, nodding in a direction. I turned my eyes in that direction.

The person she pointed out had dark blue eyes, a tall and fit body, and chestnut hair. He looked a lot like Leo, so it was obvious he was Leo’s brother. As Brooke had mentioned, he was handsome, but I didn’t like the vibe he gave off for some reason. Unlike Leo, he had a cold aura.

His eyes, reddened from the cold, made the blue color stand out more, and the mocking smile on his face gave him a mischievous expression, making him look like a bad guy.

“What do you think?” Brooke asked in a curious tone.

“Well,” I murmured, not wanting to lie. “He looks a bit like a bad guy.”

“He’s actually a fun person, but yes, he sometimes acts like that,” she agreed with me.

I never understood why someone would act differently from who they were. You couldn’t trust such people, but Brooke knew him much better than I did. If she could love him, she must have found a good reason.

As Brooke hooked her arm in mine, we watched Ethan smoke a cigarette at the entrance of the university while I looked around. At that moment, someone taller than Ethan approached him, and Ethan’s expression hardened.

“Silas,” I heard Brooke murmur. “I wonder what their problem is this time?”

While my eyes were on Brooke, she didn’t take her curious eyes off them for a moment. Ethan and the man named Silas talked for a while, and then when Silas turned towards us, his familiar face made me blink a few times. His angry gaze walked past the bus stop, and his face was very familiar. I had seen his face up close a few days ago when he bumped into me and fell on me. Was the world really this small?

As Silas walked past us with his angry eyes and stood just to my right, pulling out a cigarette pack, a bus approached the stop.

“Great,” Brooke whispered. “The bus arrived just in time.”

I smiled at her eagerness to continue watching and said, “Let’s do it again tomorrow.”

My words made her laugh as she quickly kissed my cheek, let go of my arm, and rushed towards the bus, waving at me. “See you, Arya.”

See you. A hopeful term for the future. I now had a friend who wanted to see me again.

With my heart filled with excitement, I smiled warmly and waved back at Brooke. When the bus left, I turned my curious eyes to the man standing right next to me, the candy apple killer. I was genuinely surprised to see him in another place so soon, but he didn’t even seem aware of my existence. His face was expressionless, but the anger in his eyes had receded, leaving only a faint trace.

As he smoked his cigarette, he looked straight ahead. My fingertips touched the money he had given me a few days ago in my coat pocket. How could I return his money? I wanted to return it. I didn’t need it, and I didn’t want to keep it.

While I was staring at him, thinking about how to start the conversation, he seemed to get uncomfortable with my gaze and slowly turned his eyes to me. I was surprised by how cold his expression was, despite the warm tone of his eye color.

“Um,” I muttered, not knowing how to start. He looked at me curiously, trying to understand what I wanted. I took the money out of my pocket and extended it to him. “Please take it back.”

As his well-shaped eyebrows furrowed, a puzzled look appeared in his eyes. “Take it back?” he asked first. Then he removed the cigarette from his lips, and as dark gray smoke slowly escaped his lips, he looked into my eyes. Then he murmured, “You’re the girl I bumped into,” recognizing me.

I nodded in confirmation.

He kept his eyes on mine and said, “The world is small.”

It really was small; I had thought the same when I saw him. He then looked at the money in my hand. He took it from me and, as if spotting a street kid in the crowd, called the child over with a gesture and gave the money to him, patting his head gently.

The child, who seemed to know him, smiled at him and walked away. I felt as if my head had been patted too. I knew well what it meant to be alone at a young age. There had been times when I wished for someone to pat my head, but I only had candies by my side.

“You owe me a candy apple,” I murmured, looking after the child.

“What?” he asked in a surprised tone.

When I turned my eyes to him, he was still looking at me with his slightly furrowed brows. Didn’t his head hurt from frowning so much?

“My candy apple was broken when you fell.”

He nodded slowly as if to say he knew. “That’s why I gave you that money. Besides, aren’t you too old to be eating candy apples?”

My brows furrowed. Why would I be too old to eat candy?

“First of all, candy apples aren’t that expensive. Second, I didn’t ask for your money; you handed it to me and then left without listening to me. Third, why should age matter when it comes to eating candy?”

He looked at me incredulously, as if he couldn’t believe we were seriously arguing about this. He finished his cigarette and stubbed it out in the trash can next to the bus stop.

“You’re serious.”

“Yes,” I confirmed.

When I was sad or feeling lonely, I had a habit of eating candy, and right now was one of those times when I really wanted to eat candy. I didn’t know the area well and could get lost. But if he got it for me, I could follow him and then come back to the bus stop with him.

“Alright,” he said, looking into my eyes. “Let’s go get you a candy apple.”

I smiled and eagerly followed him without even asking where we were going. Despite the rain still falling, we walked leisurely without caring. To avoid stepping into muddy snow piles, I stepped into the footprints he left in the snow, but because I focused all my attention on this, I only noticed he had stopped when I bumped into him.

When I looked up at him, he was also looking at me with an expressionless face. “What are you doing?” he asked, glancing at my feet.

Since his stride was wider than mine, one of my legs was left behind.

Adjusting my stance, I shrugged. “Nothing.”

“You’re a bit naive,” he said, turning to face me again. “You followed me without knowing where I was taking you.”

I raised my eyebrow skeptically. I was looking at his back, not his face. “Aren’t we getting a candy apple? Besides... why would you want to harm me? You seem like a decent person.”

He was cold, but it was clear he kept to himself. He didn’t seem like a talkative person, and this street was quite busy. He couldn’t do anything to me. Why would he?

“Don’t be fooled by appearances,” he said simply.

“My intuition is strong,” I murmured. I trusted my feelings towards people.

When we stopped in front of a convenience store, he looked at me for a few seconds. “Wait here; I’ll be right back,” he said, entering the store.

Ignoring his instruction, I followed him inside when I saw a stand full of colorful candy apples.

“Welcome, Silas,” said the middle-aged man at the counter as I entered. “Cigarettes?”

“No, my pack’s not finished yet, thanks,” Silas replied, walking straight to the candy apples. Smiling, I walked over to him.

When the man at the counter turned his curious eyes to me, I greeted him with a nod and looked at Silas with a smile. When he turned his eyes to me, I smiled. “Can I pick one?”

He handed me a random candy apple with a grumpy expression, probably because I had followed him inside despite his instruction. I took my candy apple without losing my smile. He was a bit cold and grumpy, but so what? Where would I see him again?

As the man at the counter calculated the change and handed it to Silas, he couldn’t help but ask, “Who’s the young lady?”

Silas shrugged slightly. “Nobody,” he said, putting his money in his pocket.

Nobody. That was a bit hurtful. I wasn’t nobody. I had a name and a place in this world. My life and experiences had meaning. I couldn’t be nobody with all the pain I had.

When I returned to the bus stop and walked beside him, I was unwrapping my candy apple with a slightly bitter expression. Still, I maintained my politeness. “Thank you,” I said, looking at his back. He didn’t say anything. “That was really rude,” I murmured under my breath.

When we returned to the bus stop, it was less crowded. I took a small bite of the cold candy coating on my candy apple. As the familiar sweet taste enveloped my senses, I sighed. Eating candy was already making me feel better. I glanced around, looking everywhere but at him.

My eyes caught the reflection of us in the shop window across the street. He was much taller than me, wearing a black turtleneck sweater, black coat, black pants, and black boots. I, on the other hand, in my black school skirt, cream sweater, burgundy jacket, light blue coat, and burgundy beret, was quite colorful. He had dark brown hair, while mine was a lighter shade, reddish-brown. I was eating a candy apple while he held a cigarette between his fingers. We looked so different that it made me smile for some reason.

When the bus arrived and my candy apple was still unfinished, I reluctantly wrapped it back in its paper and tucked it into my coat pocket. When I turned my eyes to Silas, he turned to look at me too.

“Thanks for the candy apple,” I mumbled and turned to board the bus.

Since my school exit time coincided with rush hour, the bus was very crowded. I held onto a yellow metal pole and watched the outside scenery for a while. As people got on and off, the people standing next to me changed, and after a while, Silas was standing right next to me. Being tall, he easily held onto the part I could barely touch with my fingertips and was looking at his phone. I wasn’t too surprised to find us using the same bus since the place where he had bumped into me was very close to my home.

While I was watching him out of the corner of my eye, he put his phone to his ear. “Yes... No, I’m going straight home.”

At that moment, the bus suddenly stopped, and I stumbled to my right. Just as I was about to fall, a strong arm with quick reflexes wrapped around my waist and steadied me. My back pressed against the chest of the person who caught me, and my cheeks warmed with embarrassment.

I heard his voice close to my ear. “Be careful,” he said, releasing me.

As I clung to the pole with both hands, I muttered, “Thank you,” feeling very embarrassed.

I heard Silas say, “I’m on the bus; I’ll talk to you later,” as he hung up the phone.

Feeling embarrassed, I tried to avoid looking at him by moving closer to the window. He leaned against the window. As we passed by the Golden Horn, I watched the sea for a while. I wasn’t surprised when he got off at the same stop as me. Smiling politely, I bid farewell and went my way. Walking through the narrow and steep streets of Galata towards home, I was out of breath in the cold air.

Despite the cold weather, the area around the Galata Tower was still crowded. Smiling at the tower, I passed by it. I turned into the street where my home was and walked straight to my building. I took out my keychain from my coat pocket, inserted the key into the lock, and opened the door, but the building was old, so the door was also old and very heavy.

Just as I was about to push the door open with my right shoulder, a hand pressed against the door and pushed it open, startling me with fear. I had been so lost in thought while struggling with the door that I hadn’t heard anyone approach. When I turned my eyes to the owner of the hand, I saw Silas.

“You?” I said, this time surprised.

As he effortlessly pushed the door open with one hand, he looked into my eyes. “It seems you are our new neighbor,” he said in a monotone voice, looking into my eyes.

Having said I was naive and followed him easily, I briefly thought he might have been following me, but knowing I was new here meant he was really our neighbor.

He pushed the door open a bit more and motioned inside with his chin as if to say, “Go ahead.”

“Thank you,” I muttered and entered, heading straight for the stairs, not knowing what else to do. I didn’t believe in coincidences, and this was a strange encounter. We kept running into each other, it seemed. Our paths always seemed to cross.

When I reached my apartment, Silas also came up to my floor and headed to the apartment directly across from mine, pulling out his keys. I watched him with wide eyes as I unlocked my door. Was I really living directly across from him? I had been here for a few days and hadn’t seen him before. I hadn’t seen the others either; I had only realized a few guys lived here from the sounds they made. They used their balconies a lot, and since our balconies were very close, I had hesitated to use mine when they were on theirs, not knowing what to say.

When Silas entered his apartment and closed the door without looking back at me, I also entered mine.

As someone used to sharing a room with many people, living alone had some emotional challenges. For example, the house was very quiet, and having lived in an orphanage for almost nine years, noise had become ingrained in my ears. Wanting both some noise and to alleviate my boredom, I was looking for something to watch on TV when my doorbell rang, making me look at the door in surprise.

I wasn’t expecting anyone since I didn’t have anyone to visit me besides our lawyer and guardian, Uncle Kenneth. But he would have informed me if he were coming.

Curiously, I got up and went to the door. I looked through the peephole at my visitor. A young man in his twenties with chestnut hair and green eyes was standing at my door. I could see the door to the apartment across from mine was slightly open behind him. Was he one of my neighbors?

Pressing my lips together, I opened the door slightly, and we made eye contact. He smiled warmly, showing his white teeth, which surprised me but also made me happy. I loved politeness. A smile similar to his spread across my face immediately.

“Hello, welcome to the apartment,” he said, his voice as friendly as his face.

When my eyes moved to the plate in his hand, he handed it to me. It had slices of store-bought cake and cookies. My smile widened as I quietly laughed and took the plate he offered.

“Thank you.”

“Enjoy,” he said kindly. “I hate to ask for something right away, but if you have a cup of coffee, could I borrow it? I need it urgently.”

His urgency for coffee made me laugh, and I nodded. “Sure, I’ll get it,” I said, heading to the kitchen.

I wasn’t a coffee drinker, but since Uncle Kenneth did the grocery shopping, he had bought everything, thinking I might use it. I even had a coffee machine.

I headed straight for the cute jars where I kept coffee, tea, creamer, cocoa, and such. I filled a cup with coffee and returned. I heard Silas’s voice as I reached the door. He was talking to the young man at my door, whom I now knew as Lance.

“Lance, if I can finish the model, we’ll go to Shattered Soul tonight for coffee.”

When I reached the door and handed the cup of coffee to Lance, I briefly made eye contact with Silas. He didn’t look at me for long; he was very cold. It felt like a cold wind from the poles hit my face when I looked at him.

Lance, unlike Silas, smiled at me and thanked me before returning to his apartment. I closed the door and headed to the kitchen. Wanting to make hot chocolate to enjoy with what Lance had brought, I was rummaging through the jars when I realized I had given him cocoa instead of coffee. Just then, my doorbell rang, and I closed my eyes in embarrassment.

I walked to the door and opened it with an embarrassed smile, expecting to see Lance, but it was Silas.

He held the cup I had given to Lance. “You can’t tell cocoa from coffee, can you?” he said with an expressionless face.

Feeling even more embarrassed, I touched my left eyebrow. “I grabbed the wrong jar,” I muttered and reached for the cup. “Let me change it.”

“Please,” he said in a weary tone. “If I weren’t busy, I’d go to the store myself, but I’m not free. It would be greatly appreciated if you actually have coffee.”

His work must have been the model he had mentioned to Lance. I didn’t know what he was studying, but sometimes I heard him arguing with something. Now that I could distinguish his voice, I knew he was the one arguing, and he often muttered to himself, especially in the evenings. I guessed our rooms shared a wall, so I could hear him clearly sometimes.

Nodding to him, I couldn’t help but smile when I noticed a smudge on the corner of his mouth. He must not have realized it was cocoa until he drank it. He couldn’t blame me for being absent-minded. I grabbed the cup and went back to the kitchen, making sure it was coffee this time by sniffing it.

When I returned with the coffee, he smelled it as if to make sure. “How did it taste?” I asked, curious, while he smelled the coffee.

His questioning eyes turned to mine as he sniffed the coffee. His eyes were nearly the same tone as the real coffee in his hand.

“The cocoa,” I explained. “How did it taste at your age?”

He understood I was referring to what he had said about candy apples and seemed momentarily taken aback by my words. He looked into my eyes for a while. Taking a deep breath, he looked away.

“Too sweet,” he answered my question and lifted the cup. “Thanks,” he said, turning to enter his apartment without looking back.

Smiling, I closed the door. I made myself hot chocolate and took Lance’s plate to the couch. I covered myself with the TV blanket. I came across a cartoon I liked on TV and watched it while sipping my hot chocolate.