Chapter 1: Just a Ride
Stella hadn’t planned on staying long.
She was only there to return a book — a short visit, in and out. But now she stood by the window in Maya’s apartment, her fingers brushing the edge of the kitchen counter as the late afternoon sunlight warmed the tiled floor.
The hum of traffic outside was distant. Inside, everything was still.
She didn’t realize how long she’d been standing there until her phone buzzed in her bag — another reminder for something she didn’t want to do. She ignored it.
Upstairs, the walls were painted soft beige. Maya’s apartment was always cozy, lived-in. Photos on the fridge, mismatched mugs in the cupboard, the faint scent of lemon and vanilla from a candle someone had left burning too long.
Stella set the book down on the dining table — something about emotional fatigue and cognitive overload. The irony made her want to laugh.
That’s when she heard the low, familiar rumble of an engine outside.
She turned her head toward the open window and saw him — Mark — pulling into the driveway on his turquoise-blue bike. The helmet hid most of his face, but she knew it was him by the way he parked: slow, deliberate, like he didn’t like making sudden movements.
She hadn’t seen much of Mark lately. Not since they were all still in school. He’d always been soft-spoken, quiet, the kind of person who never interrupted and always offered the last slice even if he wanted it. Maya’s younger brother. That’s how she always thought of him.
But something about the calm way he moved made her pause.
Before she could talk herself out of it, she grabbed her bag and headed downstairs.
He was locking the bike when she stepped out of the building. The sun caught the edge of his helmet just as he turned.
“Hey,” he said.
She tucked her hair behind her ear. “Hey. I was just leaving.”
He gave a nod, then glanced at the sky like he was checking for rain. “You going somewhere?”
“Home,” she said. “Eventually.”
Mark didn’t say anything for a second. Then: “I was going for a ride.”
She looked at the bike, then back at him.
He didn’t offer. Not right away.
But then he said, almost like he wasn’t sure if it was okay to say it, “You want to come?”
It was the way he asked that made her pause. No pressure. No suggestion. Just a quiet invitation — like it didn’t have to mean anything unless she wanted it to.
She looked at the sky. It was still light out. She didn’t have anywhere important to be.
“…Sure,” she said.
She silently took a seat behind mark..
Stella was oddly comfortable with him.
Without any hesitation he started his bike and headed out.
The wind was cool against her face as they drove. The city melted into smaller roads, and then into wider, quieter ones. The buildings faded. Trees lined the horizon.
Neither of them spoke much. There was no music, no conversation. Just the steady hum of the engine and the occasional shift of gears.
Stella found herself breathing easier than she had in days.
He wasn’t trying to impress her. He wasn’t filling the silence. He wasn’t doing anything except driving — and that, somehow, was enough.
Eventually, they slowed near a quiet road where the sea came into view. A low concrete barrier separated the road from the shore. He stopped the bike near a clearing and turned off the engine.
They sat on the barrier, legs stretched out in front of them, the sound of waves moving gently in the distance.
No one said a word for a long time.
Then Stella spoke, her voice soft. “You come here often?”
Mark nodded. “Sometimes. When I want the day to feel slower.”
She glanced sideways at him, then back at the sea. “It’s working.”
They stayed there until the sun dipped closer to the horizon.
No long conversation, no small chats.
They just sat there in peace...
After the sun completely disappeared in the sea they rode back.
Mark dropped stellaback to her home.
Neither of them said goodbye — not because they didn’t mean it, but because it didn’t feel like the end of anything.
That night, Stella fell asleep to the memory of wind in her hair and the rhythm of tires on asphalt — steady, calm, and just far enough from everything else.
[Stella is a 23 years old med school student, a straight A student, well behaved, well mannered and calm. But she always feels a subtle emptiness in herself]
