🌸 Chapter 1: That Moment on the Escalator
There were a hundred reasons Aira didn’t feel like going out that day.
The air was humid. Her suitcase still lay half-unpacked in her small temporary apartment. It had only been a week since she arrived in China for her university’s cultural exchange program — and everything still felt unfamiliar.
But something tugged at her.
A strange restlessness. A quiet pull she couldn’t explain.
She tied her hair into a loose ponytail, grabbed her nearly-dead phone, and headed out — hoping a walk through the nearby mall would calm her thoughts.
It was busier than she expected. Families, couples, music echoing faintly under the high ceilings. She got on the escalator, scrolling through her photo gallery to pass time.
Then it happened.
She looked up — distracted — and missed a step.
Her foot slipped.
Her phone slid out of her hand. She lost balance.
And before she could hit the ground—
Strong arms caught her.
For a second, time stood still.
Aira gasped, eyes wide, heart hammering in her chest.
The boy who caught her looked just as startled as she did. He held her steady, his touch firm yet gentle.
“You okay?” he asked, his voice calm.
“I— I think so,” she stammered, completely flustered.
They both stood still for a second, caught in a strange silence. Around them, the mall buzzed on like nothing had happened.
She quickly bent to grab her phone. “I’m sorry— that was so clumsy of me.”
He gave a small, polite smile. “Good thing I was standing here.”
She nodded awkwardly, suddenly aware of how close they were.
“Well… thank you,” she whispered and turned to walk away, still a little shaken.
But just before she disappeared into the crowd, he called out:
“Wait… have we met before?”
She paused and glanced back.
His expression was confused, as if even he didn’t know why he asked that. Like something about her tugged at the edge of his memory.
Aira tilted her head slightly and smiled faintly.
“I don’t think so.”
And just like that, she was gone.
But that one moment stayed — lingering in the air like a question that hadn’t finished forming.
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TO BE CONTINUED...
By 🎀Amna Dreamwrites🎀
