Chapter 1:How it all began
The sky outside was soft—painted in the quietest shade of blue, as if even the heavens were in a gentle mood. Alina sat curled up by her bedroom window, knees drawn close to her chest, a mug of half-drunk cocoa growing cold beside her. Lo-fi music played faintly in the background, its melody mixing with the rustle of wind-touched leaves.
Her journal lay open, though untouched.
She wasn’t really writing. Not yet. She was thinking. Feeling.
A torn piece of paper sat beside her, with only one line written on it:
"If memories could sing, what would they sound like?"
She smiled faintly at her own words—a quiet, sad smile. It was the kind of smile that came from remembering something warm that still hurt. And then her gaze drifted.
To the drawer.
The old wooden drawer on the right side of her desk. The one that always creaked slightly when opened. The one she hadn’t opened in years.
Her fingers moved before her mind could stop them. She pulled the drawer open. There, hidden beneath old class notes and ticket stubs from childhood movies, was the diary.
Soft pink cover, corners bent, and edges slightly yellowed with time.
Her breath caught in her throat.
She pulled it out slowly, brushing off a little dust. Her hands trembled—a strange throb blooming in her chest. It wasn’t fear. It was something older. Deeper. A heart-memory.
“Why did I stop writing?” she whispered to herself, running her fingertips over the cover like it was something sacred.
She hesitated.
Then she opened the first page.
(Flashback of Alina's past days)
Diary entry#1
I don’t know what happened today. But something changed. I think something inside me... shifted.
It started as a normal day. School, chatter, jokes. I was sitting in class beside Naira, bored, half-doodling on my notebook. I asked her, “Have you ever liked someone?”
She turned pink, then giggled and nodded. I laughed, teasing her, but something in me was curious.
"No seriously," I said, "how do you know it's real?"
And she said something I don’t think I’ll forget:
“It’s like…” she began, voice wrapped in cotton,
“...when just looking at them makes your heart race… when your cheeks heat up for no reason… when a silly smile sneaks onto your face before you can stop it. Like your soul just... recognizes something.”
I remember rolling my eyes at the time, trying not to look too interested.
A week later, our group decided to spend Saturday at the amusement park. There was me, Naira,Zoya,Adrian,Noah and kai, although he wasn't with us as always— the whole gang. The smell of popcorn and fried snacks filled the air, and the bright lights made everything feel alive.
After demolishing two boxes of fries and way too many burgers, Naira suddenly leaned forward and grinned. "Truth or dare?"
We all groaned but agreed. It started harmless—Zoya had to sing a cheesy song in front of strangers, Adrian had to do ten jumping jacks yelling “I’m the king of the world,” and Noah had to propose to a random ice cream vendor. It was so funn,The laughter literally didn’t stop for minutes...
Then it was my turn. Naira’s eyes glinted with mischief. " Truth or Dareee...", "If everyone is choosing dare, then alina, of course, would also choose dare, isn’t it Alinaaa ?"
"Fine" I sighed although i was going to choose truth.
"Give a cotton candy to a random person," she said.
Sounded easy. I bought the biggest pink cotton candy I could find and scanned the crowd. That’s when it happened.
I wasn’t looking where I was going, and in the middle of the bustling walkway, I bumped—no, crashed—straight into someone. My foot slipped slightly, and before I could fall, a hand caught my arm.
"Whoa, careful," a warm voice said.
I looked up… and froze.
The boy had the kind of smile that made your heartbeat skip just enough to scare you. His hair fell slightly over his forehead, and his eyes… they had this unexplainable pull.
For a second, the noise of the park vanished. My heart was doing that thing Naira talked about—loud, quick, reckless, and i was just lost in his eyes.
He glanced at the cotton candy in my hand. "Is that for me?" he teased.
I blinked, heat rushing to my cheeks. "Uh… yeah. I guess it is."
He chuckled, took it, and before walking away, said, "Thanks, cotton candy girl."
That moment froze inside me.
And I don’t even know his name.
But I think I want to know him. Or at least know why my heart felt like it recognized something.
Maybe this is where my story begins or maybe it’s nothing, why am I thinking like Naira?Argh....
But I want to remember it. Just in case it becomes my everything, JUST IN CASE.
And when i came back to my friends, they were teasing and giggling so hard like hell....
Alina
(Back in the present)
Alina started smiling while reading her diary, after a moment she closed it slowly, pressing her hand over the cover as if trying to feel her own heartbeat through it.
So many years had passed.
She had stopped writing.
But the story hadn’t ended.
She looked out the window once more. The sky was a deeper blue now, touched with hints of lavender.
And in that soft twilight, she whispered with sadness,
“Maybe it’s time to finish the story I once began.”
She opened to a new page.
Picked up her pen.
And wrote:
Diary Entry#X
Dear Diary,
This is the story of how I fell in love. And how love never really left....
Alina
"Now, I guess ,it had ended..."
Alina sighed, and tears started coming from her eyes but she had not realized it yet...
