Chapter 1: Something in the Air Changed
Monday.
Monday again. And like every start of the week, the alarm rang mercilessly at 6:30 a.m.
But this time, something felt different. I wasn’t exactly sure what it was, but I could feel it. As if the air carried an invisible promise.
I stretched, still half-asleep, and stroked Jake’s head, my little dog, who was curled up at the foot of my bed. My eyelashes still resisted fully opening, but my body already knew the routine. Cold water on my face, a little serum, light cream, and done. I didn’t have a uniform, but there was a silent code among ITESO students that made me think twice before dressing: something casual, comfortable, but with my own touch. That touch of mine.
That day I chose straight jeans, a basic white blouse, and a neutral-toned cardigan. Simple, yet intentional. I didn’t like drawing attention, but I did want to show that I know myself. That I like myself. That I’m okay with me.
My mom was already in the kitchen, making breakfast.
“Good morning, my love,” she said as she poured orange juice.
“Good morning, mom,” I replied with a smile.
My brothers, Gael and Santiago, were already arguing about whether the tacos from the corner were better than the ones around the block. I just laughed, grabbed my keys, my tote bag, and left.
---
The first classes of the day went by as usual: editorial design and typography. I like what I study, although sometimes I feel like I’m missing a bit more inspiration. Not because I don’t like creating, but because… sometimes I feel paused. As if something inside me is waiting for something to happen.
During the break, I sat alone on my usual bench, the one where the sun hits but doesn’t burn. I opened my book—one of romance, of course—and immersed myself in a story that wasn’t mine. Until… something distracted me.
It was just a second.
A boy passed a few meters away from where I was sitting. Tall, with a lean but solid build, fair skin, light brown hair that seemed to have a calculated messiness, as if the wind had styled it.
He wore a white shirt and dark pants. Expensive shoes, but without logos. His style was elegant yet modern, like something out of a magazine editorial where old money and mystery collide.
He didn’t speak. He didn’t look at anyone. But everyone noticed him.
His presence was like an open secret.
“Do you know who he is?” I heard a girl ask her friend behind me.
“Of course, it’s Elias. But almost no one knows anything about him… they say he comes from a very wealthy family, but he doesn’t show it. He doesn’t post anything. He doesn’t brag. But everyone knows he has it all. He’s… strange.”
Elias.
That name stuck with me as if I had read it in one of my favorite books.
I tried to keep reading, but I couldn’t concentrate.
The book was no longer the most interesting thing on that bench.
---
The afternoon came quickly. I went to print some assignments and then grabbed a cold drink before heading back home. But the image of him wouldn’t leave me. His calm walk, his way of ignoring the noise without seeming arrogant, as if he already knew something the others didn’t.
And even though he hadn’t spoken a single word to me, his image took up too much space in my head.
That night, while Jake slept curled up as always, I stared at the ceiling of my room.
With my headphones on, “Messy” by ROSÉ played softly.
And I thought…
What happens when two worlds that never sought each other… end up colliding by accident?
I didn’t know yet, but that Monday…
That boy…
That moment…
Had been the beginning of everything.
