What We Left Unsaid

What We Left Unsaid

D. Starling

Chapter 1: the morning of my life

It was a morning like any other.

The sunlight slipped through the thin curtain, brushing across my face as if it had something urgent to say. Wake up, it seemed to whisper. Move on with your life.

My name is Anna. I’m a university student — ordinary in most ways, except maybe the way I see myself. Every morning, the first thing I do is face the mirror. Some days, I wish I wouldn’t.

I’m not like the girls people stop to stare at. My looks are… average, I guess. My body’s curvy, and somehow that always becomes the first thing people notice — or judge. I never understood why the world treats appearance like proof of someone’s worth.

I head to the bathroom and turn on the shower. The water’s warm, but my thoughts feel cold. While washing my hair, I think about my life — how quiet it is, how empty it feels sometimes. Like every other girl, I once dreamed about love. But maybe love just forgot to find me.

I got dressed and ate my breakfast quickly, like every other morning. Then I ran — not just for the university, but maybe for my life too. I never really know what waits for me each day or what the future plans behind my back. But I keep moving anyway. Because sometimes, moving forward is all that’s left.

When I reached the university, the usual noise filled the air — laughter, chatter, the sound of lives that seemed louder than mine. I walked through it all, half there, half somewhere else.

But then, there was him.

The only person who ever made me feel like I wasn’t invisible. Like maybe I mattered. He carried a kind of calm that steadied everything around him — even me.

And that person was Levi.

Levi was one of those people everyone noticed — the kind who could light up a room without even trying. Popular, handsome, effortlessly cheerful. He was the heartbeat of our university, the kind of person people naturally moved toward.

He was the first one who made me feel alive when I had no one. The first to pull me out of my quiet corners and show me what it meant to live. He was kind to everyone, but there was something in the way he spoke to me — gentle, steady — that made me forget how lonely I used to be.

Maybe that’s why everyone liked him. Because he wasn’t just full of energy. He was the energy. The lifeline.

“Anna! You’re here, huh?” Levi called out, smiling as he walked up behind me.

He wrapped an arm around my shoulder, his touch gentle and warm. It felt safe — like he was silently saying, I’m here. You’re okay.

“Yeah,” I said, glancing up at him with a small smile tugging at my lips. “Got a little late today.”

He chuckled softly, his eyes bright. “You and your morning battles. One day you’ll actually beat the clock.”

I couldn’t help but laugh too. His laugh had that easy rhythm — light and warm — the kind that made even bad mornings feel less heavy.

I always felt comfortable around him, like I could talk to him forever and never run out of words. Being near him made silence feel easy too.

“Our friends are waiting,” he said, grinning as he held out his hand. “Let’s go.”

I placed my hand in his, letting him pull me along toward the others. Friends. A word that used to feel so far away. I didn’t really have many — maybe just one before him. But after Levi stepped into my life, he pulled me into his circle, showed me faces, laughter, small moments that slowly taught me what friendship actually means.

At the campus courtyard, our small group was already gathered — familiar faces that somehow started to feel like home.

Maya was there first, as always. She’s the group’s “mother,” or maybe more like an older sister. Two years ahead of us, she takes care of everyone — even me — making sure we eat, study, and don’t fall apart mid-semester.

Then there’s Jun, Levi’s best friend since forever. They’re the kind of duo that doesn’t need words to understand each other — Jun knows every version of Levi, the quiet and the loud.

And Mina, the sparkle of our group. She’s the stylish one — always posting something, always camera-ready. A little dramatic sometimes, but she keeps the energy alive.

“Oi! They’re here!” Jun shouted, waving at us with a grin.

“Come on, you guys are too late!” Maya scolded playfully, hands on her hips but smiling anyway.

“Wait, wait — let’s take a selfie first!” Mina chimed in excitedly.

“Shut up, Mina,” Maya said, rolling her eyes but already pulling everyone together.

I laughed quietly, watching them bicker and tease each other. Moments like this made me feel something I hadn’t felt in a long time — home.

I didn’t even know what I’d do without them. They were the brightest parts of my life.

And Levi... he was my favourite part of all — the one I never wanted to lose.