A Stranger
It was a cloudy morning, the kind of day that carried a strange weight in the air. I didn’t know what panic truly felt like until then. It was my very first day at school—different, uncertain, and unlike anything I had ever known. My mother carefully helped me get dressed, polished my shoes, and placed the giant backpack on my shoulders. Yet deep inside, fear gripped me.
Even now, years later, that nervousness still lingers like a shadow. My father’s words echoed in my head, his steady encouragement urging me forward. But fear was louder. I remember walking into the school gates, my heart racing as if it would burst.
Then I saw her. Sitting calmly on the old wooden bench , swinging her legs freely as though the whole world was her playground. Her presence was so natural, so effortless, it reminded me of a character I had once read about in a children’s storybook—Dora the Explorer. She was the kind of person who seemed fearless, untouched by the storms that troubled me.
That first meeting carved a memory so deep I could never erase it. She was the one who helped me navigate the maze of classrooms, the endless rules, and the confusion of those early school days. Though time moved on and life pulled us in different directions, her face never left my mind.
Sometimes, it feels as though that first glance still speaks to me. The connection between us was beyond words—unshakable, unforgettable. And even now, the thought remains: until we meet again, she will always be that special person. a
