Chapter 1- Childhood Bonds
The sky looked softer when they were younger.
Maybe because life had not become complicated yet.
Or maybe because back then, promises still felt permanent.
“Your airplane is falling again.”
Emma frowned immediately before glaring at the boy beside her.
“Noah, stop distracting me.”
“I’m helping you.”
“You laughed at it.”
“Because it flew for two seconds and gave up.”
Emma crossed her arms dramatically while looking at the paper airplane lying near the grass.
“You made mine badly on purpose.”
Noah gasped softly.
“That’s offensive.”
“It’s true.”
“It’s literally paper.”
“And somehow you still ruined it.”
The small park near their neighborhood remained almost empty during evenings.
Only soft wind.
Fading sunlight.
And the sound of Ella complaining nearby.
“You two have been arguing about paper for ten minutes.”
Emma pointed at Noah immediately.
“He started it.”
Noah looked betrayed.
“She’s lying.”
Ella sighed dramatically before sitting beside them on the bench.
“One day both of you will realize you act like an old married couple.”
Both of them immediately turned toward her.
“WHAT?”
Ella burst into laughter.
Noah picked up the fallen airplane before fixing one side carefully.
Then he handed it back to Emma.
“You folded this part wrong.”
Emma stared at him suspiciously.
“You sound too confident for someone whose grades are terrible.”
“My grades and my paper airplane skills are unrelated.”
“Everything about you is unfortunate.”
“Ouch.”
Ella almost fell off the bench laughing.
After a few moments, Noah suddenly stood up on the bench dramatically.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” he announced loudly to absolutely nobody, “today I shall create the greatest paper airplane in history.”
Emma deadpanned immediately.
“You need hobbies.”
“This IS my hobby.”
“That explains a lot.”
Noah ignored her before carefully folding another paper.
This time slower.
More focused.
Emma quietly watched him for a second.
The sunset reflected softly against his face while the evening wind moved through his messy hair.
And somehow…
for a moment, everything felt peaceful.
Simple.
Safe.
“There,” Noah finally said proudly.
“The masterpiece is complete.”
Emma took the airplane from him carefully.
Written on one wing were the words:
To our future.
Her expression softened slightly.
“You wrote on it.”
“Obviously.”
“That ruins the aerodynamics.”
“You don’t even know what that means.”
“I do too.”
“You absolutely don’t.”
Emma smiled despite herself.
A small one.
But real.
Noah looked at her quietly for a second before speaking again.
“One day,” he said softly, “we’ll probably all end up somewhere different.”
Ella immediately frowned.
“Why are you suddenly emotional?”
“I’m serious.”
Emma looked down at the paper airplane in her hands.
“People always leave eventually,” she murmured absentmindedly.
Noah looked at her immediately.
“No,” he said. “Not everyone.”
The words stayed in the air longer than expected.
Ella suddenly stood up dramatically.
“Okay enough. Both of you are making the atmosphere weird again.”
Emma laughed quietly this time.
Noah smiled too.
And for that moment—
none of them realized how much life would eventually change.
Emma carefully threw the paper airplane into the wind.
The three of them watched it glide across the evening sky.
Higher.
Farther.
Almost like it was carrying all their futures with it.
Sometimes the smallest promises become the ones people remember forever.
Even years later.
Even after everything changes.
🌙 END OF CHAPTER 1
