Chapter 1
Chapter 1
The Girl Who Lived Alone
Liora had gotten very good at being alone.
Not the kind of alone people complained about when their friends were busy.
Not the kind where you spent an evening without anyone texting you.
She meant the real kind.
The kind where there was no one waiting for you when you came home.
No one asking how your day went.
No one calling to remind you to eat.
No one arguing with you over the television remote.
Just silence.
Liora had lived with it for so long that she barely noticed it anymore.
Her little house sat at the end of a quiet street, surrounded by trees and small gardens.
It wasn't much.
A tiny living room.
A small kitchen.
One bedroom.
A little balcony where she kept plants she occasionally forgot to water.
But she loved it.
She had filled the place with warm fairy lights, little plants, books, scented candles, and anything else that made it feel less like a house and more like hers.
There was only one thing missing.
Someone to come home to.
Liora didn't think about that too much.
Thinking about it didn't change anything.
So she made tea.
She opened her university laptop.
And she spent another evening pretending she wasn't lonely.
---
Liora was studying at university during the day.
She wasn't the most social person on campus.
Actually, she was almost invisible.
She attended her classes, took notes, submitted her assignments, and left.
She had classmates.
She just didn't have people she called friends.
And she was perfectly fine with that.
At least, that's what she told herself.
She preferred the university garden to the cafeteria.
The library to crowded events.
Trees to people.
Rain to parties.
Silence to unnecessary conversations.
That afternoon, she sat beneath a large tree with her notebook resting on her knees.
She wasn't studying.
She was writing.
Not words.
Names.
Vanilla.
She crossed it out.
Jasmine.
Another note.
Sandalwood.
She paused.
Then added:
Something warmer.
Liora loved perfumes.
She loved how a single scent could suddenly bring back a memory.
A rainy afternoon.
A childhood bedroom.
Someone's old sweater.
A place you hadn't visited in years.
She wanted to create perfumes one day.
Not ordinary perfumes.
Something different.
Something that could make people remember.
She wanted to build her own perfume company.
It was a ridiculous dream.
At least, that's what she'd convinced herself.
But every time she thought about giving up on it, she found herself opening another notebook.
Another bottle.
Another experiment.
She smiled faintly.
"One day."
That was what she always said.
One day.
---
Her classes ended around five.
Liora packed her things and started walking home.
The evening was quiet.
The sky had turned pale orange between the trees.
She put her earphones in but didn't play anything.
She liked hearing the world around her.
The wind.
The leaves.
The occasional sound of a car passing by.
Then she heard something else.
A tiny whimper.
Liora stopped.
She looked around.
Another whimper.
It came from near a small roadside wall.
She walked toward it.
And there she was.
A dog.
Small.
Fluffy.
Dirty.
And staring at Liora like she'd been waiting for her.
Liora crouched down.
"Hey."
The dog tilted her head.
Liora smiled.
"You lost?"
The dog slowly stepped closer.
Liora reached into her bag.
She had a packet of biscuits she'd bought earlier.
She broke one in half and held it out.
The dog sniffed it.
Then ate it.
Liora smiled.
"Okay."
She gave her another.
The dog's tail started wagging.
"Don't get attached."
Another biscuit.
The tail wagged harder.
"I'm serious."
Another biscuit.
The dog sat directly in front of her.
Liora stared.
"...You're not listening, are you?"
The dog blinked.
Liora sighed.
"Fine."
She stood up.
The dog stood too.
Liora took a few steps.
The dog followed.
She stopped.
The dog stopped.
She walked again.
The dog followed again.
Liora looked over her shoulder.
"You cannot come with me."
The dog continued walking.
"Seriously."
The dog wagged her tail.
Liora rubbed her forehead.
"You're terrible at boundaries."
The dog looked incredibly pleased with herself.
Liora tried walking faster.
The dog followed faster.
Eventually, Liora stopped fighting it.
She crouched down and looked into the dog's eyes.
"You don't even have a name, do you?"
The dog tilted her head.
Liora thought for a moment.
Then smiled.
"Mochi."
The dog's tail started wagging.
Liora laughed quietly.
"Mochi it is."
---
Twenty minutes later, Liora opened the door to her little house.
Mochi walked inside like she owned the place.
Liora stared at her.
"You've been here for five seconds."
Mochi continued exploring.
"Don't make yourself comfortable."
Mochi walked into the living room.
Liora followed.
The dog sniffed the couch.
Then the rug.
Then the little blanket Liora kept folded near the window.
Then she curled herself right on top of it.
Liora stood there with her hands on her hips.
"You've got to be kidding me."
Mochi closed her eyes.
Liora sighed.
"Fine."
She went to the kitchen.
Filled a bowl with water.
Found something she could safely give the dog to eat.
Then she returned to the living room.
Mochi was asleep.
Liora sat on the floor beside her.
For some reason, she didn't feel like asking the dog to leave anymore.
She gently scratched behind Mochi's ear.
"You know..."
Mochi opened one eye.
"I've never had a pet."
The dog stared at her.
"I've never really had anyone."
Mochi rested her head on Liora's leg.
Liora went quiet.
A small smile appeared on her face.
"Maybe you can stay tonight."
Mochi's tail moved once.
Liora laughed.
"Only tonight."
She knew she was lying.
And somehow, she didn't mind.
---
That night, Liora sat at her desk working on another perfume formula.
Mochi slept beside her chair.
The little house was quiet.
But it didn't feel empty anymore.
Liora looked down at the sleeping dog.
"You're staying, aren't you?"
Mochi didn't move.
Liora smiled.
"Yeah. I thought so."
She turned back to her notebook.
At the top of a fresh page, she wrote:
New Formula
Then, underneath it:
Something that smells like home.
She paused.
She didn't know why she'd written that.
She didn't even know what home was supposed to smell like.
But maybe one day she'd find out.
For now, she had Mochi.
And for the first time in years, when Liora looked around her little house...
It didn't feel quite so lonely.
She just didn't know that someone else was about to walk into her life too.
And his name was Noah.
