Chapter 1
CHAPTER ONE
THE DAY I MET HER
University was supposed to be the beginning of a new life for Phraz.
He arrived on campus carrying two bags, a small amount of money in his pocket, and a head full of dreams.
He had always believed that education would change his life. Coming from a modest background, he knew that university was more than just a place to earn a degree. To him, it was an opportunity to become someone his family could be proud of.
But university was not exactly what he imagined.
The lectures were difficult. The campus was enormous. The students seemed confident and experienced, while Phraz often felt like he was trying to figure everything out by himself.
Then, one afternoon, everything changed.
It happened in the library.
Phraz had been sitting alone at a table, staring at a textbook without understanding a single paragraph. He had been reading the same page for almost twenty minutes.
A voice suddenly came from across the table.
“Are you actually studying, or are you just looking at the book?”
Phraz looked up.
She was smiling.
Her name was Deb.
She was one of those people who seemed comfortable wherever she was. She carried herself with confidence, but there was something gentle about her.
Phraz laughed nervously.
“I’m studying.”
She looked at the open book.
“Then why have you been on the same page since I came here?”
Phraz smiled.
“Maybe the page is difficult.”
“Or maybe you need help.”
Those were the first words Deb ever said to him.
He didn’t know it at the time, but those simple words would become the beginning of one of the most important relationships of his life.
Deb pulled a chair closer.
“Show me what you’re struggling with.”
Phraz hesitated.
Then he turned the book toward her.
She explained the topic patiently.
For the first time that day, the subject began to make sense.
Phraz looked at her with surprise.
“How did you understand this so easily?”
She laughed.
“I didn’t. I struggled with it too. I just didn’t give up.”
That sentence stayed with him.
Because somehow, Deb wasn’t only talking about the textbook.
She was talking about life.
And Phraz was about to learn just how much she meant it.
