Chapter 1
Season One: The Seeds of Silence and the First Glance (Childhood)
The story began when he was six years old. Kenan was a quiet child, naturally inclined to isolation, spending his time watching the world from his balcony. Across the street, Rehaf would come and go near the shops, becoming his only colorful world. He loved her at first sight—a love born in silence, locked behind shy, distant glances.
One day, while walking out with his father, he unexpectedly ran into Rehaf face-to-face. He froze in place from sheer shyness, his face turning red, while a mix of overwhelming joy and sudden fear clashed within him. With an innocent voice, she said, "Hello, Kenan," but he was too paralyzed by confusion to reply. His father scolded him for excessive shyness, and they got into the car. Yet, all the way home, Kenan kept repeating her name in secret, drowning in an irreplaceable childhood joy.
Rehaf did not return the same deep feeling; to her, he was merely a quiet, introverted neighbor. Tests continued when his sister playfully teased him with an emotional prank, pretending that Rehaf loved him, before shattering it with the truth. This left a slight ache in his chest and pushed him deeper into his shell.
At school, Kenan avoided socializing to escape the sting of bullying. One day, he flatly refused to enter the classroom. That was when his older brother stepped in with the greatest gesture, refusing to leave him alone. The two sat under the shade of a tree for four whole hours (from noon until dusk)—a moment etched into Kenan’s memory as his first true support in a hars
h world.
