----------------------------------------

"Before everything changed, life was simple -almost too simple."

My days were the same, as predictable as the last. Wake up, go to school, come home, repeat. There was comfort in that process that helped me speed up the time. But, it started slowly crumbled, again and again.

I didn't think much of the future back then. I didn't need to. The present felt like it would stretch on forever, unchanging, like a ticking clock that you never pay attention to.

But the crack began to show. It was quite big that I can see it. I couldn't ignore them anymore. Friendship that once felt solid is now seemed fragile. The conversation that used to flow out easily are now hard to hold on.

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

I thought it was just a phase. Like when you turn to a teenager, your emotion built within you changed. But for me, it wasn't the case. People around me started to walk away from my life. I couldn't handled the peer pressure within me. So, I tried focusing on my studies, on distractions. It works sometime, but it was still painful to watch. The friend that had connection with me, I once valued, slipped through my fingers. The sense of detachment grew, and with it, a creepy fear that maybe I was the problem.

Then, one day, everything changed. She walked into my classroom- a transferred student, who despite haven't long seen, was unmistakably her. The sight of her still makes me love her despite the years. Even if she had matured, she still look as beautiful as she was in middle school.

The sight of her makes me regret not telling her "I love you". It was the most regrettable days of my life. But, this time, I can restart our relationship slowly and steadily.