Silence—
Peace—
And a ray of the sunlight entering through the window in a room.
It was shining.
There sat two men on sofas.
"So, have you ever been in love?" A man from those two men asked. Wearing a white coat, her set in mullet.
"Maybe, yes" the other man answered. Heavy but a gentle voice.
Wearing a baggy black jeans and a black tshirt under a black jacket over his fair skin. And hair styled in curtain mullet.
"Then what is your story? I wanna know about it and also my audience would love to know about it too" the man said, being completely curious about the other man life.
"Oh!... You wanna know?" The other man laughed.
"I definitely wanna know Mr.Fin"
The other man name was Fin.
"Ok then it started from the day when I was near a lake" He narrated. His eyes filled with nostalgia and peace.
"Which lake?" The other man distracted him.
Fin looked at him.
"I don't know what was the name of that lake but it was near the park"
"Oh then it's okay"
"So, I was near the lake laying on a wood placing my book over my face I was sleeping under a tree and it was the time when I was working on my novels" he explained carefully highlighting every details.
THE STORY GOES IN THE PAST
Where Fin was laying on a wood near the lake, there was a tree above him giving him the shadow to rest, there was a bridge above the lake
The sun was about to set.
And it became red, and the ray of the sun was falling on the lake's water giving it a beautiful shade to shine.
A cool breeze started to blow.
And suddenly Fin heard someone's laugh. A beautiful laugh that made him remove his book from his face.
And something that widened his brown eyes.
There was a girl...
A girl with red hair.
Her wavy and open hair was blowing because of the wind.
Hair as red as cherry shining in the sun's ray of light.
Her hair could easily reach her waist.
And her brown eyes and fair skin were shining.
A magestic view.
A person who could pause the time.
Fin was just there staring at her.
Admiring her.
Admiring her hair.
Her dress was red that could reach her white shoes.
Fin sat, and was admiring her beauty. Her everything. He just couldn't believe that how can anyone be this beautiful.
"Everything started to change from that day on" Fin spoke.
"I could tell by taking a look at her she was a girl full of positive energy."
"So, what kind of thing happened with the two of you" the other man asked being curioused.
"Nothing" he chuckled.
She left but the first glimpse of her made Fin crazy, he was still there sitting on the wood, he couldn't even react.
He was just stunned.
"She was beautiful" Fin whispered.
The sun settled.
The sky turned dark.
The stars started to show up in the sky.
Twinkling.
Fin looked up at the sky
"Night sky is beautiful, isn't it?"
He then took his stuffs and left the Lakeshore.
While walking on the footpath. He caught himself thinking about that one girl only—
The girl with red hairs.
He entered a light full neighborhood and he entered a house with two floors.
The house was quiet, wrapped in the stillness of an ordinary night, when his mother's voice broke through the silence.
"Welcome home, Fin" A woman geamed. As he entered the house, wearing a white long dress.
"Hello mom" Fin greeted, the woman was his mother
"Are you tired?"
His mother asked him
"No I'm not but I'm just lost in something"
He said thinking about the girl with red hair.
He took a breath.
"Is something bugging you? Is it about your novels?" She asked. Fin didn't reply.
"By the way, your dad is coming tomorrow."
She said it casually, and turned to leave the room.
"Oh… okay," Fin replied, exhaling softly.
"I'm going to sleep," he added, already heading toward the stairs.
His mother turned sharply, her brows knitting together in disbelief.
"What?!" Her voice carried both shock and frustration.
"You're not going to eat again?"
Fin paused midway up the stairs, his hand resting on the railing.
"You should take care of your health, Fin!" she continued, her voice rising.
"I know you're twenty-two now, I know you have your own life—but I'm still your mother! You haven't been eating properly for days. No lunch, no dinner… nothing!"
Her words echoed in the hallway, heavy with worry.
"How long do you think you can treat your body like this?" she demanded.
"You only had breakfast, and that's not enough!"
For a moment, there was silence.
"I'm not going to eat today. Sorry." His voice was calm—too calm.
And without waiting for a response, he walked up the remaining steps, entered his room, and locked the door behind him.
Downstairs, his mother stood frozen.
"Tell me what's bothering you, Fin…" She whispered, her voice breaking now, no longer loud but fragile.
Tears welled up in her eyes.
"I guess… I'm not a good mother…"
Her words dissolved into quiet sobs.
Inside the dim room, darkness embraced everything.
The only light came from the window, where the pale glow of the moon spilled softly across the floor.
The room itself told stories—frames hung neatly, holding frozen moments of a happier time.
Photographs of a smiling child.
Pictures of Fin with his mother.
And one family portrait—his mother, himself, and a man with a small moustache and glasses. His father.
Fin sat on the floor, his back resting against the door, staring into nothing.
After a moment, he stood and walked to his desk.
Scattered across it were sketches—faces, characters, fragments of imagination.
His fingers brushed over them absentmindedly as he let out a quiet sigh.
"Why weren't you eating for several days?" The man asked.
Fin chuckled faintly, though there was no humor in it.
"Because I didn't want to."
"I don't even remember exactly what I was going through back then…" he continued, his voice softer now.
"But I know one thing—I didn't want to live."
A small, bittersweet smile appeared on his lips.
"…and yet, I didn't have the courage to die either."
The room felt heavier with those words.
"I guess everyone goes through something like that at some point," he added quietly.
"A time when your heart just feels… too heavy."
Silence followed.
Back to the past.
He pulled out a notebook from his bag and opened it. With a pencil in hand, he began to draw.
Slowly, carefully, lines formed into something familiar—a girl.
The same girl he had seen that evening.
Her features came to life under his hand, and when he finished, he stared at the sketch for a long moment, as if trying to memorize her all over again.
Then he flipped to another section of the notebook.
On the first page, written neatly, was a title:
A World of Pain — Chapter 21
Only five pages had been filled.
Without hesitation, Fin began writing.
Words flowed from him as if they had been waiting all along—sentences forming, thoughts spilling onto paper.
One page turned into another, and another…
Until he reached the fifteenth.
Finally, he stopped.
Reaching for his phone, he checked the time.
12:56 AM
19/09/2021
His eyes drifted back to the drawing—the girl with red hair.
"Should I go to that place tomorrow?" he murmured to himself.
He hesitated.
Then, a quiet resolve settled in.
"I guess I should… What if I see her again… maybe."
He leaned back slightly, his gaze shifting toward the night sky beyond the window, where the moon hung silently, watching.
"And did you go to that place?" The man asked in the present.
This time, Fin smiled—genuinely.
"Obviously."
A brief pause.
"That day… I got my first glimpse of her."
To be continued…