Layla entered the small café, her hair disheveled and her heavy bag full of notebooks and pens. She hadn't expected to see anyone at all.
Then she heard a familiar voice.
"Leila?"
Her heart skipped. Peter stood there taller a little older but unmistakably him, her first love
"Peter...I...I didn't expect to see you here ",she said softly.
He smiled "yeah...it been a long time. you've changed... I mean you look different."
Leila mind flashed back to the old days ; childhood laughter, shared secret and afternoons that felt endless. she remembered the small moments that meant so much; climbing trees racing to puddles after the rain and the way Peter would always let her win hide and seek to see her smile.
"You know... I miss those days before everything changed. We lived our lives simply, without expectations or pressure, just pure happiness... before my parents started pushing me towards perfection, saying I that had to be the best. I couldn't be a child and enjoy things."
Peter reached out, lightly brushing a strand of hair from her face "I know Leila u deserved better...but we still have some of those memories."
She nodded, a warmth spreading through her chest. "I just whish we could go back, even for a short time."
Peter gave a small understanding smile. "maybe we can't go back.. but maybe we can make new ones."
Layla looked at him, and for the first time in years, she felt a faint pulse of the spontaneous joy that had marked their childhood. Perhaps, just perhaps, some of that old happiness could still be found.