I almost kept walking. It would have been easier. Safer.
“Yeah,” I said, walking over. I didn’t sit next to her—that felt too forward. Instead, I leaned against the railing a few feet away. “I like the quiet after school. Less… pressure.” meeting komi after school
In class, Komi is a myth carved from glass. Everyone stares. Everyone whispers. Her silence is treated like a riddle to be solved or a wall to be admired. But here, in the 4:00 p.m. light, with her dark hair catching a breeze no one else could feel, she looked less like an untouchable goddess and more like a girl who forgot her umbrella on a cloudy day. I almost kept walking
“Do you want to walk to the station together?” “Yeah,” I said, walking over
“Hey,” I said. Stupid. Perfect.
Those enormous eyes found mine—not startled, not welcoming. Just observing . Like she was reading a sentence in a book and wasn’t sure yet if she liked the author.
It felt like a conversation we were both finally ready to have.