Naya stretched out on her bed, gazing at the keychain bearing a portrait of the eyes of someone who used to be by her side.
"Nay, come on, hurry up and get ready. We're going to be late..." Naya's mother called from the kitchen.
Reluctantly, Naya applied a little makeup and put on a knee-length maroon dress that matched the cute flats she wore. Naya looked absolutely beautiful.
When they arrived at the restaurant where Naya and her family were meeting Naya's prospective fiancé, they hurried inside.
"Hello, I'm Arya. You must be Kanaya, right?" asked a handsome man with the sleeves of his shirt rolled up to his elbows.
Naya held out her hand and returned Arya's greeting. "Hello... Naya."
After the two families had talked and eaten dinner, Naya's mother asked her to step outside with Arya for a while, just to buy coffee or a snack so they could get to know each other better.
Actually, before this meeting, Naya had already stalked Arya through his social media accounts. So far, she thought Arya seemed like a good man.
Arya opened the car door for Naya, then drove them somewhere. There was no conversation during the trip, only silence between two people lost in their own thoughts.
When they arrived at a café, Naya looked around, and a tear accidentally slipped down her cheek. The place was so familiar, somewhere she used to visit so often.
"Hey, Nay... why are you crying? Did I do something wrong? Or do you not like this place?" Arya asked, confused.
Naya wiped away her tears. "Why did you bring me here?"
"I like the smoothies here. You should try one. But if you don't like the place, that's okay—we can find somewhere else," Arya said.
"No, it's okay. We can just have our drinks here," Naya said.
"What do you want to order?" Arya asked.
"A butterscotch sea-salt latte and a double-cheese mix platter," Naya replied.
"You come here often, huh? You know the menu by heart without even looking at it," Arya said.
"Yeah, I used to come here pretty often."
Lana watched Naya from the corner of the room, hiding behind her laptop as she murmured, *Nay, is that really you? You look so beautiful, Nay. But do you belong to someone else now?*
Lana continued watching Naya and Arya in silence. She was terrified that Naya might look in her direction. She was afraid she wouldn't be strong enough to hear Naya say she was with her boyfriend, even though that was only an assumption Lana had made in her own head.
Naya swept her gaze around because she felt as though she was being watched. Then, by accident, her eyes met a pair of eyes she had missed more than anything...
Flashback: ON
Lana pulled Naya closer, worried that she might get splashed by the rain. Yes, the two high school girls were taking shelter in an old building that had now been turned into a café.
"Nay... I'm sorry. You got caught in the rain because you came home with me," Lana said.
Naya laughed. "Haha, what are you apologizing for? It's okay to get caught in the rain like this. It's fun, you know..."
"Nay, I promise, once I graduate, I'm going to make lots of money so I can buy a car. Then you won't get rained on like this whenever you're out with me," Lana said.
"Thanks..." Naya said sincerely, smiling.
Lana took off her jacket and helped dry Naya's hair as best she could.
The water from the street slowly began to rise toward their shelter. Lana lifted Naya slightly so she could sit on a fairly high table, keeping her shoes from getting wet as the floodwater rose.
Naya was startled and stunned by Lana's actions. "Na, don't go... don't leave me alone. I'm so happy when you show me little acts of care like this. It makes me feel like I really mean that much to someone..." Naya said as she tidied Lana's hair.
Lana smiled...