Since that day, Alya became a more frequent presence in my life.
We had lunch together. Sometimes we went home together. Sometimes we just sat in silence, enjoying the evening.
There was a comfort I couldn't explain whenever I was with her. Alya never pressured me to talk. She simply listened.
One afternoon, we sat in the city park.
“Have you ever loved someone?” she asked.
I gave a faint smile.
“I have.”
“Do you still love her?”
I fell silent.
“I don't know.”
Alya looked at me.
“If someone still makes you hesitate, then they haven't truly left.”
I lowered my head.
Naya.
Her name surfaced in my mind again.
Two years ago, I had loved a woman named Naya. Our relationship ended without any clear explanation. She simply left after telling me that I had to move on with my life.
I tried to do that.
Then Alya came into my life.
And little by little, I began to feel that maybe life really was giving me a second chance.
But Nadine's presence made everything complicated.
Nadine was Alya's coworker. She was quiet and cold, yet she always paid attention to me in a strange way.
One night, while Alya went to buy drinks, Nadine approached me.
“Are you Raka?”
“Yes.”
“Did you ever know someone named Naya?”
I fell silent.
“Why do you ask?”
Nadine didn't answer. She simply stared at me for a long time.
“There’s something you need to know.”
“What?”
“Later.”
Before I could ask anything else, Alya returned. Nadine left immediately.
I watched her walk away.
That woman was hiding something. And I was beginning to fear that it had something to do with my past.
That night, Alya walked me to my front door. Before she left, she said,
“Raka, don't think too much about the past.”
“I’m not thinking about it.”
“You’re lying.”
I smiled.
Alya stepped closer.
“If one day you have to choose between someone you love and someone who loves you, choose the person who lets you be yourself.”
After saying that, she left.
I stood outside my house for a long time.
Unaware that, from a distance, someone was watching me.
Nadine.