There is one summer I will never forget.

August, with the lingering heat of summer still clinging to the school.

The art club room on the third floor.

The scent of paint and blank white canvases.
The cool breeze that drifted in through the window from time to time, stirring the sunlight filtering through the leaves.
The endless chorus of cicadas.

Towering summer clouds filled the sky, and every so often, thunder and sudden rain swept in like a tropical downpour.

The school was empty during summer break.

Hidden behind the tall trees surrounding the old building, that little window on the third floor felt like the entrance to my own secret hideaway.

The art club room sat tucked away in a corner of the third floor of the old wooden school building. Hardly anyone ever came there.

And with summer vacation already nearing its end, there was almost no chance anyone would.

I loved those quiet afternoons.

Alone in the club room, with patches of sunlight slipping through the leaves outside, I would close my eyes and quietly drift somewhere between waking and sleep.

Everything I had was in that time.

The shy smile of the person I loved.
The way his eyes looked at me.

His soft black hair moving in the breeze.

His long fingers brushing my hair away from my face.
His large hand gently cradling my cheek.

The soft kisses he gave me as his fingers traced my skin.

“I love you.”

The words would escape his lips on a quiet breath.

That schoolyard where we hid from everyone and kissed again and again, each kiss hotter than the last.

I never even noticed the heat.

I only wanted—
more than anything—
to melt into him.

I wanted nothing but him.

I would have given up anything.

I loved him.

So, so, so much.

He was my entire world.

But—

my forever ended that day.

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