Luna's POV
When I saw Antonio's message, I froze.
My fingers hovered above the screen, trembling slightly as I reread the text over and over. It's about Selene. Her name hit me like a gust of wind, sudden and stirring, punching the breath from my chest. Memories surged—her laughter echoing in crowded hallways, shared whispers tucked into the corners of empty classrooms, the nights we'd fall asleep on call dreaming of the future. We were soul-tied—until time, distance, and silence unraveled what once felt unbreakable.
Now here he was—Antonio. The boy who once lived in the soft lilt of her voice when she talked about him, the boy who made her blush like sunset spilling across her cheeks. I didn't know whether to feel relief, or something darker—guilt, regret, longing. Why was he reaching out now? Was she okay? Did she even remember me?
I sat for a full minute before typing.
> "Hey… I didn't expect this. Is everything alright? What about Selene?"
When I hit send, a wave of emotion crashed over me—nostalgia tangled with guilt. I should've never let her drift away. I should've answered the last time she messaged. Maybe this was my chance to fix what fell through the cracks. Maybe fate was offering me one more thread to hold onto.
I opened our old chat thread, dusty with silence. The last message she ever sent was still there, untouched by time: "Promise me we'll always be there for each other, no matter what?"
Tears blurred the screen. My throat tightened.
Antonio's POV
The moment Luna's reply buzzed on my phone, I paused everything else. My fingers hovered, reading the message again.
> "Hey… I didn't expect this. Is everything alright? What about Selene?"
Selene.
The name rang differently in my head now. It belonged to someone who once smiled through pain, who once loved without limits, who now walks as Atasha, her reborn self—stronger, distant, guarded.
I stared at the screen, thinking how to reply. Luna didn't know about the change. She didn't know Selene had left her old identity behind like a shed skin, trying to rebuild from broken pieces. But I knew—deep down—she still longed for the people she once held close.
And Luna? She was one of them.
I typed slowly, carefully.
> "She goes by Atasha now. A lot has changed. She's... different, but the same at heart. I'm planning something. Her birthday is on 6th July, just a few days away. I want to surprise her. I want you to be there."
I paused.
> "She misses you, even if she doesn't say it. I can see it in her eyes when she talks about the past—or avoids it. If you're willing, I want you to meet her that day. No pressure. But it might mean the world to her."
I hit send.
And just sat there for a while, picturing it—Selene's face lighting up at the sight of Luna walking through the door, a burst of her old world returning to collide with her new one. Maybe, just maybe, this would be the healing she never asked for but always needed.