Baskadia

"YOUR NIGHT"

"Night brings her soft light,

Dawn unveils her blinding might.

Mysterious and fleeting,

She leaves us all wondering and dreaming."

"The love that began in the darkness of night, with the moon as our witness, and ended with the first light of dawn,"

As a 10-year-old boy, life seemed like a routine: Wake up, eat, go to school, eat again, come back. But for me and my gang of eight - five boys and three girls - life was different. We were small but acted like adults, throwing parties and celebrating life in our own little ways.

Today, however, was more special than any other day. It was my birthday! And even the sun seemed to be smiling at me as I walked into class. My classmates wished me so kindly, but what surprised me most was when one of the girls, Phoenix, gave me a pastry and a pack of pens as a gift. It was the first friend that had ever given me a present, and I felt both shocked and elated.

I came to treat my gang, including Phoenix, to a nice meal after school, and we cut a small cake near a restaurant close to our school. As we enjoyed ourselves, I noticed Phoenix trying to feed me a slice of cake with her own hands. But for some reason, I felt reluctant but I regretted it later on.

Our group was made up of the most unique individuals, including Phoenix, the most beautiful girl in our class. Bonita, who was the top 1 talented student in our classroom. Nuriyah was my best friend from the girl's side, while Pluto was my best friend from the boys' side. Nero, who was strong but always treated me like a child. Alexander was the most talented person in our class after Bonita, and Niko, though fat like a potato, but could do anything for his friends.

But things took an unexpected turn when Phoenix invited me for tiffin during break time. I declined the invitation, and she went alone. But when I went to close her diary, I saw that all the pages were about me. I couldn't shake off the feeling that she had a crush on me, especially after giving me a present on my birthday. However, my heart was already taken by someone else - Bonita.

Little did I know that Bonita already had a crush on Nero, and Nero had a crush on Phoenix. It seemed that our group was on the big circle full of surprises and secrets that we didn't know yet.

At school, everyone teased me about being in a relationship with Phoenix. While I didn't dislike her, I was waiting for someone else and didn't want to lead her on. I realized later that I was wrong to wait for someone else when Phoenix was willing to do anything for me. Time changes people, and my feelings changed too. After our third term vacation, Phoenix asked me out, but I couldn't accept. It wasn't until later that I realized she had a crush on my friend Nero, which was the real reason I turned her down. But Phoenix wasn't wrong for liking me or disliking me; I just didn't understand my own feelings at the time.

As Bonita and I grew closer, I wanted to savor the moment, not rush things. But then I heard from Phoenix's friend that she was going to ask out Nero, why but i didn't like that. I felt like an idiot for not realizing my own feelings sooner. Our group was falling apart as the final term came to a close. The only friend I had left was Pluto, who supported me but also wondered why I hadn't accepted Phoenix's proposal in the first place. I missed those days with my friends; now they were just memories.

When the vacation ended and I returned to school, I found that most of the benches were empty. Phoenix had left, why but Nero didn't accepted her proposal. Bonita and I were growing closer, but it still felt like we had to cross a hurdle to be together. With Nuriyah, Phoenix, and Niko gone, it was just us.

"It takes no time to become void,"

Years later, I was out shopping with my mother when we went to her friend's shop. I had a sense of deja-vu because I had seen Phoenix there eight months earlier. I hoped I would see her again, but fate had other plans.

Phoenix;

she had written in her diary about her childhood crush on a boy named Steven. But he liked someone else, so she tried to move on by asking out Nero just to forget him. On the last day of fifth grade, they didn't even talk, the group that once was had fallen apart. Phoenix was excited to start sixth grade with a new version of herself, but her parents' bad relationship forced them to move away with her new second stepfather. Her mother didn't realize how much trauma this caused her daughter, but Phoenix wear on a smile for her mother's sake.

Steven: After three years had passed, my mother and I visited her friend's shop again. I had a feeling that I might see her there.

Phoenix: We returned to our hometown and on the same day, we went out to look for a room for our shop. We decided to go back to our old shop where we had a small restaurant. When we arrived, I felt that he might be there, but my mother kept calling me, and I couldn't see him.

Steven: The air was tense as my mother and her friend talked about the bus accident that had just occurred, their words punctuated by worried sighs and concerned glances just like always.

Steven: I had a gut feeling that I would see her, but it didn't happen. I still don't know why I felt that way, but I had a sense that she was somewhere close to me.

Phoenix: While my mother talked to an auntie about finding a room for our shop, I looked outside and went to the place where I felt he might be.

Steven: My mother's friend suggested that we eat something, but I wasn't interested. However, my mother's friend insisted that we try the restaurant, so we went and ate dumplings.

Phoenix: "When I arrived at the shop, he wasn't there. But as I looked around,"the memories of past encounters filled my mind, I couldn't help but feel a sense of longing. Even though he wasn't actually there, the nostalgia was overwhelming, and it was as if i could see him and his mother again, just like i had so many years ago."

Steven: After our meal, we decided to head back, but there was a large crowd outside.

Phoenix: Suddenly, while we were walking, I saw him just a few feet away from me, but the crowd was too noisy for him to hear me. I called him several times, but he didn't respond. I went to the restroom, and when I came back,

Steven: My mom was concerned about the bus accident that had happened in our city just before, so we decided to check it out. Shockingly, my mother received a call that her sister was involved in the accident. We rushed to the hospital.

Steven: "As my mom and I were making our way to the hospital to visit her sister, I suddenly stumbled and crashed into a box. My heart raced as I watched it slip from my grasp, but to my surprise, the box opened up on its own.

Phoenix: I collided with someone and couldn't see who it was because of the crowd. But to my surprise, I saw him again amidst the chaos. My mother told me to wait for her as she went to the restroom, but I followed him as fast as I could, calling his name repeatedly, but he couldn't hear me due to the noise. We reached the hospital, and I was closer to him. I was nervous about what to say when we met again. Would he be surprised to see me again? Suddenly, he crashed into someone's box.

Steven: I tried to stop the box from slipping away, but it opened and I saw a body inside. To my horror, it was Phoenix's body. I didn't know she was in the accident.

"My best friend Pluto left the school, and I was all alone. Everyone thought that Bonita and I were in a relationship, but we weren't. The creepiest thing was that we both knew we liked each other, but we couldn't say it out loud. But Our eyes communicated what our hearts wanted to say without words."

Phoenix: "Previously," I went to wash my hands and saw that my reflection wasn't in the mirror. Suddenly, I remembered the bus accident. That was my saddest day.

"She was scared that he would see her body, but when she was about to touch him, he saw her body and she suddenly vanished in a different place. The surroundings were black, and everything she did was just her imagination. Her mother was there too, but it was only in her mind. At the end, the world gave her one chance to see him again, and she did."

Steven: "He was just crying and crying."

Phoenix: She was able to see him again, but her mother didn't allow her to.

"After 6 hours"

Steven;

"When I slept with tears, a vivid dream transported me to a pitch-black abyss where I searched desperately for an elusive figure.

Phoenix:

"As I stumbled through the dark, I suddenly collided with someone. At first, everything seemed pitch black, but as I stood up, a strange sensation began to emanate from my feet. It was as if the light was slowly breaking through the darkness, illuminating my path. As I turned around, I saw the fimilar person I had collided with just moments ago. He stood there, looking at something with a mixture of shock and amazement, as the light continued to spread around us.

Steven:

As I wandered aimlessly, the darkness became suffocating until I accidentally bumped into someone, and suddenly the entire space illuminated with a blinding radiance."

Phoenix;

"As I watched it was Steven coming closer, the light from the shining place gradually intensified, creating an otherworldly aura around him. I was breathless at the sight of him, even though we were only in a dream. His warm, comforting presence was all I needed to feel at peace."

"As our eyes met, we both stared at each other in shock, a sense of nervousness washing over us. She looked down, blushing and avoiding eye contact, unable to say a word. It was a moment frozen in time, as we stood there in silence, each lost in our own thoughts and emotions."

Phoenix:

I just couldn't spill out any words but he did.

Steven:

"Why did you leave me in the place where I started to like you? You know that I'm a picky boy... I can't live without you... Why..." His voice was filled with anguish, the pain of his loss palpable.

Phoenix:

"No, I know you already love someone else... Even if you see me in your eyes, your heart doesn't want me... Follow your heart, not the thing that you saw... Not everything you saw is right... Well, I come in your night and die in your dawn, but she will always be there for you... She is good for you." Her voice was barely above a whisper, filled with heartache and resignation.

"The kind of night that I prayed would never end, a dream that I wished would never be finished. The kind of night where everything felt just right, where time seemed to stand still, and the worries of the world faded away into the darkness."

Steven:

"No... Take me with you to your place... Make me free from this world, even if your world is dark. Let's break the darkness together." His voice was desperate, pleading.

Phoenix:

"Don't make that mistake... In your life... The world you are living in is more free than mine... Don't you know? Mother's land is more beautiful than heaven..." Her voice was filled with a mixture of sorrow and regret.

"And from that day, their love blossomed under the cover of night and ended as the first light of dawn began to break through the darkness. Despite this, Phoenix always encouraged Steven to start his own life and to stop living aimlessly."

"The most beautiful things can emerge from the darkest of places."

"Phoenix and Steven's love continued to flourish in the quiet moments of the night, but Phoenix knew that it couldn't last forever. She wanted Steven to find fulfillment in his own life, beyond their fleeting moments of passion."

"But no matter how hard she tried to convince him, Steven couldn't shake his love for Phoenix. They continued to meet under the stars, lost in each other's embrace, as the world around them faded into the background."

Phoenix:

"Our love blossoms in the glow of twilight, as the sun sets and the moon takes its place. Like a fleeting dream, our bond thrives in the shadows, but when the moon fades, so does our passionate love."

"And so, as the first rays of light began to peek over the horizon, they would part ways, knowing that they would meet again under the veil of night. Though their love was never meant to be, they couldn't help but cling to each other, hoping against hope that they could somehow make it work."

"Night brings her soft light,

Dawn unveils her blinding might.

Mysterious and fleeting,

She leaves us all wondering and dreaming."

Phoenix:

"Look, today the moon is on my side," she said, a gentle smile on her face. "You can't say NO to me now. Please, go and make a new life for yourself."

Steven:

But look, the rays of the moon are shining down on me," he replied, his voice filled with longing. "Promise me that you'll never leave me and that you'll always find a way to come to me, no matter where you are."

"The girl looked at him with a mix of sadness and understanding. She knew that their love was never meant to last, but she couldn't bear to break his heart any further. So she simply nodded and took his hand, holding it tight as they gazed up at the moon together."

"I promise,"

Steven;

"Every night, she would appear in my dreams, illuminating the darkest corners of my subconscious with her radiant glow. But as I began pursuing my childhood crush Bonita, Phoenix stopped visiting my dreams. It was as if she knew I didn't need her anymore."

"When Bonita and I started dating, she banished from my nightmares, and I was grateful for that. But even though she never haunted my dreams anymore, I still couldn't forget the promise she made to me. And so, I waited for her, hoping that one day she would return to me in my dreams once more."

[Flashback]

Phoenix;

"Even if I made mistakes, the world would still support me because of my beauty."

"After 18 years;"

"During our dry picnic, Bonita, Pluto, his love and I reminisced about old times. But even in the company of my closest friends, I couldn't shake the feeling of missing Phoenix. Pluto noticed my sorrow and reminded me that everything happens for a reason. 'You have a new life and a new family, so be grateful for what you have,' he said, and his words brought me a small sense of peace."

"While I went to use the restroom, I accidentally collided with a 12-year-old girl. As she looked up at me with confusion, I noticed she bore an uncanny resemblance to Phoenix. 'Do you know who I am?', The girl, named Penelope, seemed bewildered by my question, "I smiled seeing her but probably she was confused seeing me. As she asked"

"Who are you?"

"She had promised me that she would return, but I never imagined she would surprise me like this."

The world had given us another chance to meet." But in another way....

"YOUR NIGHTMARE!"

-THE END!-