Chapter 28: Silence We Never Had Before

It started with a lazy morning and mismatched mugs.

Lena stood barefoot in her kitchen, hair messy, one of Aariz's T-shirts draped over her like a borrowed memory. He leaned against the counter, watching her fumble with the coffee machine.

"You still hate this thing, huh?" he teased gently.

"I hate anything that requires brainpower before 10 a.m."

He smiled and reached over, expertly fixing the loose filter.

"Still got it," he muttered.

Lena narrowed her eyes. "How did you just solve that in three seconds?"

"I had a roommate who threatened to disown me if I ruined his espresso one more time."

She smirked. "Good roommate."

He leaned in, eyes soft. "Terrible friend. But I learned a lot about coffee. And people."

The coffee machine gurgled to life. Lena exhaled.

For the first time in a long time, the morning didn't feel like a rush to survive. It felt like something unfolding.

Late Morning – Rooftop Garden

Aariz brought her to a place she'd never seen—an abandoned rooftop two buildings over from his apartment, now full of potted herbs, uneven wooden chairs, and paper lanterns strung between nails and railings.

"You made this?" Lena asked, eyes wide.

"Part of it," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I started it during lockdown. Needed something to feel alive around me."

She wandered slowly through the little garden, brushing her fingers across lavender, thyme, and the soft petals of half-sleeping marigolds.

"This is beautiful."

"You're the first person I've brought up here."

She looked back at him, surprised.

"Why?"

"Because no one felt… steady enough to share it with."

Lena walked back and stood in front of him.

"Well," she said. "Now you've got a problem."

He raised an eyebrow. "Yeah?"

"You're stuck with me. And I want to plant something."

They both laughed.

Afternoon – A Street Fair

They wandered through the neighborhood fair with plastic cups of lemonade and fried dumplings on paper plates. Lena held up a goofy pair of rainbow sunglasses; Aariz made a face that was half protest, half surrender, before letting her put them on him.

"Stylish," she said, laughing.

"I look like a disco raccoon."

"I've dated worse."

He grinned and bumped her shoulder. "Technically, you only dated me."

"Exactly."

They paused at a booth selling old vinyl records. Aariz picked up one and read the back aloud in a dramatic, fake British accent. Lena nearly snorted lemonade through her nose.

The moment was light.

Simple.

Safe.

And that was the real magic.

Evening – Home Again

They returned to Lena's apartment just as the sun dipped below the buildings. Warm orange light streamed through the windows, casting golden halos on the floor.

Lena changed into a long sweater and curled up on the couch with a bowl of cherries. Aariz took off his shoes and joined her, stretching his legs over the coffee table.

They didn't need music.

They didn't need words.

Just silence, shared.

"You know," she said, fingers idly plucking cherries from the bowl, "I don't remember the last time a day felt like this."

"Like what?"

"Uncomplicated."

He nodded slowly. "We used to chase drama like it meant we were alive."

She smiled. "Now I think peace is the real thrill."

He turned to her. "I don't want to take this for granted, Lena. You letting me back in… I know it's fragile. And I'm not trying to rush it."

"I know," she said. "And I'm not trying to pretend like the past didn't happen. But today felt… honest. That's all I want."

"Then that's what we'll keep doing," he said. "One soft, honest day at a time."

Later That Night – Lena's Journal

*"Love isn't fire and chaos.

It's warm tea in the morning.

Rooftop silence.

A man who fixes your coffee machine without asking.

I don't know where this goes.

But I do know—

I'm not waiting for the storm anymore.

I'm choosing the stillness.

And it's choosing me back."*