"I love you. Please spend the rest of your life with me. I promise I'll take care of you."
The boy's blue eyes were filled with hope, his black hair swaying under the red evening sun.
The girl's blonde hair fluttered gently, yet her brown eyes did not blink even once. She clutched her books tightly against her chest and glanced around. They were surrounded
classmates, juniors, even a few staff members. Too many eyes. Too many whispers waiting to be born.
She swallowed hard, then smiled.
"I'm sorry," she said softly. "I don't want to be in a relationship right now."
For a moment, the boy didn't move. His smile stayed on his face, stiff and wrong, while his eyes lost their shine. He swallowed, looked at the ground, then back at the crowd, as if he had forgotten how to stand.
Around them, people went quiet. A few exchanged glances, some looked away, and someone laughed under their breath. The silence pressed on him harder than her words, and he felt smaller with every second he stood there.
"But why?" Thomas asked, his voice cracking.
"I have my own problems. Please understand," she replied politely.
"I thought we could be together," Thomas said, his voice rising. "You told me about your problems. We stayed late in the labs. We even slept on the floor. Did all of that mean nothing to you?"
He stepped forward angrily. Murmurs spread through the crowd like wildfire.
"I'm sorry, Thomas," she said, stepping back. "I told you everything as a friend
because I respect you. Staying late was for the project. Please don't misunderstand."
"No. Don't say it like that."
A woman grabbed Thomas from behind.
"It's enough, Thomas. Let's go," she said softly, adjusting her golden glasses.
"Mom, wait!" Thomas struggled. "She'll say yes. She's just confused,right?"
He looked straight into her eyes.
She said nothing.
She bowed her head, avoiding their gaze.
"Hey...say something!" He tried to wrench himself free. "Thomas… calm down," his mother pleaded, holding him tighter.
"Say something, damn it!" he shouted. "Say one word and I can fix your family problems. Why won't you say anything? Say something, bitch!"
He pushed his mother aside and lunged toward her.
Seraphina stepped back in shock,but before Thomas could reach her, two men in black grabbed him and dragged him away.
"Let go! Let go, damn it!" he screamed, thrashing like a fish out of water. "She's about to say yes!"
"I think he's gone mad," someone whispered.
"Poor boy. He even brought his mother and proposed in front of the whole campus," another said.
"Feel bad for him. Guess the girl isn't after money after all," someone muttered.
"No, Seraphina. Please," Thomas begged. "Say something. Don't make me suffer. I love you with all my heart. Please say yes. I'll do anything…"
The body guards struggled to restrain him.
"Thomas..."
A loud slap echoed.
Silence fell.
Thomas's head rang. Faces blurred around him. All he could see were people staring
and Seraphina, who wasn't looking at him at all. She stared at the ground, clutching her left elbow, her hair hiding her face.
The guards shoved Thomas into a car with an angel ornament on the bonnet.
Afterward, his mother walked to Seraphina and gently picked up her fallen books.
"I'm sorry for my son," she said, eyes full. "Please don't mind."
"I know he'll find someone worthy of him. I know it," she added with a polite smile.
That sentence shattered something.
Tears slipped down his mother's cheeks.
As the sun melted into the horizon, Seraphina walked alone toward a café, her bag hanging heavy on her shoulder beneath the streetlights.
She peered inside. Empty.
A woman in a green apron wiped the tables, glancing around impatiently.
Seraphina took a deep breath and pushed
open the glass door. The bell chimed
leaving a bitter taste in her mouth.
"You're late, Seraphina," the woman said without looking up. "The boss is really angry."
"I have..."
"Go change. Clean the tables. Or else..."
She froze.
A presence loomed behind her.
"Or else what?"
The voice was rough. Wrinkled skin. Sharp eyes.
Seraphina stepped back.
"Care to explain why you're late, my little princess?" the woman sneered, walking closer.
"I'm sorry, boss," Seraphina said quickly. "I had urgent work. I'll be on time tomorrow, I swear..."
The woman yanked her ear and dragged her forward.
"You fucking whore," she hissed into her ear. "Did you forget how my money saved your worthless brother's life?"
Seraphina whimpered, clawing at her wrist.
"I'm sorry. Please. I won't..."
"Don't forget your place, bitch. Don't act like a princess."
She twisted Seraphina's ear until it bled, then shoved her away.
After she left, Seraphina's colleague rushed over.
"Change your clothes," she whispered urgently. "If she sees you like this, it'll be worse."
"Nina…" Seraphina murmured. "What did I do wrong? Do I even deserve this?"
Nina hugged her.
"Everything will be alright. Please stay strong."
Behind Seraphina's back, Nina's eyes filled. Tears of helplessness,tears of being unable to save her friend. A burden no one saw, no one felt, hidden from everyone.
The doorbell rang again, breaking the hug. Seraphina rushed to the changing room while Nina wiped her tears and forced a smile onto her face,a mask, a false one, a mask she had slowly learned to wear every day.
Nina welcomed the customer, but the moment she saw them, her lips curled and she bit them hard.
"Good evening, darling. So, how are you?" one boy said, leaning his head closer to Nina.
Nina stepped back. "How can I help you, sir?" She held the small cloth in her hand like a shield.
"Nothing much. Where's my angel?" another man said, sitting with one leg on the freshly cleaned table.
"Hey, don't act like she's yours," the third one said, pushing him lightly.
Seraphina heard their voices, and goosebumps spread over her body. Still, she wore the dress and stepped out of the changing room, her eyes fixed on the floor.
"Hey, Miss Seraphina," one of the three men called out.
"Can you clean this table? It's dirty," he said, pointing at it.
"Yes, sir." She took the wet cloth and went to clean it.
"You look beautiful as ever. Why don't you hang out with us?" the second man said, staring at her.
She moved her hands faster, trying to finish quickly. In her haste, she noticed nothing.
The third man quietly pulled something shiny from his pocket. It glittered under the lights as he slipped it behind Seraphina's skirt with a grin.
Slowly, the empty café filled with customers. Most wore coats, their faces tired, smelling of sweat and exhaustion. Laptops appeared on tables, coffee cups beside them. But the three men paid attention only to Seraphina.
One of them moved to an empty table on their right, while the other two ordered another coffee.
Seraphina brought it. As she served the coffee, the man at the table to the right, watching her from behind, smiled and said,
"I never knew you liked the color pink so much."
Her heart skipped. She moved her left hand behind her skirt and felt it,there was a long slit.
She dropped the coffee on the table and ran toward the changing room.
Heads turned around the café as the three men burst into laughter, coffee spilling and dripping from their table.
Inside, she shut the door and slid down to the floor, crying silently, tasting her own tears.
Nina was serving another table when she noticed. She came over, wiped the spilled coffee first, and cleaned the table.
"I'm sorry, sir. Today's meal is on the house for the disturbance," Nina said, biting her lips.
After serving them for free, she rushed to the changing room and found Seraphina crying.
"Seraphina, why did you run?" Nina closed the door behind her.
Seraphina lifted her tear-soaked face.
"What happened? Why are you crying?" Nina held her gently.
Then her eyes fell on the skirt. "Did they…?"
"Those fucking bastards," Nina said, her face turning red as she stood up.
"Please, Nina, don't do anything," Seraphina said, pulling her skirt closer.
"If you do nothing, they'll torment you even more," Nina said, looking into those watery eyes.
"I don't want to create trouble. If she finds out I'm involved, she'll make everything worse," Seraphina said, wiping her tears.
Nina had no answer.
"Please," Seraphina begged. Her desperate cry stayed trapped inside the room. Outside, everyone continued as if nothing had happened.
The wall clock struck ten as Seraphina boarded the bus. She looked at her reflection in her phone's front camera. Two deep lines marked her face,carved by tears.
She slowly took out her makeup and covered them with a thick layer.
The bus dropped her in a hilly area. Narrow roads ran between tall grass, leading to wooden houses.
She followed one path and stopped in front of a house. Broken windows, peeled wood
no one would guess people still lived there.
She stepped forward to open the door, but it opened first. A small boy hugged her leg tightly.
She felt his hug and bent to return it. Then she saw the patch on his head ,deep, but healed.
That scar pulled her back,to a room, a doctor shouting, "One year."
A soft whisper brought her back. The little boy smiled.
Seraphina smiled too ,deeply, brightly. A smile that comes only when someone feels that every moment might be the last.
She lifted him and went inside. The table was set. Plates filled with food. An old woman, her legs covered in ulcers, placed a bowl of hot soup on the table.
"Welcome home, darling," she said.
The food was rich and warm, bursting with flavor, yet Seraphina barely tasted it. Her gaze lingered instead on the little boy seated beside her, who ate in complete silence, the world seeming to pass him by unheard and unanswered. When he noticed her watching, he looked up and, without a word, lifted his spoon toward her. Half of it slipped and scattered across the table, but he only smiled, unbothered.
That nearly empty spoon weighed more on her heart than any feast she had known
somehow fuller than all the meals she had eaten in her life.
Soon the bowls were empty, but one hot plate remained untouched.
The boy picked up the dishes. The woman moved toward the basin.
"Mom, let me help you," Seraphina said, stepping forward.
"Please rest," her mother replied with a smile,but Seraphina saw through the mask.
The boy tugged her skirt and pointed toward the stairs.
Seraphina stood still, her eyes shifting between the stairs and her mother's wounded feet.
She moved toward the hall and stopped before an old photograph on the wall.
Her makeup washed away as tears soaked the floor.
"Father, what should I do? Please help me. I can't find a way. Please…"
She wiped her face, but her clothes were already wet.
She heard wood creaking. Lowering her head, she ran up the stairs without looking back.
She lay on the bed, tears soaking the blanket. Her body gave up. Near midnight, she felt her muscles relax.
It woke her.
Her little brother was lying on her back, smiling.
She turned and pulled him close. Laughter filled the room.
The laughter faded slowly as morning light touched the grass outside.
Seraphina dressed quietly. As she grabbed her bag, she looked at her brother sleeping peacefully.
His lips parted softly. She covered him, trying to shield him from the cruel world, afraid he might be taken from her.
Footsteps echoed on the stairs. "Mom, I'm leaving."
Her mother wasn't in the dining room, but a hot breakfast waited on the table.
She swallowed hard. Time didn't allow her to sit.
She grabbed the bread and omelet, still hot, and ate as she walked to the bus stop.
The bus arrived as always. She climbed in and found all seats taken.
She stood as the bus began to move.
The village slowly faded from view. Seraphina whispered, "I hope today goes well. Please…"
The classroom was still noisy, but Seraphina acted as if she didn't care.
She took her seat by the window, though her eyes kept drifting toward the door.
The teacher entered. The door closed. The lesson began.
She listened, pen resting on her notebook, her head turning again and again between the board and the door.
Far from the classroom, in the village, a black car stopped in front of Seraphina's house. Two more followed.
"Knock… knock…"
Her mother turned around.
"Who is it?" She closed the tap and wiped her hands.
She walked toward the door with difficulty, her steps uneven.
She opened it.
It was Thomas.