Morning arrived slowly, like it was stretching after a long sleep.
Sunlight slipped through the thin curtains of Luna's room and painted soft lines across the floor. The quiet hum of the town waking up drifted through the open window. Somewhere outside, a scooter passed. A dog barked once. Then the wind moved through the trees again.
Luna sat on the edge of her bed, tying her hair into a loose ponytail while her camera rested beside her pillow.
She picked it up automatically.
It had become a habit. Camera first, everything else later.
Her mother's voice floated from the kitchen.
"Luna! Breakfast!"
"Coming!" she replied.
She walked into the kitchen with slow morning steps.
Her mother placed toast and a cup of milk in front of her.
"You stayed late at the park again yesterday," her mother said casually.
Luna shrugged and took a bite of toast.
"It's peaceful there."
Her mother gave her the look that said I expected that answer.
"You and that park," she said, shaking her head lightly.
Luna smiled a little but didn't respond.
A few minutes later she grabbed her school bag and camera and headed outside.
The wind followed her down the street.
The school building looked the same as it always did.
Grey walls.
Long hallways.
Too many students moving in every direction.
Luna walked into the classroom just as the bell rang.
She slipped into her usual seat near the window.
The window seat was perfect. It meant she could watch the sky while pretending to pay attention.
Kai dropped into the chair beside her a moment later.
"You survived another morning," he said dramatically.
"Stop this social media stuff" she replied.
Kai leaned forward and pointed at the camera hanging from her neck.
"You brought it again."
"I always bring it." she replied calmly.
"But its maths class!!" he said.
"You never know when a good photo might appear." she said, looking outside the window panes.
Kai looked around the classroom.
"Yeah, the beauty of algebra.....The formulas...everything is soo pictorial!" he said.
Luna laughed quietly.
The classroom slowly filled with students. Chairs scraped against the floor. Bags dropped onto desks. Someone at the back of the room argued about homework.
Then the door opened again.
A boy walked in.
He moved quietly, almost unnoticed by most of the class.
Short dark brown hair. Slightly messy like he had run his hand through it too many times. Calm dark eyes that seemed focused on something far away.
He wore a simple dark jacket over the school uniform.
A sketchbook was tucked under his arm.
Luna recognized him immediately.
It was Ron.
He was in her class, but he rarely talked to anyone.
He walked to his seat near the back and sat down without saying a word.
Kai leaned closer to Luna and whispered,
"There goes the silent artist."
Luna blinked.
"Silent artist?"
"You didn't know?" Kai said. "He draws all the time. I saw his sketchbook once."
Luna glanced back quickly.
Ron had already opened his notebook. His pencil moved across the page in smooth, quiet strokes.
He looked completely focused.
Like the classroom didn't exist.
"See?" Kai said quietly. "He lives in another world."
Luna looked away quickly.
For some reason her face felt a little warm.
Math class passed slowly.
Very slowly.
Numbers appeared on the board. The teacher explained something about equations. Most of the class tried not to fall asleep.
"Look luna, What a pictorial Trignometry question!" Kai whispered to her quietly.
Luna stared out the window for a while.
Clouds moved lazily across the sky.
The wind rustled the tree branches outside.
She picked up her pencil and started drawing small shapes in the corner of her notebook.
Without realizing it, she drew a bench.
Kai noticed immediately.
"You are drawing it again," he whispered.
"I'm not."
"You literally are!" he said
She closed the notebook quickly.
Kai smirked.
"You are obsessed with that bench."
"I am not obsessed!" she said quietly.
"You have thirty-two photos of it." he whispered.
"Thirty-three now." she whispered again.
Kai stared at her.
"You counted again."
"I SAID I HAVE 33 NOW!!!!" she shouted so loud that whole class began to stare her.
The bell rang after sometimes.
Students stood up and began leaving the classroom.
Luna grabbed her bag and stood as well.
At the same moment Ron stood up from the back row.
They both stepped into the narrow aisle at the same time.
And bumped into each other.
Not hard.
Just enough to make Luna stumble slightly.
"Oh-sorry!" she said quickly.
Ron caught his sketchbook before it fell.
"It's okay," he replied quietly.
For a second they both just stood there awkwardly.
Luna noticed something.
His eyes were very calm.
Not cold.
Just quiet.
He looked at her like he was trying to remember something.
Then he nodded once and stepped aside.
Luna felt her face warming again.
"Thanks," she muttered before quickly walking out of the classroom.
Kai appeared beside her in the hallway two seconds later.
"WOW!!"
"What?"
"That was awkward! isn't it!" he said while being excited.
"It was not." she replied.
"You almost crashed into him like a romcom anime scene!" he exclaimed with joy.
Luna groaned.
"Please stop."
Kai laughed.
"Did you see his sketchbook?"
"No." she replied.
"I did. He was drawing something during class." Kai said.
"Looked like trees or something."
Luna didn't answer.
But the image of Ron quietly drawing in the back of the classroom stayed in her mind.
The school day passed quickly after that.
Classes ended.
Students left.
The sky outside slowly turned darker.
But Luna didn't go home.
Not yet.
She had extra math classes today.
The tutoring building was on the other side of town.
Two hours later, when the class finally ended, the sky had already turned deep blue.
Streetlights glowed softly along the road.
Most students hurried home.
Luna walked slowly instead.
Her camera hung against her chest as she passed the quiet shops.
The wind moved through the empty streets.
It was colder now.
When she reached the park, she paused.
The park looked completely different at night.
The paths were dimly lit by yellow streetlights.
Benches were empty.
The tea stall was closed.
Luna stepped inside anyway.
Her shoes crunched softly on the gravel path.
She didn't know why she came here again.
Maybe habit.
Maybe curiosity.
Maybe the wind.
She walked toward the middle of the park.
Toward the bench.
And then she stopped.
The bench was glowing.
Not brightly.
Just a soft white light.
At first Luna thought it was a reflection from a streetlight.
But the nearest streetlight was far away.
The glow was coming from the wood itself.
Her heart beat faster.
"What…?" she whispered.
The wind suddenly moved through the park.
White petals lifted into the air.
Luna stared.
There were no white flower trees nearby.
Yet the petals were everywhere.
They circled slowly around the bench.
The glow grew stronger.
The wood of the bench seemed to shimmer slightly.
Luna took a step closer.
The air felt different.
Like standing near electricity before a storm.
Her camera hung forgotten at her side.
The wind grew louder.
The petals began spinning faster.
Then something impossible happened.
The space behind the bench flickered.
For a split second Luna saw something through it.
Not the park.
Something else.
A sky full of floating islands.
A deep glowing blue horizon.
Ruins standing on distant cliffs.
Then the image disappeared.
The bench returned to normal.
The petals fell gently to the ground.
The wind stopped.
Luna stood completely still.
Her heart was racing.
Her hands trembled slightly.
"Okay," she whispered to herself.
"That definitely just happened."
The park was silent again.
No glow.
No petals.
Just the quiet night.
But Luna knew something now.
The bench was not normal.
Not even close.
And somewhere beyond it, hidden behind the quiet wind of this small park,
another world had just shown itself.
TO BE CONTINUED IN CHAPTER 3.