Chapter 1: The Encounter

The night was a vivid blur of light, music, and voices as Ella stood by the balcony of the rooftop party, the city skyline stretching endlessly beyond her. She barely heard the conversations buzzing around her; her mind was elsewhere, consumed by thoughts she couldn’t quite shake off. She didn’t know why she had come to the party. It wasn’t her scene. She preferred quiet corners of coffee shops, a book in hand, or solitary walks along the beach. Yet here she was, trapped in a whirlwind of energy she didn’t connect with.

Then, it happened.

Ella’s eyes drifted over the crowd, and for a moment, everything around her seemed to freeze. Across the room, standing near the edge of the terrace, someone was looking right at her. His gaze met hers like a silent invitation, a connection that she could feel despite the sea of people separating them. Time slowed as if the universe itself was holding its breath.

She could still remember that moment vividly—the way his eyes locked onto hers, how the noise of the world faded until only they existed. He was a stranger, someone she had never seen before, yet there was something familiar about him. She didn’t understand it, but she felt it. Like a story she had always known but forgotten. Like a fairytale she’d once read, but only now could relive.

Ella wanted to smile, to acknowledge the inexplicable connection that sparked between them, but embarrassment quickly enveloped her. What if he noticed her staring? What if he thought it was silly? She averted her gaze, heat rising to her cheeks, and tried to refocus on the people around her, the casual conversations that suddenly felt meaningless.

But she couldn’t help herself.

Her heart pounded in her chest as curiosity tugged at her. She took a quick glance, hoping he had turned away, hoping he hadn’t noticed her awkward reaction. But no—he was still watching her, still holding her captive in that brief, intense gaze. A small smile tugged at the corners of his lips, a knowing smile, as if he understood something she didn’t yet.

Ella’s breath caught in her throat. She didn’t know him, but something deep inside her recognized this feeling—the fluttering in her stomach, the electricity in the air. It was the kind of connection people wrote songs and poems about. It was the stuff of daydreams and whispered secrets. For a moment, it felt as though Cupid had drawn his bow, his arrow striking true, igniting something magical between two strangers.

She didn’t even know his name.

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Chapter 2: Fading Moments

The rest of the night passed in a haze. Ella tried to focus on the conversations with her friends, tried to keep her attention on the laughter and clinking glasses around her. But her mind kept drifting back to him—back to the way his eyes had looked right into hers, as though he could see past the surface and into her thoughts.

She searched for him throughout the night, hoping for another stolen glance, another moment that could explain what she felt. But as the party wore on, the crowd thickened, and he disappeared into the sea of faces. She kept replaying that first encounter in her mind, over and over again, wishing she had done something—anything—to bridge the distance between them.

By the time the night came to an end, Ella found herself standing once more on the terrace, staring out at the glowing city below. The cool breeze brushed against her skin, but all she could think about was him. She hadn’t seen him again, and the moment they shared felt like it was slipping through her fingers like grains of sand.

How could something so brief feel so significant?

Her friends called to her, urging her to leave, and Ella reluctantly tore her gaze away from the crowd. As she turned to go, she felt an overwhelming sense of loss, as though she had just missed something important. Something irreplaceable.

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Chapter 3: Echoes of a Fairytale

Days passed, but the memory of that night clung to her like a song she couldn’t stop humming. Ella couldn’t forget him, couldn’t shake the strange, dreamlike feeling that had washed over her in that fleeting moment. She went back to her routine—work, coffee shops, and weekend hikes—but there was always a quiet ache in the back of her mind.

What if she had spoken to him? What if she had walked across the terrace and asked his name, or simply smiled in return? Would that have changed everything? Would they have discovered that the connection between them was more than just a spark—a flame waiting to ignite?

It felt like a fairytale that she had woken up from too soon. And in the back of her heart, she wished she could turn back time, go back to that wondrous, magical scene and relive it all over again. The night played on repeat in her mind, the yearning to experience that sense of belonging once more growing stronger with each passing day.

Take me back to that moment, she would think when her mind wandered. Take me back to that night.

But time, as always, moved forward.

Chapter 4: A Chance Meeting

Months had passed, and the memory of that night had begun to fade, becoming more like a dream than something real. Ella tried to move on, convincing herself that it was just a fleeting moment of infatuation, nothing more. Life was too full of responsibilities and expectations to get lost in what-ifs.

But the universe, it seemed, had other plans.

One chilly evening, as she sat in her favorite café, sipping her coffee and flipping through the pages of a book, she felt a strange shift in the air. It was subtle, but it was enough to make her glance up. And there he was.

Sitting at the table across from hers.

Her heart leapt into her throat as recognition flooded through her. It was him—the stranger from the rooftop, the one who had held her gaze with such intensity months ago. He looked just as surprised as she did, his eyes widening as they locked onto hers once more.

This time, Ella didn’t look away.

And this time, he smiled—genuinely, openly—and stood up, walking toward her as if he had been waiting for this moment just as long as she had.

“Hi,” he said, his voice warm and familiar, as though they had known each other for years.

Ella smiled, her heart racing but her voice steady. “Hi.“

It was only two words, but in that moment, they both knew.

This was only the beginning.