On the other side, Pearl had also reached home.
The moment she stepped inside, the comforting smell of home wrapped around her.
Her mother stood in the kitchen and welcomed her with a bright smile.
“You’re back, dear.”
Pearl smiled warmly and took off her shoes.
“Yes, Mom.”
On the couch nearby, her elder brother Mathew sat with a blanket around him, making a face while drinking his hot soup.
Pearl laughed.
“You look miserable.”
Mathew glared at her.
“And you look too happy for someone who just survived her first day.”
Their mother chuckled.
“Come here and tell us, how was your first day?”
Pearl’s eyes lit up immediately.
Like a child waiting to tell a story, she sat beside them and began talking.
She told them everything.
About the school being much bigger than her previous one.
About the long hallways and wide gardens.
About the teachers—how some were warm and supportive, while some looked so strict that she was already scared of them.
Mathew laughed at that.
“And?” her mother asked with a smile.
Pearl smiled brightly.
“I made my first friend.”
“Oh?” Mathew raised an eyebrow.
“That was fast.”
“Her name is Mia,” Pearl said happily.
“She’s cheerful and kind.
She showed me around the school and made me feel less nervous.”
Her mother smiled, relieved.
“That’s good.”
Pearl kept talking, her excitement spilling into every word, her eyes shining as she described her day.
Her mother watched her quietly.
Pearl had always been like this—bright, trusting, full of life.
And beautiful.
Too beautiful.
Too innocent.
Her mother knew her daughter’s heart better than anyone.
Pearl believed in people too easily.
She trusted too quickly.
And that scared her.
Because the world was not always as kind as Pearl believed it to be.
She never wanted her precious daughter’s heart to be hurt.
Not even once.
Mathew noticed the change in his mother’s face.
He understood immediately.
Without saying much, he gently held her hand.
“I’ll always be there for her,” he said quietly.
“No one will ever hurt my little sister while I’m around.”
Their mother looked at him, her eyes softening.
A small smile appeared on her lips.
She felt at peace knowing how deeply Mathew cared for Pearl.
Just then, Pearl came running back downstairs after changing her clothes.
“Lunch?” she asked excitedly.
Her mother laughed.
“Yes, come.”
The three of them sat together at the table.
Pearl glanced at Mathew’s bowl of plain soup and grinned.
“Aww… poor you.
While I get all the tasty dishes.”
Mathew narrowed his eyes.
“You’re enjoying this too much.”
Pearl giggled.
“Maybe.”
The house filled with laughter.
By evening, Pearl finished her homework and sat by the window, watching the sunset paint the sky in shades of orange and pink.
Soon, the front door opened.
Her father had returned from the their flower shop.
And just like every day—
he carried fresh flowers in his hand for her mother.
It was his habit.
A small thing.
Yet one that never changed.
Pearl watched as her mother smiled shyly while taking them, and her father smiled back like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Even after all these years, they still looked at each other with so much love.
As if being apart was never an option.
Pearl smiled softly.
She had grown up seeing this kind of love.
A love that was gentle.
Constant.
Endless.
And every time she saw it, she wondered
How does it feel… to be loved like that?
To be cherished by someone so deeply that they never want to leave your side?
To be someone’s whole world?
Her eyes softened.
Would someone ever love her like that?
Would someone hold her heart carefully, like it was the most precious thing they had?
Or was that kind of love only meant for stories?
Pearl was so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t hear her family calling her for dinner.
“Pearl!”
She blinked and looked up.
Her mother laughed.
“Where are you lost?”
Pearl smiled awkwardly.
“Nowhere.”
She joined them for dinner, but the thought stayed with her.
That quiet longing.
That unseen dream.
Later that night, Pearl lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling while the moonlight slipped softly through her curtains.
The house had grown quiet.
Everyone was asleep.
But her mind was still awake.
Fragments of the day replayed in her thoughts—her new school, Mia’s laughter, the long hallways… and then—
that name.
Leo.
Pearl blinked softly.
For some reason, his name kept returning to her mind.
She had not even seen his face properly.
Only heard people talk about him all day.
How talented he was.
How admired he was.
How girls couldn’t stop talking about him.
A small smile touched her lips.
“Leo…” she whispered softly into the silence.
Even his name sounded strange yet beautiful.
She turned to her side, hugging her pillow gently.
And then a thought crossed her heart.
Would it ever be possible?
For someone like him—someone so popular, so admired, someone who seemed so far away—
to ever notice someone simple like her?
Pearl smiled faintly at her own thoughts.
It sounded silly.
Like one of those fairytale stories she loved so much.
The popular boy.
The ordinary girl.
And somehow, love finding its way between them.
She closed her eyes.
“No…” she whispered to herself.
“That only happens in stories.”
Yet deep in her heart—
a small part of her still wished it could be real.
And with Leo’s name resting quietly in her thoughts, Pearl slowly drifted into sleep.