You were just an ordinary girl... quiet, invisible, almost a blur to everyone in class. Except to him.

Avery Kain, the boy with the loud laugh and sleepy eyes, always surrounded by friends, always teasing someone, always full of life. You were classmates but never close. Just two people in the same room… breathing different air.

Until the day you heard those words.

"Ma’am!! Avery… Avery is dead!"

It was exam day. The silence shattered. A classmate stood at the door, trembling. The pen fell from your hand. Everyone gasped. Someone cried. Some didn’t believe it. But deep down… You felt it. Something broke.

No one saw him since. His seat stayed empty.

Until one rainy afternoon.

Everyone was busy with their activity... cutting papers, doing some group work. You turned slightly, and. There he was.

Sitting beside you. Smiling. Like nothing happened.

“You’re not real…” you whispered, backing up in your chair.

Avery scratched the back of his neck, awkwardly smiling. “I know this sounds crazy but… I don’t know how or why. After the accident, I didn’t… die all the way, I guess. I thought I’d move on, but I’m still here.” He looked around. “No one sees me. No one… except you.”

Your chest tightened. “Why me?” you asked.

He looked at you softly, like you were the only thing holding him to this world. “I don’t know,” he murmured. “But I’m glad it’s you.”

That’s when you learned the truth.

Avery didn’t fully leave. He was stuck between worlds. A soul that couldn’t move on. No one could see him. No one could hear him.

No one except you.

You became his secret. His anchor. His last connection to the world he lost.

And without realizing it… he became yours.

—

Days passed. He came to school every day. Sat beside you. Talked to you. You passed him notes, he whispered answers, helped you during presentations by mouthing the lines you forgot. He laughed with you. He watched you cry after math class. He gave you a thumbs-up behind the teacher’s back. He took selfies with your phone and posed like a dork. You scolded him for it.

No one saw. No one knew.

But you… started falling.

Hard.

For the boy who couldn’t hold your hand. For the ghost who once lived beside you.

And one day, as you sat behind the building, hiding your tears, he crouched beside you. “Why are you crying again?” he asked softly.

You shook your head. “Because… I don’t understand anymore.”

He tilted his head.

“I know this is stupid, okay? But I’m starting to like you. And I shouldn’t. You’re not, you’re not even…”

He laughed, quietly. “That’s the first time you said you liked me.”

You wiped your tears and looked at him. His smile was fading.

“Hey,” he whispered, “can I tell you something?”

“…What?”

“I think my time’s almost up.” Your heart dropped.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “But thank you… for giving me something worth staying for.”

You broke. “I wish you were real.”

He leaned closer, almost touching your forehead with his. “I wish you were mine.”

He stayed there for a moment longer, then whispered one last thing—his voice trembling, but certain.

“If there is another life… if I get another chance… I will find you.”

You held your breath.

“I don’t care if I’m born late. I don’t care if I forget everything.”

His smile was sad, beautiful, breaking.

“I’ll fall for you again. And next time… I won’t disappear.”