As we continued walking through the streets of Ljubljana, I suddenly remembered something.
A promise.
I pulled out my phone and smiled to myself.
Chak's mother.
Before we left Thailand, I had promised her that I would send her photos of everyone during the trip.
And so far...
I had completely forgotten.
I immediately stopped walking.
"Wait."
Everyone turned toward me.
"What?" Chai asked.
I lifted my phone.
"I promised your mom I'd send her pictures."
The reaction was immediate.
"Oh."
Malai laughed.
"That sounds like something Mother would ask."
"She did."
I pointed at the four siblings.
"You four. Together."
Anamarija blinked.
"Me too?"
"You're family."
For a second, her expression softened.
Then she smiled.
"Okay."
A few moments later, Chak, Chai, Malai and Anamarija stood together while I stepped back.
"Smile."
Click.
Another one.
Click.
Then one more.
Click.
After a few photos, I walked back and showed them the results.
Immediately everyone crowded around my phone.
"Oh, this one's nice," Malai said.
"I look amazing," Chai announced.
"You always say that," Chak replied.
"Because it's true."
Anamarija laughed.
The photo really was nice.
For a moment, they looked exactly like siblings.
And somehow, seeing that made me happy.
I quickly sent the photos to Chak's mother before putting my phone away.
Mission accomplished.
We continued walking.
The streets were filled with people speaking languages I couldn't identify.
Tourists.
Locals.
Families.
Students.
The city felt alive.
Then suddenly Anamarija stopped.
We all nearly walked into each other.
She was staring at a small shop.
A locksmith's shop.
Without warning, she turned toward us.
"I'll be back soon."
Then she disappeared inside.
Everyone stared after her.
"What was that?" Chai asked.
"No idea," Torn admitted.
We waited outside.
Since there wasn't much else to do, we started watching people passing by.
A group of elderly locals walked past us while talking animatedly.
None of us understood a single word.
Not one.
But something caught my attention.
The way they spoke sounded different from Anamarija.
"Doesn't she sound different?" Taeng asked.
"I was thinking the same thing."
"Maybe."
We listened for another moment.
The conversation flowed quickly.
Whatever they were discussing sounded important.
But we couldn't understand anything.
Then suddenly—
Taeng turned toward Kit.
Grabbed his face.
And kissed him right in the middle of the street.
Everyone froze.
Including Kit.
For approximately two seconds.
Then Kit kissed him back.
"Seriously?" Chai groaned.
"We're standing right here."
"We know," Taeng replied proudly.
"I hate all of you."
"No, you don't."
Before Chai could continue complaining, the door of the locksmith's shop opened.
Anamarija stepped outside.
She was carrying a small paper bag.
Immediately everyone's attention shifted.
"What did you buy?" Chai asked.
"What is it?" Malai added.
Anamarija simply smiled.
"You'll see soon."
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes."
She continued walking.
And refused to answer a single question.
The entire group suffered.
Especially Chai.
A few minutes later, Torn pointed toward her.
"Can you teach us something in Slovenian?"
Anamarija grinned.
"Of course."
She thought for a moment.
Then said:
"Dober dan."
We stared.
"What does that mean?"
"Good day."
"That's it?"
"That's it."
Chai repeated it carefully.
"Dober dan."
His pronunciation was terrible.
Anamarija laughed immediately.
"That was painful."
"Rude."
Everyone tried saying it.
Some were better than others.
Most were not.
Then Taeng suddenly remembered something.
"Actually..."
He pointed toward a group of locals nearby.
"You don't sound like them."
The others immediately nodded.
"Yeah."
"Not even close."
Anamarija smiled knowingly.
"That's because Slovenia has a lot of dialects."
"How many?"
She lifted a finger.
"Seven dialect groups."
Everyone blinked.
Then she continued.
"And more than forty dialects."
Silence.
"Excuse me?"
"Actually around fifty dialects and subdialects."
This time everyone stopped walking.
"What?!"
"Forty-eight?"
"You're joking."
Anamarija laughed.
"I'm not."
The collective shock was immediate.
"Tiny country," Kit said.
"Forty-eight dialects."
"Exactly."
Chak looked genuinely impressed.
"In Thailand we have four main dialect groups."
"See?"
Anamarija spread her hands.
"Now you understand why people sound different."
"I thought everyone spoke the same."
"Nope."
"We're definitely going to hear that."
Anamarija nodded.
"You will."
A smile appeared on her face.
"And you'll taste it too."
Everyone looked confused.
"Taste it?"
"You'll understand later."
That answer only created more questions.
Unfortunately, she refused to explain.
Again.
As we continued walking along the Ljubljanica River, conversation slowly faded.
The water shimmered beneath the afternoon sun.
Boats drifted lazily along the river.
People sat by cafés drinking coffee.
The colorful buildings reflected in the water.
For a while, nobody spoke.
We simply admired it.
It was beautiful.
Peaceful.
Different from anything we were used to.
Then after another few minutes of walking, we arrived at another bridge.
Anamarija stopped dramatically.
Which immediately made everyone suspicious.
"What now?" Kit asked.
She pointed proudly toward the bridge.
"This is Butchers' Bridge."
Kit stared.
"I'm sorry..."
He looked at the bridge.
Then back at her.
"Did you just say Butchers' Bridge?"
"Yes."
"Why would anyone name a bridge that?"
Anamarija laughed.
"Because long ago butchers used to work nearby."
Kit looked horrified.
"That's slightly less romantic than I expected."
A mischievous smile appeared on Anamarija's face.
"Well..."
She pointed toward hundreds of padlocks attached to the bridge.
"It has another name."
Everyone followed her gaze.
"The Bridge of Lovers."
Immediately several pairs of eyes widened.
"Oh."
"That's much better."
"I was worried for a second," Chai admitted.
Anamarija laughed.
"Most people prefer the second name."
And judging by the countless locks covering the bridge, it was easy to understand why.
Anamarija watched our reactions with a smile.
"I had a feeling you'd like the second name better."
Chai folded his arms.
"Definitely."
"But..."
He narrowed his eyes at the paper bag she was still carrying.
"...what's in there?"
Everyone looked at the bag again.
She had managed to keep it a secret for quite a while now.
Anamarija let the suspense linger for another second before finally laughing.
"Fine."
She opened the bag.
"Take a look."
Taeng was the first to peek inside.
His eyebrows shot up.
"...Locks?"
One by one, we looked into the bag.
Sure enough...
It was filled with small metal padlocks.
Some were silver.
Some were black.
A few were shaped like hearts.
Chai blinked.
"You bought... locks?"
Anamarija nodded happily.
"I did."
Kit looked from the locks to the bridge covered in thousands of them.
Then it clicked.
"Oh."
"Ohhh," Malai said at the same time.
"So that's why you went into the locksmith's shop," Torn realized.
"Exactly."
Anamarija picked up one of the heart-shaped padlocks and held it in her palm.
"On Butchers' Bridge— or as many people call it, the Bridge of Lovers— couples often attach a lock to the railing as a symbol of their love."
She smiled as she looked around at the countless locks decorating the bridge.
"They lock it here..."
She mimed closing the padlock.
"...and traditionally throw the key into the Ljubljanica River."
Many couples used to throw the key into the river, although nowadays many keep it instead.
Taeng's eyes sparkled.
"That's so romantic."
"It is," Malai agreed softly.
Chai glanced at Chak and me before grinning.
"I think I know who should be first."
I immediately knew where this was going.
"No."
"Yes."
"Niran and Chak."
I felt my ears grow warm.
"Why us?"
Chai looked at me as if the answer were obvious.
"Because you're disgustingly in love."
Kit burst out laughing.
"I can't even argue with that."
Anamarija chuckled as she carefully held the bag closer.
"Don't worry."
She looked around at all of us.
"I didn't just buy one."
She smiled warmly.
"I bought one for every couple."
Chai's grin grew even wider.
"So..."
He rubbed his hands together dramatically.
"Who's going first?"
Without missing a beat, everyone looked at Chak and me.
I sighed.
"I knew this was coming."
"You really should've," Kit said with a laugh.
Anamarija reached into the paper bag and pulled out a simple silver padlock.
She held it out toward us.
"This one's yours."
For a brief moment, Chak and I looked at each other.
Then he accepted it.
His fingers brushed against mine as he passed it to me.
"Come on," Malai encouraged gently. "We'll wait."
Taeng was already holding his camera.
"I am documenting this."
"Of course you are," Kit muttered.
We walked over to the railing together.
Thousands of padlocks covered the bridge.
Some were old and weathered.
Others looked brand new.
Some had initials engraved into them.
Others had little hearts or dates.
I ran my fingers lightly over the cool metal.
"So many stories..." I whispered.
Anamarija smiled.
"Exactly."
She took a small marker out of the bag and handed it to me.
"You can write on it."
I looked at Chak.
"What should we write?"
He thought for only a second.
"Our names."
I smiled.
"Simple."
"But enough."
Carefully, I wrote:
Chak ♡ Niran
Below our names, I added the date.
When I finished, I handed the marker back.
Chak took the padlock from my hands.
Together, we clipped it onto the railing.
Click.
The small sound echoed much louder in my heart than it did on the bridge.
For a moment, neither of us said anything.
We simply stood there, looking at it.
Then Chak slipped his hand into mine again.
His thumb brushed gently across my fingers.
"I don't care whether it's a tradition," he said quietly, just for me to hear.
I turned toward him.
He smiled.
"But if one day we come back to Ljubljana..."
His eyes met mine.
"...I hope our lock is still here."
A warmth spread through my chest.
"I hope so too."
Behind us—
Click.
Taeng lowered his camera with a satisfied smile.
"Perfect."
"You took a picture, didn't you?" I asked.
"I took several."
"Taeng..."
"They're beautiful."
Even I couldn't find the energy to argue.
Anamarija looked at the lock with a soft smile.
"I think it suits this bridge."
Then she reached into the bag again.
"Now..."
She held up another padlock and looked around at the rest of the group.
"Who's next?"