The Smile Aina Couldn't Ignore
Aina noticed it at home.
It wasn't something obvious at first.
Just a small change.
Something quiet.
Something different.
Aiman had started smiling more.
Not the polite smile he used outside.
Not the one he gave when someone asked if he was okay.
This one appeared when he looked at his phone.
And disappeared the moment he locked the screen.
The first time she saw it, she said nothing.
The second time, she pretended not to notice.
But by the third night—
she couldn't ignore it anymore.
"You're smiling again," Aina said from the kitchen doorway.
Aiman looked up from the sofa.
"Hm?"
"That phone," she said. "Someone special?"
Aiman paused for a moment.
Then he shook his head.
"No."
But the smile didn't disappear.
Aina watched him carefully.
"You weren't like this before."
Aiman didn't answer.
Instead, he looked back at the screen.
Another message arrived.
And the smile returned again.
This time, even softer.
Even warmer.
Aina didn't say anything else.
But something inside her chest felt strange.
Because it had been a long time since she last saw Aiman smile like that.
Later that night, Farid came by.
He wasn't supposed to stay long.
Just a short visit.
But the moment he stepped inside the living room, he noticed it too.
Aiman was quieter than usual.
Yet somehow—
lighter.
Farid sat down across from him.
"You look different," he said.
Aiman frowned slightly.
"Different how?"
Farid glanced at Aina.
Aina didn't say anything.
But her expression answered the question for him.
"You're smiling more," Farid continued.
Aiman let out a small laugh.
"It's nothing."
Farid didn't respond immediately.
Because something else bothered him.
Not the smile.
The tiredness behind it.
"You're not sleeping properly again," Farid said.
"I'm fine."
"You always say that."
Aiman didn't reply this time.
The room became quiet.
Too quiet.
Farid watched him carefully.
And for the first time—
he felt something he couldn't explain.
Not worry.
Not yet.
But something close to it.
Later that night, Alya sent another message.
"I think you're becoming important to me."
Aiman read the sentence slowly.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Then he replied.
"You shouldn't say that so easily."
Alya stared at the screen.
"Why?"
There was a pause.
Long enough to make her heart uneasy.
"Because I might disappoint you."
Alya frowned slightly.
"I don't think you will."
But Aiman didn't reply again.
Not that night.
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