Almost a Year of Messages
That night felt different again.
Not because something special happened.
But because Alya suddenly realized something.
It had almost been a year.
Almost a year since that first accidental message.
Almost a year since Aiman quietly became part of her daily life.
She stared at the screen for a long time before typing.
"Do you know something?"
Aiman replied a few minutes later.
"What?"
"It's almost one year already."
There was a short pause.
Then his reply appeared.
"I know."
Alya smiled softly.
"You remembered?"
"I remember everything important."
Her fingers stopped moving for a moment.
That sentence stayed longer in her heart than she expected.
Not long after that, Nadia joined the conversation.
"Almost one year and you still refuse to meet us," she wrote.
Aiman smiled faintly at the message.
"I never promised I would."
"That's not fair," Nadia replied immediately.
"We trusted you."
Aiman read the sentence slowly.
Then replied carefully.
"And I never took that trust lightly."
Nadia didn't respond right away this time.
Because his answer sounded different tonight.
Quieter.
Heavier.
Alya typed again.
"If we're really your friends… why can't we meet you?"
Aiman stared at the screen.
For a long time.
Long enough for the typing indicator to disappear twice.
Then appear again.
Then disappear again.
Finally—
"I don't want to disappoint both of you."
Alya frowned.
"You won't."
"You don't know that."
Nadia responded immediately.
"Then let us decide that ourselves."
Aiman closed his eyes for a moment after reading that.
His fingers rested on the screen.
But he didn't type anything.
Across the room, Aina noticed the silence again.
Aiman was still holding his phone.
Still staring at the screen.
But this time—
he wasn't smiling anymore.
Alya sent one more message before going to sleep.
"Aiman can we going out,i misd too meet you".
Aiman read the sentence slowly.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
His chest tightened slightly.
But his reply was simple.
"We'll see."
Alya didn't like that answer.
Neither did Nadia.
Because for the first time in almost a year—
his reply didn't sound like hope.