One evening, as the soft glow of twilight filtered through the trees, Lyra sat alone in her room, scrolling through the endless sea of messages on a platform she had found solace in: an online chat service. It was a place where people could be anyone they wanted to be, where the past was just a whisper, and the present was all that mattered. It was a way to escape.
That's when she met him.
His name was Orion. A mysterious figure in the digital world, his words were like poetry, wrapping around her heart like a warm blanket. Their conversations began innocently—small talk, shared jokes, and stories about their lives. Lyra found herself eagerly awaiting his messages, each one filling the empty spaces in her heart with a comfort she hadn't felt in years
Orion was different. He seemed to understand her in a way no one ever had. He listened when she spoke of her struggles, her fears, and her loneliness. She told him about the trauma that lingered in the corners of her mind, about how her childhood had been spent in darkness, and how, even now, she still felt like a shadow of who she was supposed to be. And for the first time, someone didn't brush her off or offer empty words of encouragement. He listened. He understood.
Days turned into weeks, and with each passing moment, Lyra found herself falling deeper into the words he sent. She imagined meeting him one day, seeing the face behind the messages, feeling the warmth of his embrace. But even as the distance between them grew smaller, a part of her remained cautious, wary of opening her heart too fully. The world had taught her that love wasn't always real, that people were like fleeting shadows who disappeared when you needed them the most.