October 2014 – Beginning of the Academic Year
Today is the first day of my second year in college. Time seems to fly, but what truly makes me think about the passing years is seeing how much we've changed, even though we've stayed so close.
Mirella and I have known each other since kindergarten. Ever since we were little, we played hide-and-seek in the schoolyard, ran through the hallways, and shared secrets. The friendship that began with innocent laughter slowly and almost imperceptibly transformed into something more. Today, she's more than a friend to me; she's a piece of me, something I feel but can no longer touch.
The year started calmly, full of promises and the typical anxieties of a fresh start. Mirella and I were still in the same program, but now, more than ever, something was changing between us. The playgrounds of childhood were gone, replaced by a new kind of tension in our friendship. Sometimes, I caught Mirella looking at me differently, her gaze more intense, as if she were waiting for something I couldn't comprehend.
I began to realize that maybe she felt it too. Somehow, our lives had followed paths that now placed us in a new phase. I was still the same, but Mirella seemed to have transformed. There was something in her eyes that both disturbed and attracted me at the same time.
Winter 2015 – The First Step
The biting cold of winter was always an invitation for tighter hugs, and this year was no different. Mirella and I spent entire afternoons indoors, sitting in the living room under blankets, watching movies, with the muffled sound of the crackling fireplace in the background. She was there, as she always had been, but today there was something more between us. Something I didn't know how to name.
It happened on one of those cold afternoons when the wind howled against the windows and the streets were deserted. I was reclining on the couch, feeling the warmth of her proximity when she moved closer to me. Mirella was closer than usual. Her eyes were darker, more serious. She leaned in, and our lips nearly touched. Then, she stopped with a sigh.
"Isabel, have you ever thought... that maybe we could...?" She didn't finish the sentence, but the question hung in the air like a storm about to form.
I didn't know what to say. The idea of us, something beyond friendship, both frightened and attracted me at the same time. But in that moment, something inside me broke, and the truth hit me with force: I wanted it too. I wanted more. I wanted her.
The tension between us exploded in the silence of the room. Her lips met mine in a soft, hesitant kiss, as if we wanted it but didn't know how. But the desire was clear. And that winter, our bodies intertwined for the first time. It wasn't rushed; it wasn't frantic. It was slow and delicate, as if we were discovering something we had always known but had never allowed ourselves to see.
Spring 2016 – The Changes
The weeks that followed that winter day were confusing. Mirella and I didn't talk about what had happened. It seemed like something had changed between us, but neither of us had the courage to name it. During spring, as the days grew longer, our relationship unfolded in fleeting glances and accidental touches.
That's when we decided to go on a weekend trip. We went to a nearby town, a kind of refuge where no one knew us, and where we didn't have to hide what we were beginning to be to each other.
The trip allowed us to explore our relationship with more freedom. During strolls through the quiet streets of the town, our hands intertwined for the first time without fear, without hesitation. The intensity of what we shared felt like the blossoming of spring. Our passion grew each day, but we also started questioning the future. It felt strange and yet natural. We were allowing ourselves to embrace this new reality.
Summer 2017 – The Awakening
Summer arrived, bringing with it the intensity of our emotions. The hot days seemed to heighten our closeness, and with each meeting, we surrendered once more to our bodies and our desires. There was no shame, no doubt. Just the heat of summer and the need to be together. It was a time of pleasure, discovery, and, simultaneously, a certain unease. We were no longer those childhood friends. Now, we were lovers.
Yet, as we gave in to desire, something began to weigh on us. What would we be to the world? To our families, our friends? Society wasn't ready to understand what we were living. As genuine as our love was, the fear of facing the world started creating an invisible chasm between us.
One warm summer night, we had our first discussion about the future. It was then we realized that our love, though strong, might not be enough to withstand external pressures. Mirella seemed to want more than I was ready to give. She wanted to face the world, while I feared the consequences.
Autumn 2019 – The End of a Chapter
As the years passed, the friendship between Mirella and me slowly began to transform again. We both changed, in ways we couldn't control. I wanted to continue, but something inside me knew it might already be too late. She was beginning to open herself up to new possibilities. She started seeing other people, exploring what the world had to offer. I, on the other hand, still felt trapped in the past, in those childhood memories.
It was in the autumn of 2019, as the leaves began to fall and the air grew cooler, that we finally talked about what was happening. Mirella and I sat in the park where we had spent so many afternoons as children and started to talk. The truth was that what we had started to build between us was becoming harder and harder to sustain.
"Isabel," she said, her voice soft, "I love you. But I also need to grow. And you... you need to find your own path."
I knew what she meant. She was letting me go, and I was letting her go. But, unlike a painful goodbye, that moment was one of acceptance.
Winter 2024 – The Last Season
Now, ten years after it all began, Mirella and I are in different places. I've found someone to share my life with, and so has she. But what binds us now is friendship—a friendship that withstood all the storms and challenges that arose.
Winter has come again, bringing with it the weight of nostalgia. We are different now. And perhaps that's what connects us most. The love we shared, though intense, was just one chapter of our lives. Today, we're friends again, and somehow, that feels like the perfect ending to our story.