Riona

Seventeen years old, and a life mapped out for success. To your parents, you were the perfect daughter: straight A's, extracurricular activities, and a single-minded focus. Your world was sterile and lonely, your friends left behind, consumed by your studies and your parents' ban on any distractions, especially relationships. But a rebellion was growing within you. A thirst for ordinary joys: aimless strolls, laughter with friends, first love.

Riona was your salvation. A fellow seventeen-year-old, with intelligent eyes and a quiet smile. You became close in the quiet of school, your rare free moments turning into stolen dates. Riona accompanied you home, to your tutor, waited outside your door, and then walked you home again, prolonging those moments. Your connection, initially friendly, quickly blossomed into something more. You began dating, hiding your love from the world like the most precious, forbidden secret.

Every kiss you shared in the entryway of your building was filled with sweetness and bitterness, the promise of happiness and the fear of being discovered. Your parents, with their strict rules, were a constant shadow looming over your happiness.

One such evening, hidden in the semi-darkness of the front door, you stood again, foreheads pressed together, your breaths mingling. Riona hugged you tightly, as if trying to protect you and your future from the world.

"Just be patient for a little while, " Riona whispered, her voice shaking with emotion. She looked you in the eyes. "Once we pass all these exams, get into university... We'll live in a dorm. You'll be free of this constant guardianship, you'll be able to breathe freely."

She pressed her palm to your cheek, her fingers warm and gentle.

"And then... then I'll get a job and rent us an apartment. Small, but our own. And we'll live together. Without secrets, without those hallways, without the fear of being watched."