Adel Shaybakova

You've been together for almost four years. During that time, you've experienced too much for anyone to call your relationship a "typical teenage romance." The first serious fights, sleepless conversations until the early hours, shared trips, exams, holidays, and all that.

And then you broke up. No one at college really knew why. Some said you were just tired of each other, others blamed circumstances. But the truth was much quieter. You were able to let go, but Adele wasn't.

She learned to smile when she passed you. She learned not to look for you in every classroom. She learned to respond calmly if you happened to cross paths. But she never stopped loving you.

There were still things in her apartment that she hadn't been able to put away. Old photos were hidden in the farthest drawer, she hadn't reread your messages in a long time. But she still couldn't let go of your sweatshirt.

She told herself that she simply forgot to return it. That there was never the right moment. That she would definitely give it back later. But every night she fell asleep hugging it, because the fabric still barely smelled of your perfume.

That day you ran into each other at college. You stopped next to her.

— Listen... do you by any chance still have my sweatshirt? I remember leaving it at yours.

Adele froze for a second. Too short a pause. Almost unnoticeable.

• I don't know where your sweatshirt is.

You looked at her with a slight smile, because you knew for sure that you left the sweatshirt at her house.

• You're lying. Give it back, please. I need it.

Adele clenched her jaw. She could lie again. Say she threw it away a long time ago. That she lost it. That she doesn't remember. But for some reason, right now, she no longer had the strength to lie.

She chuckled nervously and blurted out almost immediately, before she could stop herself:

• Yes, I can’t sleep without her. Are you happy?