We finally got to the corner where we part way.
"Well," she said, stopping and turning to face . "This is ."
"Yeah," I said, my own feet stopping.
She was just looking at with that little smile. "Thanks for the coffee," she said. "And for being honest and open with ."
"Thanks for not leaving to deal with severe diarrhea," I said, and then imdiately thought, ’Why did I say that?’
She just stared at for a second, and then she let out this loud, surprised laugh. She had to cover her mouth with her hand. "You are so weird, Kofi," she said between giggles.
I just smiled. Who just says stuff like that.
"I’ll see you tomorrow," she said, her laughter finally settling down.
"Yeah, see you."
I was about to turn and start my own walk ho, but she didn’t move. She just took a small step forward.
And then she hugged .
It wasn’t a big, dramatic movie hug. It was quick. She just wrapped her arms around my middle, under my arms, and rested her head against my chest for a second.
My brain completely shut off.
’Eh? Ehhhhhhhhhhhhh?.’
My arms just stayed at my sides. I didn’t know what to do with them. She was so warm, and god, she slled so nice. It was so nice, i was slowly rising my hands to hug her back but then, it was over. She pulled away just as fast as she’d leaned in, her face a little red.
"Bye," she said again, her voice quiet. Then she turned and hurried down her street without looking back.
"What the hell just happened?..."
---
When I arrived ho, I practically fell through the front door, my key fumbling in the lock. The mont the door clicked shut behind , the silence of my apartnt rushed in, and it felt like the entire world had gone quiet.
Inside my head, though, a celebration was roaring.
’Yes! Yes! Yes!’ I was screaming internally, a ridiculous, giddy cheer that felt completely alien to . I wanted to pump my fist in the air. I wanted to shout. For the first ti in what felt like my entire life, I was genuinely, uncomplicatedly happy.
I leaned back against the door for a second, a stupid grin plastered on my face. My whole body felt light, despite the ache in my ribs. I dropped my backpack on the floor with a heavy thud, not even caring where it landed. I was ho.
I limped over to the living room and sank into the couch. The cushions gave way with a soft whoosh, and I let my head fall back, staring up at the plain white ceiling. It was just a ceiling, but today it looked like the most beautiful piece of architecture I’d ever seen.
The whole walk ho had been a blur. My mind was stuck on a loop, replaying the last thirty seconds at the corner.
She had hugged .
It was so fast I almost wasn’t sure it had happened. One second we were saying goodbye, the next she had stepped forward, her arms wrapping around . My own arms had frozen at my sides, completely useless. I hadn’t known what to do with them. By the ti my brain had even processed the idea of hugging her back, she was already pulling away.
I could still feel it, though. The brief, surprising warmth of her against my chest. Her head had rested right there for a second, and I could sll that sa light, fruity shampoo scent from her hair. It was... nice.
She felt so small. And soft.
My face felt hot just thinking about it. What kind of thought was that? It was the kind of thing the weird side-character in a manga would think right before getting called a pervert. I shook my head, trying to clear it.
Still, the mory was vivid. It wasn’t a dramatic, sweeping hug like you see in movies. It was quick, a little awkward, and probably ant nothing. It was just a ’see you tomorrow’ gesture. A friend hug. Right?
I was still grinning like an idiot at the ceiling when the phone started ringing, the sudden vibration on the couch making jump. It was her na on the screen. Nina.
My heart did a frantic little flip-flop in my chest. I fumbled for the phone, my fingers suddenly clumsy, nearly dropping it on the floor.
’Just answer it,’ my brain said, trying to be logical. ’It’s just your friend calling.’
But another part of my brain, the part that was currently in full-blown panic mode, was screaming, ’Why is she calling? What do you say? What if she’s calling to say the hug was weird and she regrets it? What if this is her disappearing?’
I stabbed at the green icon with a shaky thumb before I could talk myself out of it. I brought the phone to my ear, but no sound ca out of my mouth.
"Hello?" Her voice was a little hesitant on the other end. "Kofi? Are you there?"
"Yeah," I finally managed to say, my own voice sounding weird and croaky. "Hey. I’m here."
There was a beat of silence. I could hear her take a small breath.
"I just... wanted to make sure you got ho okay," she said.
’She’s calling to check on ,’ I thought, the simple kindness of it feeling both incredibly nice and deeply suspicious. ’Is that the real reason? Or is this about sothing else?’
"I’m ho," I said, my voice still a little unsteady. "Just walked in."
"Oh. Good." Another pause. The silence felt charged, like we were both thinking about the hug but neither of us dared to ntion it. "So, um..." she started, and I could practically hear her searching for a safe topic. "I was just looking up that manga you told about."
The sudden shift was so blatant it was almost funny. My panic started to recede, replaced by a sense of relief. We were on safe ground. Nerd ground.
"Oh yeah?" I asked, a real smile starting to form on my face. "The sword one?"
"Yeah," she said, and her voice sounded more relaxed now, too. "Is it really called ’I Was a Sword When I Reincarnated’? Like, that’s the actual title?"
"That’s the one," I said, feeling myself relax into the couch. I was in my elent now. "It sounds weird, I know, but it’s better than you’d think. The world-building is really cool."
"I’ll take your word for it."
I could hear the smile in her voice. "I might actually read it this weekend. It sounds... different, at least."
"It is."
The conversation lulled for a second, but this ti it was comfortable. I really made a friend, it was such a nice and scary thing to know.
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