THE LIES WE TOLD EACH OTHER: A STORY OF LOVE AND LESSONS

CHAPTER 1: Where It All Began

Some moments are etched in our hearts forever. For me, it was a Saturday afternoon— the day I met him.

The sun was lazily hanging in the sky, and laughter filled the air as people gathered for the church social. An event was to be set up for friends to reconnect, children played without care, and time seemed to slow down. I wasn’t expecting anything special that day. I was just there to pass the time, enjoy the company, and maybe sneak in some food and music.

But then, I saw him.

He stood near the corner, just at the church gate, laughing with a group of friends. Something about him caught my eye — maybe it was the way he threw his head back when he laughed or how effortlessly he blended into the crowd, yet stood out. I don’t know what it was, but at that moment, I couldn’t look away.

“Focus,” I told myself.

We locked eyes — just for a second — and I quickly looked away, pretending I wasn’t affected. But my heart? My heart knew something had shifted.

The rest of the afternoon felt like a blur. I remember catching glimpses of him across the crowd. At one point, he walked past me, close enough for me to catch a faint scent of his cologne. Funny how something so small could stick with me, but it did.

It wasn’t love at first sight — no, that’s too simple for what I felt. It was curiosity. A pull I couldn’t explain.

I didn't know when the social ended, but I did know his name and we exchanged contacts— how fast did we get to that?

"When a girl gives you her contact, don't text her right away, text after a day or two," one of the guys in the group jokingly said to him.

The group burst out laughing, and I couldn’t help but smile at the humor of the moment. Though I didn't get to know his story, nor anything about him. But I knew one thing: I wanted to see him again.

That was the day our story began.