Once upon a Heartbeat

Once upon a time, in a town where the air smelled of fresh rain and warm coffee, there lived a boy named Leo. He wasn’t the loudest in the room or the one who stood in the spotlight, but he saw the world in ways others didn’t. He noticed the way sunlight turned dust into tiny stars, how laughter carried like music through the streets, and how sometimes, a single glance could change everything.

That’s exactly what happened the first time he saw her.

She wasn’t just another girl in the crowd—she was the girl. The kind of girl who carried light with her, like the sun had left little golden traces in her hair. She walked with quiet confidence, her hands always lost in the pages of a book or sketching something unseen on the edge of a notebook.

Leo’s heart, so steady and sure before, stumbled.

He had never believed in love at first sight. But then again, he had never met her before.

From that moment on, he tried—desperately—to get her attention.

He lingered near the library, hoping she’d notice his shy smile—but she never looked up from her book.

He stayed late at the coffee shop where she always sat by the window, hoping she’d catch his gaze—but her headphones kept her lost in another world.

He even picked up drawing, hoping she’d see him sketching too—but the only thing he managed to create was a lopsided cat that looked more like a potato.

Every attempt, every chance, slipped through his fingers like sand. He was just a boy in the background of her story, an unnoticed chapter in her book.

And so, one evening, as the sky melted into soft pinks and blues, Leo climbed the hill just outside town, where an old oak tree stood tall against the horizon. It was his favorite place—the only place where the world felt small enough to understand.

He sat beneath the tree, defeated, his head in his hands.

“I give up,” he whispered to no one. “She’ll never see me.”

And then, as he was about to lose all hope...

A voice.

Soft, curious, right behind him.

"See you?"

Leo's breath caught as he turned. It was her.

She stood there, arms crossed, head tilted slightly. “What are you talking about?”

His heart pounded in his chest, a wild, uneven rhythm. “I—uh—nothing.” He rubbed his face quickly, hoping she didn’t notice the hint of tears in his eyes.

She sat down beside him, the wind playing with the loose strands of her hair. “People don’t come up here for ‘nothing,’” she said gently. “So… what’s wrong?”

Leo hesitated, then sighed. “I just… I’ve been trying to get someone’s attention. But I don’t think they even know I exist.”

She smiled—a soft, knowing kind of smile. “I know that feeling.”

Silence stretched between them, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. It was easy, like the space between puzzle pieces that were meant to fit.

Then she glanced at him, a small spark of amusement in her eyes. “By the way… if it helps, I have noticed you.”

Leo blinked. “You… have?”

She laughed. “You’re really bad at drawing.”

His face turned red, but then he saw the teasing glint in her gaze, and suddenly, he was laughing too.

That night, as they talked beneath the stars, Leo realized something.

Maybe the universe had never been against him.

Maybe it had been leading her to him all along.

And under that old oak tree, where a boy once sat heartbroken, a new story began—one where happily ever after had already found its way.