LOVE PAINTED IN LIES

ibilities. She was the type who lived in colours and brushstrokes, whose fingers were often stained with paint, who stayed after class to perfect her canvases w

e who had time to fall apart and piece themselves

Adrian

wasn't loud or showy. He smiled rarely, but when he did, it reached his eyes softly, like a secret shared with the world. His first week was a blur of introduction

hered under trees during break, escaping the sun. Eliana sat alone sketching a distant church tower, lost

iled. You did that in on

oked up

om surprise. She wasn't used to attention, e

king a braid behind her

ightly. "Mind

behind the pencil. It felt different. He sat beside her, careful not to intrude, and asked qu

they walked to class togeth

heir conversations stretched beyond history dates into life stories. Adrian confessed he loved music, especially acoustic guitar, though he never performed publicly. His mother wanted him to study medicine, his father pushed fo

d everyone rushed home, but electricity flickered and went out. They remained, trapped, their project

oice soft under the storm's rhythm,

makes everything s

f her words painted some

lingered, w

his jacket, sharing its cover from the drizzle. Their hands brushed accidentally no confessi

proud, chosen even. For someone who thought love was a distraction, she began to look forward to school more than ever. Study sessions turned into long conversations. Messages at night stretched

en played nearby, a football bouncing across the road. Eliana laughed at a joke he made a sound ligh

steady but gentle, "I th

ut her heart grew loud. She'd never been confessed to before. S

young," sh

ed. "But feelings d

cliff thrilling, terrifying. Yet something

.. I'm fal

ust two hearts realizing they ha

rks, sometimes silent, sometimes laughing endlessly. Adrian played guitar for her once shy fingers trembling but his voice was soft and beautiful. She painted him a

re. Like a sunrise b

s. She didn't know that love can be tested, stretched, or shattered. At

t beyond the horizon, she might have lau

rites its o

as only the