Love Unspoken

The two bears that now caught her attention were the very ones Alexander had won for her at the arcade. The sight of them stirred long-forgotten memories, which slowly began to clear, as if a gust of wind had swept away the dust to reveal a vivid image.

It had been a sunny Friday afternoon. Quinn had been stationed outside the high school gates, her patience wearing thin as she waited for Alexander. As the sun began to dip, marking the approach of dusk, a boy in a white shirt finally emerged from the school, his uniform and backpack distinguishing him from his friends.

Upon spotting the young girl waiting by the gates, one of his friends teased, "Your little girlfriend's been waiting for you."

The boy responded with a playful smack to the back of his friend's head before leaving the group to approach her. Crouching to meet her pouting face, he flashed a smile and asked, "Have you been waiting long?"

In those days, she was innocent and guileless. She nodded in affirmation, holding up three fingers to indicate the three hours she had waited.

He scooped her up in his arms, his fingers playfully pinching her cheek. "Then I'll make it up to you," he promised.

took her hand, leading her to the arcade where he pointed to the selection of claw machines. "Pick one, and I'll get it for you," he

to two bears, one larger and one smaller, nestled together.

the back of the machine, seemingly impossible to win. Despite his best efforts,

arcade owner. Even though they were purchased, she cherished them as if they were hard-won prizes, clinging to them

bear to him, he accepted it with a smile. "Are you giving this to me?" he asked. She

he asked, looking again at the one she had kept, "And this one is you?" She nodded, took back the bear from his hands,

like a big brother with his little sister." Even though she was young and naive, his words made her feel differently about the bears at

after her friend Freya damaged the bear, she never played with them again. And she didn't know when those two bears had become

her profile with Alexander's, it seemed he had never changed his

her, making it hard to breathe. By the time she snapped back to reality, her face was blurred with tears. Closing her eyes, Quinn lifted her hand to wipe away the tear stains, shielding her eyes from the sight. Her phone lay silently in her palm, and the doll in the picture

didn't sleep that night. She sat up before dawn. The sleepless night left her bedding ice cold, her hands and feet frigid. She coughed, a sign