Hello diary,...meet Amelia

The familiar hum of the school hallway replaced the ethereal symphony of the alien realm, jolting Kael back to reality. His friends, Emma and Alex, stood before him, their concerned faces a stark contrast to the fantastical landscapes etched in his mind.

"Hey, Kael" Emma greeted, her voice laced with worry. "Are you okay? You look like you just saw a ghost."

Kael managed a weak smile, the lingering awe of his dream battling with the mundane reality of school. "Yeah, I'm fine" he mumbled.

Alex noticed Kael's distracted gaze. "Are you sure, buddy?" he asked, his hand resting on Kael's shoulder. "You were pretty out of it yesterday, and that fainting spell..."

Kael forced a smile, his throat dry. "Yeah, I'm fine, just tired" he lied. He managed to laugh along with them as they joked about last night's failed horror game attempt, Alex mimicking the jump scares which never happened in exaggerated voices. But the laughter felt hollow on his tongue, a thin veneer over the churning emotions within him.

Suddenly, their carefree banter was interrupted by a familiar presence. Jason, the school bully, swaggered up to them, his eyes narrowed at Kael.

"What's so funny, Kael?" he sneered, shoving him against the wall. "Sharing secrets with your little friends?"

Kael stumbled back, fear prickling at his skin. He hated Jason, hated his cruel taunts and the way he always seemed to find ways to humiliate him. He wanted to stand up for himself, to fight back, but he knew he was weak and could not stand up against Jason.

Instead of lashing out, Kael met Jason's gaze, his eyes calm and unwavering. "Just talking about a game" he said, his voice surprisingly steady. "Not that it concerns you."

Jason, taken aback by Kael's unexpected defiance, faltered for a moment. He recovered quickly, though, a smirk twisting his lips. "Yeah, well, keep your secrets to yourself, weirdo" he spat, before sauntering away.

Suddenly, Jason turned back and threw a heavy punch at Kael's face. The punch landed square on Kael's jaw, the impact sending him reeling. He stumbled back, crashing against the lockers with a thud that echoed down the hallway. Laughter erupted from Jason and his posse, their faces twisted in cruel amusement.

"Know your place" Jason sneered, his voice dripping with venom. He leaned in close, his breath hot and stale against Kael's ear. "Losers like you don't get to talk back."

Kael tasted blood in his mouth, his ears ringing from the impact. He wanted to lash out, to retort with a witty comeback, but the words caught in his throat. He was still reeling from the suddenness of the attack.

A stunned silence followed Jason's retreat, the air buzzing with the aftermath of the altercation. Kael, still sprawled against the lockers, felt a warmth bloom on his cheek, not just from the sting of Jason's punch, but from a gaze far more potent.

Before him knelt Amelia, the girl who had captivated the school since her arrival. Her golden hair, usually styled in a cascading waterfall, now framed her face in a messy halo, a testament to her hurried arrival. Emerald eyes, usually full of laughter and mischief, were now filled with a concern that sent shivers down Kael's spine.

"Are you alright?" she asked, her voice a soft melody that contrasted sharply with the harsh echo of Jason's taunts. Her slender fingers, adorned with the delicate silver rings she always wore, brushed against his cheek, tracing the outline of the bruise.

Kael felt his heart stutter against his ribs, a drum solo echoing in his ears. He had always admired Amelia from afar, her beauty a distant star he could only dream of reaching. And now, here she was, kneeling before him, her touch sending a jolt of electricity through his veins.

He stammered, his words tumbling over each other like clumsy puppies. "I-I'm fine" he managed, his voice barely a whisper. He wanted to sound strong, nonchalant even, but the tremor in his voice betrayed him.

Amelia's brow furrowed, her concern deepening. "Fine?" she echoed, her gaze lingering on the blossoming purple mark on his jaw. "He hit you pretty hard."

Kael shrugged, trying to downplay the incident. "Just a little scuffle" he mumbled, his cheeks burning under her scrutiny.

But Amelia wasn't fooled. "It's not just a scuffle" she said, her voice firm yet gentle. "This isn't the first time he's done this, is it?"

He looked away, shame twisting his insides. No, it wasn't the first time. Jason had made a habit of targeting him, his taunts and punches a cruel reminder of his place at the bottom of the social ladder.

Amelia reached out again, her hand cupping his chin, forcing him to meet her eyes. "You don't deserve this, Kael" she said, her voice low and serious. "You're too good for this."

Her words hung in the air, a declaration that resonated deep within him. He had always seen himself as invisible, a shadow in the corners of the hallways. But Amelia, with her emerald eyes and unwavering gaze, saw something different. She saw him. He tried to look away from her gaze by shrugging off but, Amelia wasn't backing off.

She cupped Kael's chin again, in her palm, her eyes locked on his. "Have we met before?" she asked, her voice firm and unwavering. "Like, maybe a thousand year ago?"

"Yeah, right" he said, his voice betraying his wavering belief. He knew he had locked eye with Amelia twice that semester. Once at the lunchroom and then at the sports center. How she didn't notice sent a fire of disappointment through Kael. "In my past life, I was probably a caveman, grunting and dragging my club around. Not exactly your type, I'm sure."

Amelia laughed. Her laugh was like a fairys' her eyes squinting as she made ethereal sounds.

"Well then I guess I would see you around.... sometimes" Amelia smiled standing to her feet.

"Yeah...maybe" Kael muttered because he knew he might never have this encounter with Amelia again.

Kael watched her go, the warmth of her touch still lingering on his cheek. Her question echoed in his mind, a pebble dropped into the still pond of his life, sending ripples of possibility outwards. Had they met before? In a past life, under a different sky, with different names? The hallway echoed with the receding tap of Amelia's departing steps, leaving Kael standing alone with a throbbing cheek and a heart that threatened to burst from his chest.

As Amelia disappeared around the corner, he felt a strange sense of loss, a longing for something he couldn't quite grasp. He wasn't sure if he believed in past lives, but the way she looked at him, the way her touch sent a jolt through his system, it felt...familiar.

He ran a hand through his hair, the memory of Jason's punch still throbbing faintly. But that pain was overshadowed by something else, a flicker of hope, a spark of excitement. Maybe, just maybe, there was more to life than the drudgery of school and the taunts of bullies. Maybe, just maybe, they were soulmates out there, destinies intertwined across time and space.

Alex and Emma, who had witnessed the entire exchange, stood frozen a few feet away, their faces etched with a mixture of awe and bewilderment.

Jason's taunts and the subsequent punch had been a spectacle, a familiar brand of schoolyard cruelty. But the arrival of Amelia, her gentle concern, and the enigmatic question that hung in the air -"Have we met before?"- transcended the mundane.

Alex, scratched his head, his brow furrowed in thought. "Past lives, huh?" he muttered, his voice barely a whisper. He glanced at Kael, his eyes filled with a mix of disbelief and fascination. "You think there might be something to it?"

Emma, more attuned to the emotional undercurrents, simply shook her head, a wide smile blooming on her face. "I don't know" she confessed, her voice breathless with excitement. "But I can't wait to find out."

***

~HOME~

The fluorescent lights of Kael's bedroom seemed to hum with a newfound energy, reflecting the whirlwind of emotions that swirled within him. He replayed Amelia's touch, the warmth lingering on his cheek like a phantom kiss. Her question, "Have we met before?", echoed in his mind, a haunting melody that refused to fade.

Diary, he thought, my trusty confidant, you deserve to know. You deserve to hear about the girl with emerald eyes and a smile that could launch a thousand meteor showers. You deserve to be a monument to this extraordinary encounter.

His pen danced across the page, fueled by adrenaline and a touch of nervous excitement. He poured out his heart, chronicling every stolen glance, every shared laugh, every moment that had drawn him closer to Amelia's orbit. He didn't just write about the punch, the pain, the humiliation. He wrote about the defiance that bloomed within him, the flicker of hope ignited by her concern.

He wrote about the question, dissecting its every nuance, its playful teasing laced with an unsettling seriousness. He confessed his own disbelief, his fear of sounding insane, but then, he penned down the undeniable truth he felt it too, that connection that defied logic, that resonated in the depths of his soul.

He wrote about Amelia's smile, the one that mirrored his own, the one that promised meteor showers and whispered possibilities. He wrote about the way the hallway faded away, the echoes of Jason's taunts dissolving into a distant memory. He wrote about the feeling of standing on the precipice of something extraordinary, a love story written in stardust and whispered memories.

He wrote until his hand cramped.

A wave of familiar warmth washed over Kael as his mother's scent reached him, pulling him from the swirling vortex of his thoughts. He looked up, his eyes finding hers, crinkled at the corners with a smile that spoke volumes without a single word.

In that instant, the weight of the day, the sting of Jason's punch, the lingering echoes of Amelia's question, all seemed to melt away. He was enveloped in a silent understanding, a love that transcended words, a safe harbor in the storm of his emotions.

He stood up, drawn by an invisible force, and found himself engulfed in her embrace. It was a hug that held no judgment, only acceptance and unwavering support. He buried his face in her shoulder, inhaling the comforting scent of lavender and cinnamon, a lullaby that soothed his troubled soul.

No words were needed. In the language of touch, they spoke volumes. She felt the tension in his body, the tremor in his breath, the turmoil beneath the surface. And she loved him through it all, her smile a beacon of constant devotion.

As she gently patted his back, urging him towards sleep, he knew he wasn't alone. He closed his eyes, his mother's soft murmurs weaving a tapestry of dreams.

And as he drifted off, a soft whisper escaped his lips, "Have we met before, Mom?" a question that resonated in the quiet room, a testament to the enduring bond that stretched beyond time, beyond reason, beyond even the whispers of past lives.