BELLAOne of my biggest life lessons learnt is that it is a continuous loop of good and bad. There will be no continuous happy days with no end. Just more sad and lonely ones sprinkled with little things that make you happy. So you have to latch on tight to those little things as means to fuel your joy or drown. It's the only way I got through the last one year. With the long rehab break most basketball camps were over and I wasn't able to play for almost a year, no college would offer me a basketball scholarship anymore. It was a continuum of watching everything I wanted vanish into smoke. I'll never be a professional basketball player. I lost that opportunity already, then there is the miscarriage, the time out of school and barely managing to get my high school degree, all my old friends; Tammy, Jamie, Paula, Dylan and he who shall never be named, remembered or aknowledged. I had to cut off from all my old friends because it had to be a clean break between me and everyone that

LUKAI've always wondered what it will be like when I next see her. Wondered how I would feel.Deep down I always thought it would be relief especially knowing that she was safe and sound. Then my next predicted emotion was anger, for leaving the way she did without saying anything or bothering to explain and lastly sorrow for all the time lost. But I guess it didn't go as planned or my feelings weren't accepting the memo. The moment I grabbed her arm and yanked her to face me, it felt like everything came to a standstill. Because there she was. One year and counting and we were standing in front of each other, breathing the same air, and she looked well and alive. One million universes and multiverses all stopped spinning cause all I felt was shock as our eyes met and next it felt like I was being sucker punched in my guts, because my knees were weak and my mind was blank. I must have missed the quick glint of recognition in her eyes or maybe they didn't contain any because all

"I'll report you to campus authorities" my heart was knocking hard against my rib cage yet here I was forming bravado like I wasn't scared of this interaction but I had no choice. Luka has been stalking me all week. At first I didn't notice but later on I did, it wasn't like he could blend easily into the crowd and I have a feeling he wasn't trying to hide himself. I had told myself that if I ignored him hard enough he will go back to the past where he was and I can somehow manage to start afresh. But he was still here and I had to do something about it.Apparently, I can't also wish him gone no matter how hard I try. I was walking with two of my coursemates today towards the university library when someone pointed him out because he looked good and we were going in the same direction. "I'll report you to Campus Security if you keep following me around." I said again, since he didn't say anything after the first statement. "This is harassment, following me everywhere I go is stal

BELLA"I ran into Luka at school." I tried to make my declaration as unimportant as possible so that my mom wouldn't be alarmed or throw a fit and I must have succeeded because she didn't say anything. She was putting away the groceries and if not for the slight pause in her movements I would have thought she didn't hear me. "Ma, did you hear me?" I asked just to be sure. "It's been more than two weeks now why are just telling me?" My mouth opened on its own when she said that. "How...how did you know?" I managed to stammer out. "Are you having me followed?" I chuckled at the question, "nah, we don't have enough money for that." "Seriously mum, how did you know?" "Why else did you put your head on my laps and was crying some weeks ago? And what else could be the reason behind you moping? The only reason you're telling me now, is because you're moving to the dorms tomorrow." Wow. Nothing ever passed by this woman. Nothing. As in Zilch, Zero, Nada. "Just because I didn't say a

BELLA"Who is there?" I snapped. The loud noise coming from the person banging at the door repeatedly and forcefully echoed around my little room. "Who is there?" I called out even louder than earlier and was met with no response, just continuous, loud, pounding on the door. I thought about ignoring the person since they didn't answer me, and also because it was too late at night to be calling on someone since it was raining heavily. I grabbed my phone, "if you're not going to answer, I'm calling Campus security." The knocks and pounding stopped for a while after my threat and I heard the person curse out loudly in a strange language that wasn't totally foreign to me, since I knew the accent. Before I could come up with a solution, the loud knocks continued. I opened the door intent on giving the person a piece of my mind if it was who I thought it was and I was right. It was Luka. He was standing there soaking wet from the rain with his teeth chattering from cold and his eyes re