Smile Because It Happened Novels & Stories

Reminds me of my experience in the mall. I smiled at that thought. Shameless friends who push me when they want to ask because they are shy, still remember the look on the face of some saleslady when you ask if there is a different size or color, they are all smiles but when you say you will buy it next time, their smiles would freeze. It was an embarrassing memory! But I couldn't help but unconsciously smiled, and retracted my gaze from the dress I was eyeing when I accidentally saw a group of friends laughing together. My smile froze in place. I suddenly felt sad and envious, watching them smiling at each other.

Luca —- I don’t even remember when I started smiling. It just happened. One second I was walking back from that call, my head full of problems and unfinished business, and the next second I was standing there watching her laugh with the kids, and something in me just… shifted. And now I’m here in my office, sitting behind my desk, staring at nothing while replaying that exact moment in my head like it actually matters more than everything else going on around me. The way she smiled.

Greg notices me looking at them, and he smiles, “What?” I shake my head, “Nothing.” He looks suspicious, “You’re doing that thing.” “What thing?” “The emotional smile.” I gasp, “I do not have an emotional smile.” He nods seriously, “You do.” I narrow my eyes, “You’re lucky you’re hot and attractive.” He looks delighted, “I know.”

I smiled. “Something that felt really good.”

I almost cancelled because of the smile. I had been replaying the walk to the metro — the fruit vendor, the woman at the blue awning, the tabac man with his weather opinions — and somewhere in the replay I had caught myself smiling again, properly this time, alone in my kitchen on a Wednesday morning with no audience and no reason to perform anything. Just smiling. At the memory of him. That was the thing that made me pick up my phone and almost type: Can we reschedule. I didn't type it.

Her smile, faint but genuine, reached her eyes in a way I had rarely witnessed directed at anything during our three years together. I thought of every formal dinner, every gala, every photograph taken of us as a couple over the years. Her smile in those images had always carried the same careful, practiced quality, present because occasion demanded it, never quite reaching past the surface. This smile was different. I closed the tablet and set it aside, telling myself firmly that whatever I was seeing meant nothing beyond simple relief following a traumatic incident. People smiled after surviving danger. It was a natural human response, nothing more significant than that.

It was so amazing that my smile widened without me realizing it. After some time of looking at each other and me smiling like a lunatic, I don't know what came over me. I Motion him towards me. Both of us were shocked. I didn't even know why but I didn't want to take back my work so I motioned to him once again.

He asked and I smiled. "I have no idea... people also say that when you see that person you automatically smile. Their happiness matters the most for you. You try to make them smile always and try to take away all of their pain. When they are away from you, you feel like it's the end of world. Their presence only can take away all your sadness. People say many things like that. I don't know whether it's true or not." I said and he nodded. I kept thinking and realised that may be I also feels many things like that for him... No stop Arina ...

I got late for work but it’s always better late than absent, everyone knows that. Nothing much happened at the café. It’s just a typical day but there was definitely a big change on me. The usual fraudulent smile painted on my face was now genuine and not quite forced just to please the customers. My heart was filled with fluffy joy and I guess I was blooming. After my shift at the Fidelitea, I found myself at my usual gig and just like how my smile was genuine, I’m on fire.

Watching the realization slowly spread across both of their faces made something warm bloom inside my chest. They saw it. They could tell. I wasn’t fighting myself anymore. Not in this moment. My smile grew. It wasn’t forced. Hell… For the last week, I couldn’t have faked a smile if someone had offered me the kingdom’s entire treasury. Every picture would’ve looked the same. Grumpy. Scowling. One eyebrow permanently pissed off. I chuckled to myself. Then smiled even wider. Because I wanted to. Because it felt… Good. I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed smiling until I actually could again.