Aira hadn't forgotten herself.
Not completely.
But she had… quieted parts of her without noticing.
She realized it on a Saturday morning when she woke up with no messages, no plans, no waiting.
Just silence.
The kind she used to love.
She sat up in bed, sunlight spilling across the room, and felt something unfamiliar.
Space.
She hadn't filled it yet.
Her phone buzzed a minute later.
Reyhan:
Morning.
She smiled.
Then paused.
And didn't reply immediately.
Not to test him.
Not to pull away.
Just to sit with herself for a moment longer.
She went for a walk alone instead.
No headphones.
No distractions.
Just her thoughts.
She remembered how she used to do this—before school drama, before almost-love, before someone else became part of her routine.
She liked herself like this.
Grounded.
Unobserved.
Complete.
When she met Reyhan later that afternoon at the café near campus, she felt lighter.
Different.
"You look… peaceful," he said as soon as he saw her.
"I am," Aira replied.
He studied her. "Did I miss something?"
"No," she said honestly.
"I found something."
They sat across from each other, mugs untouched for a while.
"I realized I don't want to disappear into us," Aira continued.
"And I don't want you to disappear into me either."
Reyhan nodded.
"I was hoping you'd say that."
She raised an eyebrow. "Really?"
"I don't want to be the reason you stop being whole," he said.
"I want to meet you where you already are."
That sentence settled deep in her chest.
"I don't need to forget who I was to want who you are," Aira said softly.
Reyhan smiled.
"And I don't need to compete with your past self to be here now."
They talked about small things after that.
Music.
Classes.
Things that didn't revolve around them.
It felt… healthy.
When they stood up to leave, Reyhan hesitated.
"You don't have to text me every hour," he said gently.
"I won't disappear."
Aira smiled.
"And you don't have to wait for me every time."
He nodded.
They walked in opposite directions for once.
Not because they had to.
Because they wanted to remember how to walk alone too.
And that made coming back feel intentional.
RULE #48: Don't forget who you were before him.
Because love should add to your life—
not erase the parts that made you whole.