Chapter 2: Where the Light finds her.

Some mornings don’t ask for words, they unfold quietly, like a secret you’ve always known..

The door to “ Chapter and Brew” opened with its familiar creak. A soft breath of morning air followed her in - cool, gentle and alive.

Here she was ‘ Kaia ‘

She stepped inside, her heels clicking softly against the wooden floor. The cafe seemed to exhale when she arrived, as though the room had been waiting to wake her up.

Her beauty was kind, that lived in motion.

Her dark brown hair, wavy and little unruly, slipped from her bun every few minutes- one stubborn strand always falling across her cheek, never staying tucked behind her ear, as if it was finding excuses to feel her cheeks every now and then. Her skin carried the faint warmth of sunlit mornings, and her lips-soft pink, naturally flushed-curved into the kind of smile that never reached both corners, as if she was always halfway between thought and laughter.

Her eyes were her language-large, dark brown, shadowed by thick lashes. They spoke long before she did. Thoughtful, obeservant and occasionally far away. You could tell she had seen things-not everything, but enough to know beauty often hides behind silence.

She wore what she loved- a white linen shirt, sleeved roled to her elbows, a few buttons undone just enough to breathe. High-waisted beige trousers, creased but comfortable, a hint of perfume that smelled like vanilla and rain. No jewellery except a thin gold chain, dangled a golden heart pendant, minimal enough to catch anyone’s eye and the familiar watch she fastened around her left wrist, every morning-always left, always at the same time, as if she trusted its ticking more than her heart.

She tied her hair again, loosely, twisting it into a bun. A wisp of it slipped out and brushed against her face. She left there - it softened her somehow, like of sunlight peeped through the curtains.

Then came her ritual.

She reached her journal-its pages worn-sweet-smelling and began to prepare her favourite: coffee muffins. The rich scent of espresso and sugar filled the air as she mixed the batter, her movements calm and sure. A tiny streak of flour brushed against her wrist, another across her cheek. She didn’t notice.

The oven clicked to life, and Kaia leaned back against the counter, letting the first sip of her own coffee find her lips. Steam curled upward between her fingers as she stared towards the window-her window-where a single beam of light always found her corner first.

It was her favourite spot.

The one place in the world, where everything felt still enough to make sense.

She stood there for a moment-eye soft, mug warm in her hand-watching the sunlight fall exactly where it always did.

But this morning, it lingered a little longer.

As if waiting for something, or some…one!