Episode 1: The Hill Under the Moon

Swastika had always loved quiet places.

While most people her age spent evenings talking with friends or scrolling through their phones, she preferred escaping to the hill outside town. It wasn’t a famous place or anything special—just a grassy slope overlooking the glowing city below. But to her, it felt like another world.

Every night, after finishing her chores and homework, she walked up the narrow path with a small notebook tucked under her arm. She liked writing there—random thoughts, unfinished poems, dreams she was too shy to say aloud.

Tonight, the moon was bright and round, hanging in the sky like a silver lantern.

Swastika sat down on her usual rock and opened her notebook.

"Some people come into your life like sunrise," she wrote. "But maybe some arrive like moonlight—quietly, when you least expect it."

She stared at the sentence for a while, then laughed softly at herself.

“Too dramatic,” she murmured.

A voice behind her replied, “I don’t know. I think it sounds nice.”

Swastika nearly dropped her notebook.

She turned around so quickly that a strand of hair fell into her face. Standing a few steps away was a boy she had never seen before.

He looked around her age, maybe a little older. His dark hair was slightly messy, like he had run his hands through it too many times. He wore a black hoodie despite the mild weather, and his hands were stuffed in his pockets.

Most noticeable, though, was the small smile on his face.

“You scared me,” Swastika said, placing a hand over her chest.

“Sorry,” he replied, though he didn’t look very sorry. “I didn’t mean to spy on your writing.”

“You were reading it?”

“Only one sentence.”

Swastika quickly shut the notebook.

“Well, you shouldn’t do that.”

“Noted.” He raised his hands dramatically. “I’ll respect all future notebook privacy laws.”

She tried not to smile.

There was an awkward silence before he glanced toward the city lights below.

“Mind if I sit here?”

Swastika hesitated.

This was her place. Her quiet space. She had never shared it with anyone.

But something about him didn’t feel threatening. Just...unexpected.

She shrugged. “Do what you want.”

The boy sat on the grass, leaving a respectful distance between them.

For a while, neither of them spoke.

Surprisingly, the silence wasn’t uncomfortable.

“I’m Kai,” he finally said.

Swastika looked at him. “Swastika.”

“Nice to meet you, Swastika.”

“You too, I guess.”

Kai leaned back on his hands and stared at the sky.

“The moon looks different from here,” he said.

Swastika followed his gaze upward. “Different how?”

“Closer.”

She considered that.

“Yeah,” she admitted. “That’s why I like this place.”

Kai smiled like he understood exactly what she meant.

They talked a little after that—not about anything important. Favorite foods. Music. Why Kai was new in town.

“My family moved here last week,” he explained.

“Do you like it?”

He shrugged. “Still deciding.”

“Well,” Swastika said, “the hill is probably the best part.”

“Then I picked the right place.”

The words were simple, but they made her cheeks feel warm.

Time passed faster than she expected.

When Swastika checked her phone, her eyes widened.

“Oh no. I have to go.”

She quickly stood up, brushing grass from her skirt.

Kai got up too. “Same time tomorrow?”

She blinked.

“Why?”

He smiled. “Because I think this hill might be less interesting without conversation.”

Swastika crossed her arms. “You talk a lot for someone I just met.”

“And yet, you’re still standing here.”

She shook her head, trying to hide a laugh.

“Maybe,” she said.

Not yes. Not no.

Just maybe.

As she walked down the hill, she glanced back once.

Kai was still standing there under the moonlight, hands in his pockets, watching the city below.

For some reason, Swastika had a strange feeling.

Tonight wasn’t just another quiet evening.

It was the beginning of something.

A Place for Two

The next evening, Swastika told herself she was not going to the hill because of Kai.

She repeated it while washing dishes.

She repeated it while changing into her favorite light pink cardigan.

And she repeated it again while walking up the familiar path with her notebook tucked under her arm.

It was ridiculous.

She had gone to the hill every night long before Kai appeared. So if he happened to be there again, it would mean absolutely nothing.

At least, that was what she wanted to believe.

The sky was painted deep blue as the sun disappeared completely. Small stars began to appear one by one.

When Swastika reached the top of the hill, she immediately spotted him.

Kai was already there.

He sat on the same patch of grass from last night, knees pulled up slightly, staring out at the city lights.

For some strange reason, seeing him there made her chest feel lighter.

“You came,” Kai said without turning around, as if he had somehow sensed her arrival.

Swastika crossed her arms. “I always come here.”

“Sure,” he replied with a grin. “Keep telling yourself that.”

She rolled her eyes and sat down a short distance away.

Tonight felt less awkward than yesterday.

Not comfortable exactly—but easier.

Kai glanced at the notebook in her hands.

“More dramatic writing?”

Swastika quickly held it close to her chest.

“Still not allowed.”

“Wow,” Kai said, pretending to be offended. “No trust at all.”

“We met yesterday.”

“A strong point.”

A soft laugh escaped her before she could stop it.

Kai noticed.

“There it is,” he said.

“What?”

“That laugh.”

Swastika frowned. “What about it?”

“It’s nice.”

Her expression immediately changed.

She looked away toward the city, pretending to focus on the lights below. But inside, she felt warmth creep into her face.

Kai leaned back onto the grass.

“So,” he said, “tell me something about yourself.”

Swastika thought for a moment.

“There’s nothing interesting.”

“That’s impossible.”

“It’s true.”

Kai shook his head. “Everyone is interesting if you ask the right questions.”

“Oh? Then ask.”

He looked thoughtful, as if carefully choosing.

“What are you afraid of?”

Swastika blinked.

“That’s your first serious question?”

“You said ask.”

She sighed.

The wind moved softly through the grass around them.

After a long pause, she answered honestly.

“Being forgotten.”

Kai turned to look at her properly.

The teasing expression on his face disappeared.

“Why?”

Swastika hugged her knees slightly.

“I don’t know,” she admitted. “Sometimes it feels like people come and go too easily.”

Kai was quiet for a moment.

Then he nodded, as though he understood more than she had said.

“That’s a real fear,” he murmured.

Swastika glanced at him. “What about you?”

Kai looked back up at the stars.

“Leaving,” he answered.

She frowned. “Leaving what?”

“Places. People. Things I get attached to.”

His tone was lighter than the words themselves.

Swastika noticed it immediately.

There was something hidden in that answer.

Something he wasn’t ready to explain.

But she didn’t ask.

Not yet.

Instead, she pulled a piece of candy from her pocket and held it out.

Kai stared at it.

“What’s this?”

“Peace offering,” she said.

“For what?”

“For calling my writing dramatic.”

Kai laughed and accepted it.

“Thanks.”

They sat there sharing candy, city lights glowing beneath them like scattered jewels.

For the first time in a long while, Swastika didn’t feel the usual heaviness she carried around.

Being here felt...easy.

Like the hill had changed somehow.

Or maybe not the hill.

Maybe it was simply the company.

After a while, Kai stood up.

“I should go before my family starts wondering if I got kidnapped.”

Swastika smiled.

As she began packing her notebook, Kai hesitated.

“Same time tomorrow?”

This time, she answered faster.

“Maybe.”

Kai shook his head.

“You really like that word.”

“It keeps life interesting.”

He grinned. “Goodnight, Swastika.”

“Goodnight, Kai.”

As she watched him walk away down the path, Swastika touched the cover of her notebook thoughtfully.

Tonight, when she opened it, she wrote only one sentence.

Some places stay the same until the right person changes them.

And for the first time, she didn’t cross the sentence out.

Hidden Things

By the third night, it had become a routine.

Swastika finished her evening chores faster than usual, fixed her hair in front of the mirror, then immediately frowned at herself.

Why was she checking her hair?

It wasn’t like she cared what Kai thought.

At least, that was the excuse she kept repeating.

Still, she found herself smiling slightly while walking up the hill.

The air was cooler tonight. A soft breeze carried the scent of wet grass and distant flowers.

When she reached the top, Kai was lying flat on the grass, hands behind his head, staring at the stars like he owned the entire sky.

“You look lazy,” Swastika said.

Kai turned his head and grinned.

“You look late.”

She sat beside him, pretending to be annoyed.

“You’re very annoying.”

“And yet you keep coming back.”

Swastika ignored that comment.

She opened her notebook, though she barely wrote a word these days. Most of her attention somehow ended up drifting toward Kai.

He always seemed relaxed, but tonight something felt different.

He was smiling less.

“You’re quiet,” Swastika said.

Kai shrugged. “Maybe I used up all my talking yesterday.”

“I don’t think that’s possible.”

That made him laugh a little, but it disappeared quickly.

Swastika noticed.

She closed her notebook.

“What’s wrong?”

Kai stared at the sky for a moment before answering.

“Nothing.”

“That’s a very suspicious answer.”

He sat up slowly.

“You ask a lot of questions.”

“You avoid a lot of answers.”

Kai looked at her, almost surprised.

Then he smiled faintly.

“Fair.”

For a while, neither of them spoke.

The silence between them had become something comfortable now, not awkward like before.

Swastika watched the moon.

It was only half full tonight, softer and less bright.

“My mother used to tell me the moon changes shape depending on people’s moods,” she said suddenly.

Kai blinked. “That sounds scientifically questionable.”

Swastika laughed.

“I know.”

“But kind of nice,” he admitted.

She leaned back on her hands.

“When I was little, I believed the moon followed me home.”

Kai nodded thoughtfully.

“I used to think stars were holes in the sky.”

Swastika turned to him, amused. “That makes absolutely no sense.”

“I was five.”

“Still concerning.”

Kai placed a hand dramatically over his chest.

“You’re very judgmental.”

Their laughter echoed softly into the night.

But once it faded, Kai became quiet again.

This time, Swastika didn’t let it pass.

“You’re thinking about something.”

Kai picked at a piece of grass.

“My family moves a lot,” he said finally.

Swastika listened carefully.

“How much?”

“A lot enough that I stopped unpacking properly.”

Something in his tone made her chest tighten.

He said it casually, but the meaning underneath felt heavier.

“That sounds exhausting.”

“It is.”

Swastika looked at him.

“Do you hate it?”

Kai was silent for several seconds.

Then he nodded.

“Yes.”

It was the most honest answer he had given her.

Swastika didn’t know why, but hearing that small confession felt important. Like he had quietly handed her a piece of himself.

“That’s why you said you’re afraid of leaving,” she realized.

Kai glanced at her, surprised she remembered.

“You remember random things.”

“It wasn’t random.”

The words slipped out before she could stop them.

Kai stared at her for a second longer than usual.

Swastika quickly looked away, suddenly very interested in a patch of grass.

The wind moved between them.

Then Kai smiled softly.

“Well,” he said, “for what it’s worth, this town is slightly less terrible now.”

Swastika raised an eyebrow.

“Slightly?”

“Don’t get too confident.”

She shook her head.

“You’re impossible.”

Kai stood up and stretched.

Before leaving, he reached into his hoodie pocket and pulled something out.

It was a tiny silver keychain shaped like a star.

He placed it in her palm.

Swastika stared at it.

“What’s this for?”

Kai shrugged.

“So you don’t forget me if I’m ever late.”

Her fingers curled around the small star.

The metal felt cool in her hand.

Something warm spread quietly through her chest.

“I wasn’t planning to forget you,” she said.

Kai smiled in that small, genuine way that made him look different.

Softer.

“Good,” he replied.

As he walked away, Swastika looked down at the star keychain in her hand.

Tonight, her notebook remained closed.

Some things were becoming too real to fit neatly onto paper anymore.

And for the first time, that scared her just a little.