Behind the Perfect Smile

Eliana's POV

"Eli, come out—your noodles are getting cold!"

"Not until you apologize!" I shouted from under the bed.

Footsteps approached. Then stopped. A gentle knock on the wooden frame of the bed.

"Sweetheart," my mom's soft voice floated down, warm as afternoon sunlight, "we're sorry. Your dad shouldn't have laughed at your butterfly drawing."

"She had three wings," I sniffled. "She was magical."

"I know, dear," Dad's voice joined in—his tone mock serious. "And clearly, I am the one who doesn't understand the complexity of mutant butterflies." 🦋

I almost giggled—but I held my ground.

Silence for a beat.

Then I heard something being pushed across the floor. A bowl.

"Noodles with cheese," Mom coaxed gently. "Your favorite." 🍜

"Extra ketchup," Dad added proudly. "I poured it myself." 🍅

I peeked out.

Mom was sitting cross-legged on the carpet, smiling at me like I was the most precious thing in the universe. Dad was beside her, holding up a peace offering: a single gummy bear.

"I saved the red one for you," he whispered. ❤️🐻

I crawled out slowly. They didn't rush me. Didn't scold me. Just waited, arms open.

I plopped down in my mother's lap and buried my face in her shoulder.

"You love me again?" I mumbled.

"We never stopped," she whispered.

And just like that… everything was okay.

That was my childhood once.

Messy. Stubborn. Full of tantrums.

But loved.

So, so loved.

BZZZZZZZ! BZZZZZZZZ!

A shrill vibration shattered the dream like glass against stone.

My phone.

No…

I groaned and reached around blindly with one hand, eyes still closed, fingers clawing through my blanket, my hair, and the empty spot beside me where that dream still lingered.

My hand finally landed on the phone.

I answered with a croaky whisper, "Hello?"

"Elianaaaaaaaa!"

"Mia?" I winced, rubbing my temple. "Can you not scream directly into my soul?"

"Finally! Took you long enough. I've been calling for ages. Anyway—CONGRATULATIONS! 🎉🎉 When are you moving into your new house?!"

"…What?"

"You know, your new place? Your cozy, adorable, sunshine-and-window-seat dream house?" 🪟🌞

I squinted one eye open and looked at the screen.

Yup. Mia.

My brain was still halfway in dreamland.

"What congratulations?" I asked, blinking rapidly. "What house?"

There was a pause.

"Eliana." Her voice turned suspicious. "Don't tell me you forgot."

"Forgot what exactly?"

"You did go today and finish the paperwork, right?"

I sat up in bed so fast my blanket flopped to the floor. "Wait—wasn't I supposed to go with you?"

"You were. But I texted you last night, remember?" Mia huffed. "I said I couldn't make it today. You opened the message!"

Oh. Right.

I did open the chat.

And then promptly passed out before reading it.

I face-palmed. "I didn't read it. I was too sleepy."

Mia groaned. "So you didn't go?"

"Nope."

"Elianaaaa!" she wailed. "You had one job!"

I looked at the time. 6:04 PM.

I gasped. "Mia! Call the realtor right now! Tell him I'm coming. I need to sign everything today!"

"It's already evening!" she argued. "We can go tomorrow. It's not like someone else is going to steal your fairytale balcony."

"But what if someone does? I'll never find another house that feels like that again."

"You're being dramatic."

"Have you met me?"

She sighed deeply. "Fine. I'll call him. But you owe me fries."

"Done. Large ones." 🍟

"Ugh, hang up. I'm calling him now."

I dropped the phone on the bed with a breathless sigh.

And then… the silence returned.

But not the same silence from before.

This one held traces of a dream.

I curled my knees to my chest, hugging the warmth that lingered in my memory.

The softness of Mom's lap.

Dad's dumb jokes about mutant butterflies.

The gummy bear.

A tear slipped down the side of my face.

Not from pain. Not quite.

From longing.

From remembering how it once was.

I whispered to no one, "I just wish… they could love me like that again."

And for a second, I let myself believe that maybe they could.

Maybe.

Someday.

If I found a way to bring them back to the version of themselves I once knew.

The dream may have faded—but the ache it left behind?

That was very real. 💔

Hendrix's POV

The screen in front of me blurred for the third time in ten minutes.

Emails. Reports. Numbers. Charts.

None of them were sticking.

Because all I could think about… was her.

Eliana.

Eliana, standing on the balcony across from mine. Eliana, laughing softly. Eliana—back in my life, living next door like some divine twist of fate.

She was moving in.

Next door. Just like before.

I could already imagine it—waking up and seeing her silhouette in the window seat. That sleepy look in her eyes, the way her hair always seemed to be caught in the wind.

A foolish smile tugged at my lips before I could stop it.

God help me, I was actually grinning at my desk like a teenage boy.

"You good, boss?"

I blinked, startled.

Mark—my assistant—was standing across my desk, eyebrows raised.

He tilted his head. "Not to alarm you, but you were smiling at your laptop. The empty one."

I cleared my throat and straightened up. "Right. I asked you to look into something."

"Yeah… you mean someone," Mark muttered.

"Anyway," he continued, pulling out his tablet, "I got everything. Want the rundown?"

I nodded.

"Her name's Ms. Eliana Benjamin. She's currently on medical leave from Silverline Health Centre. No details on why—but it was recent."

"Medical leave?" I frowned.

"Yeah. I dug, but it's sealed. Confidential stuff. Whatever it was, it got her some time off."

"And?"

"She and Ms. Mia are best friends. Not lifelong ones, but they're close."

"Apparently, Ms. Mia notorious for sabotaging her own blind dates. She has a bit of a reputation."

"That explains a lot," I murmured.

"And lastly—you were right. Ms. Eliana is the one moving into your uncle's place. Confirmed with the realtor. Ms. Mia referred her."

I sat up. "She's doing the paperwork today?"

Mark checked the clock. "That's what she said. But it's already late. And… the weather's turning ugly. I don't know if she's still going."

I didn't need to hear anything else.

I stood abruptly, grabbing my keys.

Mark blinked. "Wait—where are you going?"

"Cancel my meetings."

"Today's board review is in twenty minutes—"

"I said cancel everything." I tossed on my coat. "I have something important to take care of."

He stared at me. "Does this 'important thing' have a name?"

I paused at the door.

"Eliana," I said simply. "Her name's Eliana." ❤️

And with that—I walked out.