I Wanted My Wife Back

Chapter 1: Crowded high school corridor

The first thing I noticed about her was her eyes.

We were sixteen, standing on opposite sides of a crowded high school corridor while students pushed past us in every direction. Lockers slammed. Shoes squeaked against the polished floor. Someone nearby was laughing far too loudly.

Yet for one strange moment, all of that noise seemed to fade.

Her eyes caught the afternoon light coming through the windows. They were bright and alive, sparkling with a warmth that made me think of sunlight on water. When she noticed me staring, she tilted her head and smiled.

“Are you lost?” she asked.

Her voice was soft and musical. At sixteen, I would have described it as a chorus of angels. Years later, I still couldn’t think of anything more accurate.

“No,” I said, although I had completely forgotten where I was supposed to be going.

She laughed and walked away.

I stood there watching her disappear into the crowd, already knowing that I wanted to hear that laugh again.

We became friends first. We studied together in the library, shared lunches beneath the old tree behind the gym, and spoke on the phone long after our parents believed we were asleep. She wanted to travel. I wanted a quiet home. Somehow, when we imagined the future together, those dreams never felt incompatible.