Chapter 14 - The Circle Knows

Chapter 14: The Circle Knows

It was a rainy Thursday when ABIX met up at their usual spot — a cozy Japanese joint tucked between two HDB blocks, the kind of place only locals knew how to find. The kind with creaky wooden stools and mismatched ceramic plates.

They hadn’t hung out in a while — all four of them together — and it felt long overdue.

Isabelle showed up first, umbrella dripping. Crystal came in laughing with Ivan, something about a cat café disaster.

Aleem was already inside, scrolling his phone, fingers absentmindedly tapping the table. His green-thread bracelet peeked out beneath his sleeve.

Crystal caught it first. She raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

They ordered their usual: katsudon, salmon sashimi, gyoza, and two unnecessary bowls of miso soup “for sharing” that no one touched.

It wasn’t until they were halfway through dinner that the energy shifted.

Ivan, slicing his tamago precisely, glanced at Aleem. “You’ve been different lately.”

“Yeah,” Isabelle chimed in, smiling softly. “Not in a bad way. Just… lighter.”

Crystal leaned in. “Want to talk about it? Or should we just keep pretending you’re not emotionally glowing?”

Aleem chuckled. “Emotionally glowing? That’s terrifying.”

Crystal didn’t blink. “So. Who is she?”

Aleem paused, chopsticks halfway to his mouth. He looked around at the faces that had been with him through everything — from his first crash to the echoes that never quite left.

Then he said it.

“Hana.”

Silence, but the warm kind.

He exhaled. “I met her in JB. You guys were there. I just… didn’t know it meant anything back then.”

“Now you do?” Ivan asked.

“Yeah,” Aleem said. “It’s different with her. No games. No guessing. Just… steady. The kind of quiet that doesn’t feel empty.”

Isabelle tilted her head. “That sounds like peace.”

He nodded. “It scares me sometimes. Like I don’t know if I deserve it. Or if I’ll ruin it.”

Crystal, who had seen him at his lowest, reached across the table and lightly tapped his bracelet. “You don’t have to fight love like it’s a war. Sometimes it just wants to be a home.”

Ivan added, “You’ve already done the hard part. You stayed standing.”

Isabelle smiled. “And we see you, Aleem. Even when you couldn’t see yourself.”

Aleem swallowed. The lump in his throat was unexpected.

“Thanks,” he said softly. “For staying with me while I figured it out.”

Crystal grinned. “We’re ABIX, remember? We don’t walk away.”

That night, they walked under a shared umbrella, the four of them squeezed awkwardly close, laughing at Isabelle’s rain-drenched shoes and Ivan’s grumpy shuffle.

Aleem trailed a little behind, the sound of their voices ahead of him — real, bright, alive.

He looked at his phone.

One new message from Hana.

Made it home safe?

He typed back:

Yeah. Spent the evening with my people. They finally know about you.

Her reply came fast.

And?

They’re rooting for us.

Good. Because I’m rooting for you too.

He smiled. Pocketed the phone.

And just like that, the love he thought he’d never find…
became a little more real.