The Boy With Ocean Eyes.

Hi! My name is Avyana.

“To everyone who has loved quietly, deeply, and without regret —this story is for you.

I hope it takes you back to your own chapters,to the person who felt like home,and to the version of you that dared to feel everything.”

Copyright Notice

Where my heart lies © 2025 Avyanarain.

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without prior written permission from the author.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously.

A peaceful morning. Warm sunlight comes through the curtains, and birds are chirping outside.

Then suddenly—

A loud sound breaks the calm.

“WAKE UP… WAKE UP, YOU FOOL! IT’S MORNING!”

The alarm goes on and on nonstop. It’s so irritating that my dream shatters, and I wake up. Somehow, I’m on the floor. And it’s not even the alarm I hate it's the voice that irritates me.

Having good friends is a blessing…

But not for me. They are good friends, but they irritate me so much that sometimes I feel like they’re my enemies instead.

“Damn it, why can’t I turn it off?” I said, shaking the alarm clock.

It was a gift from one of my friends, and honestly, now I’m scared of the presents they give me.

“Should I throw you away… please shut up,” I said, frustrated.

I can’t exactly throw away someone’s gift, and I know it will go off in a few minutes, but it has become a daily routine. I always end up waking up on the floor because of its annoying sound. Let me correct myself—it's not a robotic sound; it’s one of my friend’s voices that he recorded, screaming like his life depends on it.

After spending a few seconds on the floor, I got up and went to the bathroom. After a shower, I started getting ready for my day with my best friends. It’s been too long since I stepped outside, so this actually feels good.

I stood in front of the mirror, running my fingers through my long, wavy hair. My brown eyes looked a little sleepy, but some kajal and mascara fixed that. A short kurti with bangles, jeans, tiny jhumka on my ears, open hair, and a little makeup and I was done.

I walked out of my apartment and headed toward the nearest art supplies and music store. It was the biggest and most popular store in the area, and I needed to pick up a few things for my art project. I also had to wait for my friend to show up. Just thinking about our plans made me smile.

I roamed around the aisles, gathered everything I needed, but as the minutes passed, boredom slowly wrapped around me like an unwelcome guest. That’s when I started paying attention to everything around me the little details I usually ignored.

I began counting the people in the store, and my eyes eventually drifted to a girl outside, around my age, absolutely tearing into her boyfriend. I couldn’t hear her clearly, but her anger was practically visible, like sparks in the air.

To get a better view, I moved closer to the large glass window of the store and leaned against it, holding a music album so it looked like I was just browsing. Warm sunlight streamed through the glass, and I found myself silently cheering her on. ‘Go on, girl—give him hell.’ I actually cringed when I realized the guy had cheated. Typical.

But then, somehow, they patched things up in the end. And the level of disappointment that washed over me… I can’t even describe it.

Watching their messy drama, I caught myself thinking, How can they be so reckless, fighting in public like this? Their argument was pure second-hand embarrassment. I was judging them, sure… but I was also way too invested. And honestly, if she was just going to forgive him anyway, why cause all that chaos?

My curiosity drifted too far, so I forced myself to look away—only for my eyes to fall on my own shadow.

For a moment, I just stared at it, my thoughts slipping into a darker place.

‘What’s the purpose of having you? Did God actually make a mistake creating you?’

Then I shook my head lightly. ‘No. A mighty God doesn’t make mistakes.’

After a few minutes of blank staring, I whispered under my breath, “What’s the point of having you? Now I’m curious.”

Suddenly, a deep, soulful voice cut through my thoughts the kind of voice you don’t hear in real life.If you read dark romance, you know exactly the type —the voice that drags emotions out of you

and ruins your standards for actual men.

“Shadows take away your loneliness,” he began,

his tone rich and certain.“They hold you at your lowest… they stay when everything else leaves.”

The seriousness in his voice was unnerving—yet impossibly captivating.

I turned toward him, and the moment my eyes met his,my breath snagged in my throat.

Standing before me was a tall, magnetic boy with a warm fair, almost wheatish complexion that seemed to glow on its own.

His bluish eyes sparkled like sunlight rippling across the ocean,and when his naturally pink lips curved into a soft,almost teasing smile—I felt something shift inside me.

He carried a calm, quiet aura—gentle, soothing…yet strong enough to pull me toward him without trying.

He wore a black T-shirt, fitted rough gray jeans,and a hoodie with a black jacket casually half-open. white Nike shoes completed the look.

A sleek watch sat on his right wrist,and a shimmering locket rested against his collarbone,catching the light every time he moved.

Earphones hung loosely in his ears,an open book—with a pen and sticky notes peeking out—lay tucked under his arm,and a couple of music albums in his hand completed his strangely artistic charm.

I couldn’t look away.

He looked like the kind of boy authors exaggerate in novels—except nothing about him felt exaggerated at all.

For a moment, I gave in to the pull of him,

my heart skipping a beat like it already knew something I didn’t.

"Done?" he asked, his soft laughter and teasing tone practically glowing with pride at the effect he clearly had.

Heat rushed to my cheeks. Was I staring that hard?

Trying to play it cool, I glanced at him again. Since he had headphones on, I assumed he was on a call. I let out a tiny sigh of relief, convincing myself he hadn’t actually caught me staring like a lovestruck idiot.

But oh, how I remembered him—every detail etched into my mind.He was breathtakingly beautiful, a rare kind of beauty you don’t just see… you feel.

Not the boy-next-door type, not a silly teenage crush—he looked like a fictional character who had accidentally slipped into the real world.

“Don’t you think so?” he asked again, holding his book against his chest. He removed his earphones, wrapped them around his fingers, then turned and looked directly at me.

“Me? Are you talking to me?” I said, pointing at myself just to confirm I wasn’t hallucinating again.

He tilted his head slightly, a gentle smile tugging at his lips.“Yeah.”

Oh my heart…Why are you thumping like you are about to escape my chest?And why he's suddenly sparkling in my eyes?

He's so beautiful? His eyes, his eyebrows, his lips, his voice…How can someone so perfect exist in this trash world?

Do angels really coexist with us?

Ugh. What is wrong with me today? I snapped out of it, mentally yanking myself back to reality.

No matter how good-looking someone is, I shouldn’t be thinking like this. And why am I reacting like this? Did he cast some kind of spell on me? I glared at him suspiciously. Maybe he know black magic. Who knows?

“No… I was thinking in a scientific way,” I said firmly, trying to push away this new personality of mine that I didn’t even know existed until now. “I don’t believe in poems and all, mister.”

“Interesting,” he said, the smile lingering. “Well, scientifically speaking, a shadow is just the absence of light. It isn’t an object—it’s simply a dark area created when something opaque, like your body, blocks the light from reaching a surface.”

Okay, fine. I get it.

I’m just plain stupid because I didn’t understand a single word he said.

It was better when he talked like a normal person.

Why did I say that?“No, I was thinking in a scientific way.”

Seriously? Stupid, do you even know what science is? I mocked myself internally, dying of secondhand embarrassment caused by myself.

“I—I think I’ll like it better in the philosophy way… more than scientific,” I said, smiling awkwardly and trying to explain my way out of the mess I created.

He just stared at me for a moment… then smiled again.

And honestly, if he wants me to fall in love with him, he should just say it.

Why is he smiling again and again like that?

To be continued.