Leya

Anthony was silent for a moment, and I wondered if I had said too much or if I had made him suddenly uncomfortable. Just when I had started to regret my words, Anthony smiled at me and nodded his head slightly a couple of times as if in agreement.

“Dahlia is indeed a beautiful name,” he commented casually.

“Really? Sometimes I think that it sounds quite outdated,” I replied as I tried to sound natural.

“If that's the case, have you asked your parents for a nickname?” Anthony asked with a hint of suggestion in his tone.

“I'm not so sure…” I replied hesitantly because I wasn’t sure if that was a good idea at all.

The idea of asking my parents for a nickname never occurred to me before, and I didn't think that they would give me one simply because I demanded it. On top of that, I had always thought that the concept of a nickname was to show adoration to the owner of the name.

“Dahlia, what about Leya? It's like saying the second syllable of your name very slowly. Leya,” Anthony sug