The café was nearly empty
Maya sat by the window again
Same table
Same view
But everything felt different now
Because she wasn't waiting for anyone
Not anymore
She held the warm cup in her hands but didn't drink
She just stared through the glass
Watching people pass like they were in a different world
One she had walked away from ten years ago
"I thought you might be here"
The voice made her shoulders tense
It was low
Quiet
Almost careful
Like it didn't want to scare her away
She turned slowly
He was there
Still wearing that dark navy coat
Still carrying the air of someone who had left too many words unsaid
Ethan
Of course it was him
"I figured I'd find you here," he said again
He didn't smile
Didn't sit
Just stood by the edge of the table like he was waiting for permission
Maya's lips pressed together before she finally spoke
"You shouldn't have come here"
His gaze dropped for a moment
Then returned to hers
"I know"
Silence filled the space between them
Thick and fragile
She looked down at her coffee
"It's been ten years, Ethan"
"I know"
"You disappeared. No call. No letter. Not even a goodbye"
"I didn't think I had the right"
Maya let out a quiet, humorless laugh
"Right? You had everything, Ethan. My trust. My love. My future. And you just... walked away"
"I didn't walk," he whispered
"I ran"
She looked up sharply
And for the first time, really looked at him
His eyes weren't the same
Still the same shade of dark amber
But they didn't shine the way they used to
"What do you want now?"
He swallowed
Hard
"To talk. Just talk. That's all"
Maya leaned back
Crossed her arms
Studied him like she didn't recognize the man in front of her
"You don't get to walk back into my life like nothing happened"
"I'm not asking for that," he said quietly
"I'm just asking for a moment. A chance to explain. Even if you never forgive me"
Maya stared out the window again
The clouds were rolling in
Grey and indifferent
Finally, she stood up
Took her coat
And looked at him with a cold kind of sadness
"You want to talk?"
He nodded
"Fine. Walk with me. But if you lie even once, I'm gone. Forever"
He nodded again, wordless
And followed her out the door
---
They walked down the old streets
Past the bookstore she used to love
Past the corner where he first kissed her in the rain
Neither of them said a word
Until Maya finally stopped near the river
She turned to him
"I waited for you. You know that? For months. I kept hoping you'd come back. That there was some reason. Something noble or terrible that made you leave without a word"
Ethan looked away
"There was a reason," he said finally
"But it wasn't noble. And it wasn't something you'd forgive"
"Try me"
He took a deep breath
"My father got sick. Fast. Aggressive. Cancer. I didn't tell anyone because I thought I could handle it. I thought it'd be over in weeks. I thought I could come back and pretend nothing had changed"
"And when it didn't end in weeks?" Maya's voice was sharp
"Why didn't you just say something?"
"Because I was ashamed," he whispered
"I didn't want you to see me fall apart. I didn't want to pull you into that darkness"
"You didn't want me to see you weak?"
Her voice cracked
"Ethan, I loved you. I wanted all of you. Even the broken parts"
He stepped closer
Not too close
But enough that she could feel the gravity of his regret
"I know I don't deserve you," he said
"I just needed you to know that I didn't leave because I stopped caring. I left because I cared too much, and I didn't know how to let you stay without ruining you"
Maya was quiet for a long time
Then she said
"I'm not the same girl you left"
"I know"
"And I don't trust easily anymore"
"I wouldn't either"
"And yet... part of me still remembers how it felt to be in your arms. Like the world could end and I'd still be safe"
His eyes softened
"Maya... I never stopped loving you"
She shook her head slowly
"I don't want those words if they come without actions"
"Then let me show you," he said
"Let me try to be someone worth trusting again"
The wind picked up
Carrying the scent of riverwater and something old
Something like memory
Maya turned toward the path again
"I'm not promising anything," she said
"You don't have to," Ethan whispered
"I'll walk beside you until you believe me. Even if it takes the rest of my life"
She didn't answer
Just walked forward
And this time
He followed without hesitation
---
As they walked side by side, silence stretched between them
But it wasn't the cold silence of strangers
It was heavy
Complicated
Like both of them were afraid to touch the thread that still connected their past to the present
Maya stopped when they reached the edge of the old bridge
Her fingers rested lightly on the weathered railing
She could still remember the night they carved their initials here
A childish M + E, barely visible now
She traced it slowly
"You remember this?" she asked without looking at him
Ethan nodded
"I came here every week after I left. I'd stand right here and wonder if you hated me"
"I did," she said softly
"For a while. Then I hated myself for still loving you"
Those words hung in the air
Fragile
Shaking between them
Ethan turned toward her
"Can I ask you something?"
Maya hesitated
Then nodded once
"What hurt more?" he asked
"That I left without a word… or that I never came back?"
She looked at him
Really looked
Her voice was steady, but her eyes weren't
"That you let me believe I wasn't worth a goodbye"
He closed his eyes briefly
Like her answer cut deeper than he expected
"I don't know how to fix this," he murmured
"I don't even know if I can. But Maya… if you give me a second chance, I'll spend every day proving you were never the problem. I was"
Maya stared at him
And for a split second
She saw the boy she once loved
The boy who used to make her laugh without trying
The boy who held her when her world fell apart
The boy who… left
"I don't know if I can trust you again," she whispered
"I don't expect you to," Ethan said gently
"I just want you to know that I'm still here. And I'm not running this time"
She took a step back
"I need time"
He nodded
"I'll wait"
And that was the strange part
He didn't beg
He didn't reach for her
He just stood there
Letting her breathe
And maybe that was what she needed the most
She turned away from the bridge
Started to walk again
This time slower
More uncertain
Ethan followed from a distance
Not pushing
Not forcing
Just there
---
Later that night
Maya sat on her bed
Staring at the ceiling
The silence of her apartment louder than ever
Her phone buzzed
A message from Ethan
> "Thank you for talking to me today.
I know I don't deserve your time.
But hearing your voice again… it reminded me of who I used to be
And who I still want to be, if I ever get the chance."
She stared at the screen
Her thumb hovered
Then she typed
> "I'm not promising anything, Ethan
But I'm not deleting your number either"
And somehow
That felt like a beginning
---
Across the city
Ethan sat in his car
Reading her reply over and over
A small smile forming at the corners of his lips
He didn't reply
Not yet
He knew better than to rush things
But he whispered to himself
as he looked out the window at the night sky
"Maya… I'll make it right. Even if it takes the rest of my life."
---
The next morning
Maya opened her sketchbook
The same one she hadn't touched in months
She picked up her pencil and started to draw
It wasn't perfect
Her hand trembled at first
But as the lines formed
So did the face she hadn't allowed herself to remember
His eyes
His smile
His pain
She stared at the sketch for a long time
Then closed the book softly
"Maybe we're both still unfinished," she whispered
And in a way
That gave her hope
---
Maya didn't sleep that night
She kept staring at the ceiling
Listening to the hum of the refrigerator
The soft rustle of the wind through the trees outside her window
Her heart wouldn't calm down
It kept remembering the way Ethan looked at her
Like he still knew her
Like he still… loved her
She turned on her side
Tried to shut it all out
But then her mind whispered all the things he didn't say
All the reasons he might still be lying
All the pain she still hadn't unpacked
So she got up
Made tea she wouldn't drink
And opened her old wooden box from the shelf
Inside were memories she had promised herself she would never open again
A faded movie ticket
A dried flower from a night she still remembered in full detail
A small note in his handwriting
"don't forget who you are
don't let the world harden you
you're my soft place in this loud world"
Her fingers trembled as she touched the paper
Why did words written so long ago still hold so much weight?
---
Morning came grey and slow
She took a long shower
Got dressed in something simple
And decided to go out
She didn't want to stay trapped in her apartment with her ghosts
So she walked
Past old streets
Past faces that meant nothing
Until she found herself
Outside Ethan's bookstore
She hadn't meant to come here
But maybe her feet knew what her heart refused to admit
The sign on the door still said "Open late for poetry night"
It used to be her favorite part of the week
Not for the poetry
But for the way Ethan would look at her between readings
Like she was the only line that mattered
She pushed the door open
The chime above rang softly
And the smell hit her instantly
Books
Dust
And something warm
Like cinnamon and old dreams
Ethan looked up from the counter
His surprise quickly melted into something quieter
Gentler
Hopeful
"I didn't think I'd see you again this soon," he said
"I didn't either," Maya replied
He didn't move toward her
Didn't rush
Just watched her with careful eyes
The kind of eyes that had learned what it meant to lose
"I wanted to ask you something," she said
"Anything"
She hesitated
"Do you still write?"
Ethan blinked
A little thrown off
"Sometimes. Not much. Why?"
"Because I found that note you wrote me once," she said
"The one about not letting the world harden me"
He looked like he was about to speak
But she held up her hand
"It made me wonder… if maybe I hardened anyway"
Ethan stepped around the counter
But kept a respectful distance
"You didn't," he said gently
"You just learned how to protect yourself"
Maya looked down
"I'm tired of protecting myself from everything. It's lonely"
His voice was soft
"Maya… I'll never ask you to let your guard down for me again. But if you ever do… I promise to be the safest place you've ever known"
She looked up at him
And for once
There were no tears
Just quiet understanding
"I'm not ready yet," she said
"I know"
"But maybe someday," she added
"I'll wait," he whispered
"As long as it takes"
She nodded
Then turned to leave
But stopped at the door
"By the way…" she said without turning back
"You still owe me a poem"
He smiled
And just before the door closed
She heard his voice behind her
"I already started writing it the day you walked back into my life"
---
That night
He did write
He sat alone in the quiet bookstore
Under yellow lights
With the scent of her still lingering in the air
And he wrote her a poem
Not about the past
Not about regret
But about the way she looked at him today
Like maybe
Just maybe
There was still a chance