LightReader

Chapter 7 - The Letter

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### **Chapter 7: The Letter**

The letter arrived in the tenth autumn.

It came wrapped in an aged envelope, edges frayed and yellowed by time. No return address. Just her name — **Elara Wren**, handwritten in familiar ink that made her breath catch.

Her fingers trembled as she opened it, afraid the paper might crumble from age or grief. Inside was a single sheet, folded carefully, as if he'd touched it a thousand times before letting it go.

> *My Elara,*

>

> *If this reaches you, then I am already a memory.*

> *I didn't leave because I stopped loving you — I left because I did.*

>

> *I was sick. I couldn't let you watch me disappear, not like that. I wanted you to remember me as I was — whole, smiling, full of the life we shared.*

>

> *You gave me the only peace I ever knew. Every word I wrote carried your voice. Every morning I woke was for you.*

>

> *I'm sorry I didn't say goodbye. I wanted to spare you the slow breaking. But I was wrong. You deserved more.*

>

> *If there's anything after this, I'll be waiting — where the sea meets the sky.*

>

> *Always,*

> *Theo.*

Elara clutched the letter to her chest.

And finally, she wept.

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