The world around him blurred, painted in soft golden hues. He stood in a familiar meadow, the one they had visited years ago, where Elena once ran barefoot through wildflowers, laughing like the world was made only for them.
He turned—and there she was.
Wearing a simple white dress, hair dancing in the breeze, smile just as he remembered. Time hadn't touched her. Neither had pain.
"Elena..." he whispered, voice breaking.
She stepped closer, her eyes shimmering. "Hey, my love."
Zayden stumbled forward, grabbing her face between his hands. "I've missed you," he choked. "Every second. Every breath. I—God, I don't know how I'm still breathing without you."
She placed her hand over his chest. "You are. You're doing it. For them. For me."
He shook his head violently. "Don't say that. Don't you dare say that. You were my life, Lena. You still are. Everything else is just... noise."
Tears rolled down his cheeks as he pulled her into a desperate hug. "I talk to your pillow like a madman. I still wake up reaching for you. I write letters I can never send. And every time someone tells me to move on, to let go—I want to scream."
She stayed silent, only holding him tighter.
"Don't tell me to fall in love again," he begged, his voice a fragile whisper. "Please. Don't tell me to open my heart. I can't. I won't. There's no space left, Elena. You filled every inch of it."
"I know," she whispered, kissing his temple. "I never wanted to be replaced."
Zayden pulled back, staring at her like she was slipping away. "Then why does everyone keep telling me I'll heal? That one day someone else will come?"
Elena smiled softly, sadly. "Because they don't know what we had."
"I can't fall for anyone else," he said. "I won't. I don't want to. So if you're here... if this is the last time I'll see you, promise me you won't ask me to try."
She touched his face, thumbs brushing his tears. "I would never ask that of you. Loving me wasn't temporary for you. And I never want you to treat it like it was."
He swallowed thickly. "Then just... stay. Even if only in my dreams."
"I always do," she whispered, fading gently in the morning light. "Every time you miss me."
---
Zayden Wakes Up
He jerked awake, breath catching.
The bed beside him was empty, as always.
But for once, his chest didn't feel completely hollow.
He looked out the window, the sky slowly shifting from night to dawn.
Then he whispered into the quiet, "I saw you tonight. And I'll see you again."