The years had rolled forward like a tide that never looked back.
Ren was no longer the hesitant boy who second-guessed every step. He had become someone people looked up to respected, admired, quietly envied. His projects with Royace had made a mark; Maya still lingered in his orbit, teasing him with her old jokes, anchoring him when he drifted too far into work. Life had steadied, sharpened, moved on.
Yet on some evenings like this one, when the city glowed under soft rain he slowed. He found himself standing near a café Tulip had once dragged him into, swearing their coffee was "life-changing." The sign was still there, the window still steamed up with laughter from strangers.
Ren paused.
Not to dwell, not to ache but to remember.
Tulip's laugh, her fire, the way she believed in him when he didn't believe in himself those things had carved a shape into his life. Not a wound anymore, but a space. A quiet reminder that sometimes people don't stay, yet still change everything.
His phone buzzed in his pocket. A tag from an old photo surfaced one of those chaotic group shots where Tulip had stood in the corner, grinning too wide, her eyes brighter than the camera could catch. For a second, Ren just looked at it. Then, almost without realizing, he smiled.
Not a smile of longing. Not regret. Just gratitude.
Because some paths cross to awaken you, and some uncross to set you free.
He slipped his phone back into his pocket and stepped out into the rain, the city lights reflecting in every puddle. The world ahead was wide, unpredictable, alive and he was ready for it.
Not every path is meant to cross forever. Some appear only to remind you where you're meant to go.
With that thought, Ren walked forward, his figure dissolving into the glow of the city no longer the boy who feared the future, but the man who had learned to carry it.