Y/N's POV:
Sunlight dappled through the leaves of the ancient oak, painting dancing patterns on the worn path.
It was a sight I'd seen a thousand times, a scene etched into my soul, yet today, it felt... different.
Heavier. Like the air itself held its breath, anticipating something momentous.
Then I saw her.
Standing on the other side of the clearing, her silhouette framed by the afternoon glow.
Danielle.
Even after all this time, across lifetimes, my heart recognized her instantly.
My breath hitched. Memories, vivid and agonizing, flooded my mind. The day we met, under this very tree, her laughter like wind chimes in the breeze.
Our stolen glances across crowded classrooms, the shy smiles blooming on her face. Our first kiss, clumsy and sweet, under a sky bursting with stars.
And then... the fire.
The suffocating smoke, the searing heat, and the desperate, futile struggle to save her.
I remembered the way she clung to me, her tear-streaked face pressed against mine as the flames devoured everything around us.
We died in each other’s arms, our love a fragile ember amidst the inferno.
But now... here she was. Alive.
A giddy hope surged through me. The universe had given us a second chance, a chance to rewrite our story, to finally have the happy ending that was cruelly ripped away.
"Danielle?" My voice was a hoarse whisper, thick with unshed tears.
She turned, her eyes widening in recognition. The same emerald green that haunted my dreams, now sparkling with a mixture of confusion and… was that a flicker of familiarity?
My feet moved before my mind could catch up. I crossed the clearing in a heartbeat, stopping just inches away from her.
"It’s you,” I breathed, reaching out to touch her face, half expecting my hand to pass through.
But her skin was warm, real. "It's really you."
“Do… do I know you?” Her voice was hesitant, laced with a fear I couldn’t place.
"You will," I whispered, my heart aching with a love that transcended lifetimes. "You will."
***
Danielle's POV:
The boy—Y/N, a name that inexplicably sprung to my lips as soon as he said it—stood before me, his eyes mirroring a depth of emotion I couldn't comprehend.
Fear coiled in my gut, cold and unwelcome. I didn't know this boy, this stranger who looked at me as if I held the universe in my hands.
Yet, when he touched my cheek, a jolt passed through me, a current of something...familiar.
Images flashed behind my eyelids: fire, a towering oak, a pair of loving eyes, the searing pain of loss.
My head swam, and I stumbled back, clutching at the tree trunk for support.
"Who are you?" My voice was thin, shaky. The question was as much for him as it was for myself.
He didn't answer, only stared at me, his gaze intense, searching.
An uneasy feeling settled over me, like I was standing on the precipice of something momentous, terrifying and exhilarating all at once.
"We need to leave," he said finally, his voice urgent, his hand closing around my wrist. "Now."
