Short & Sweet

The Letter

The Letter

Amara hadn’t thought of Ethan in years, but something about finding that old box in the attic made her pause. As she brushed away the dust, she discovered a single yellowed envelope inside. Her name, written in a hand she could never forget, was scrawled across the front: *Ethan*.

Her heart clenched. She hadn’t heard from him in over a decade. They had been inseparable that summer, full of hope and promise. But after one final letter, he’d vanished. No explanation, no goodbyes.

With trembling fingers, she opened the envelope and began to read:

“Amara, 
If you're reading this, then maybe the stars have brought you back to me. I never stopped thinking about you, not for a single day. Life pulled us apart, but my heart stayed with you. On our anniversary, I’ll wait for you, every year, in the place where we first met. If you ever feel the same, meet me there. 
Always yours, 
Ethan.”

She gasped. Their anniversary... it was today.

---

An hour later, Amara found herself standing by the park bench where they’d met so many years ago. Her heart pounded in her chest. The memories flooded back—their laughter, their long talks under the stars, the way he’d look at her like she was the only person in the world.

But would he really be here? After all this time?

She almost turned to leave when a voice, soft and familiar, stopped her in her tracks.

“I thought you’d forgotten me.”

Her heart leaped. Turning around slowly, she saw him—older, yes, but still the same Ethan. His hair was touched with grey now, and his smile had softened, but those eyes... they were the same. The ones that had once made her feel like she was home.

"Ethan..." she whispered, her voice breaking.

“I waited, Amara. Every year, I waited. I never stopped believing you’d come back to me.”

Tears welled up in her eyes. “Why didn’t you ever reach out? Why did you just disappear?”

Ethan’s smile faltered. “I... I wrote you letters. Dozens of them. I was sick for a while, and when I got better, I thought maybe you’d moved on. But I couldn’t... I couldn’t leave this world without seeing you one last time. So I waited... hoping.”

Amara took a shaky breath, stepping closer. “You were sick? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t want to burden you. You had your whole life ahead of you. I couldn’t be the reason you stopped chasing your dreams.”

She shook her head, tears spilling over now. “But you were my dream, Ethan. You always were.”

He reached out, his fingers gently brushing away her tears, just like he had done all those years ago. “I’m here now. That’s all that matters.”

---

They sat down on the bench, side by side, the weight of time and silence falling away as they talked for hours, catching up on the lives they had lived apart. Amara told him about the people she’d met, the places she’d been, but as they talked, her heart ached for all the moments they could have shared.

After a long pause, she finally whispered, “Do you think we can pick up where we left off? After all this time?”

Ethan’s eyes softened as he took her hand in his. “We’ve lost years, Amara, but we’ve found each other again. And that’s all I ever wanted.”

They sat there as the sun began to set, the world quiet around them, as if it were holding its breath. And in that quiet, Amara realized something: true love doesn’t fade, no matter how much time passes. It waits, quietly, for the right moment to bloom again.

Ethan leaned closer, pressing his lips softly against her forehead. “I never stopped loving you,” he whispered.

“I never stopped either,” she replied, her voice breaking with emotion.

For the first time in years, they were home ...