The morning after our perfect day in the woods, reality started to creep back in. As much as I wanted to stay in this bubble with Martinus forever, we couldn’t ignore the fact that the weekend was coming to an end. The others were already talking about going back to their regular lives, and I knew that soon enough, we’d have to figure out how our relationship would fit into all of that.
I woke up to the sound of rain tapping gently on the window, casting a gray hue over the cabin. It was a calm, quiet morning—fitting for the mood that had settled over me. I wasn’t ready to face the end of this weekend. I wasn’t ready to leave this place where everything felt so simple and perfect.
As I made my way downstairs, I found Martinus in the kitchen, making coffee. He looked up and smiled when he saw me, and just like that, the worries that had been swirling in my mind faded for a moment.
“Morning,” he said softly, his eyes warm as he handed me a cup of coffee.
“Morning,” I replied, taking the cup and leaning against the counter beside him. “It’s raining.”
“Yeah,” he said, glancing out the window. “Looks like it’s going to be a quiet day.”
I nodded, sipping my coffee. There was a comfortable silence between us, but I could feel the weight of the unspoken conversation hanging in the air. I knew we couldn’t ignore it forever.
“What happens after today?” I asked, breaking the silence.
Martinus looked at me, his expression serious but thoughtful. “I’ve been thinking about that too.”
“And?” I prompted, feeling a knot of anxiety tighten in my stomach.
He set his coffee down and turned to face me fully. “I want this to work, Y/N. I really do. But I know things might get complicated once we’re back home. We’re both busy, we’ve got our own lives… but I don’t want to lose what we’ve started here.”
I appreciated his honesty, even though it didn’t make the uncertainty any easier to bear. “I don’t want to lose it either. But I’m worried, you know? What if things change when we go back? What if it’s not the same?”
He reached out and took my hand, his touch reassuring. “Things will change, yeah. But that doesn’t mean we can’t figure it out. We just have to be willing to try.”
I looked into his eyes, seeing the sincerity there. I wanted to believe him. I wanted to believe that we could make this work, even when the real world came crashing back in. But part of me was still scared. Scared that what we had now wouldn’t survive once we left this place.
“I guess we’ll just have to see,” I said softly, trying to keep my voice steady.
Martinus squeezed my hand, his thumb brushing gently over my skin. “We will. And whatever happens, I’m not going anywhere, okay? We’re in this together.”
His words brought me a sense of comfort, and I nodded, feeling a little more at ease. “Okay.”
---
The rest of the day passed in a quiet, reflective haze. The rain continued to fall steadily, creating a peaceful, almost melancholic atmosphere. We spent the day lounging around the cabin, playing board games, and talking. It was like we were all trying to savor the last moments of the weekend before reality set in.
At one point, I found myself sitting with Nora on the porch, watching the rain fall over the lake. She had noticed the shift between me and Martinus, of course, and I knew she was curious about what was going on.
“So,” she said casually, glancing over at me. “You and Martinus, huh?”
I smiled, pulling my knees up to my chest. “Yeah. It kind of just… happened.”
Nora grinned. “I knew it would. You two have been dancing around each other since the moment we all got here.”
I laughed softly. “I guess we have. But now I’m not sure what’s going to happen when we leave.”
She nodded, her expression thoughtful. “It’s always tricky when you start something on a trip like this. The real world has a way of complicating things.”
“That’s exactly what I’m worried about,” I admitted. “I don’t want to lose what we have, but I also don’t know how it’s going to work once we’re back to our normal lives.”
Nora rested her hand on my shoulder, giving me a reassuring squeeze. “Look, if it’s meant to be, you’ll figure it out. Just take it one step at a time. Don’t overthink it too much.”
I smiled, appreciating her advice. “You’re right. I just need to see where things go.”
“Exactly,” she said with a wink. “And from what I’ve seen, Martinus seems pretty invested in figuring it out with you.”
That thought brought me comfort. Despite my fears, I knew that Martinus cared about me, and that he was willing to put in the effort to make this work. That had to count for something.
---
As the evening approached, the rain finally began to let up, and the sky started to clear. We all gathered around the firepit again, trying to soak up the last few hours of the trip. The mood was quieter than it had been the night before, but it was still filled with a sense of closeness—like we had all shared something special this weekend.
I sat next to Martinus, leaning into him as the fire crackled in front of us. His arm was draped over my shoulders, and I felt safe, warm, and content. But in the back of my mind, the uncertainty still lingered.
At one point, Marcus stood up, holding up his mug in a toast. “To a great weekend with great people,” he said, his voice full of warmth. “This has been exactly what we all needed, and I’m so glad we got to do this together.”
We all raised our mugs, smiling and toasting to the weekend. It was a bittersweet moment—one filled with gratitude for the time we had shared, but also with the knowledge that it was coming to an end.
After the fire died down, we slowly made our way back inside, the reality of packing up and heading home starting to settle in. As I climbed into bed that night, I couldn’t help but feel a mix of emotions—excitement for what might come next, but also a deep sense of nostalgia for the weekend we had just shared.
Martinus slipped into bed beside me, and for a moment, we just lay there in silence, both of us lost in our thoughts. Eventually, he turned to me, his hand finding mine under the covers.
“Whatever happens after this,” he said softly, “I just want you to know that I’m glad we had this weekend. It’s been… special.”
I smiled, squeezing his hand. “It really has. And I’m glad we finally figured things out.”
He chuckled softly. “Yeah, me too. Took us long enough.”
We shared a quiet laugh, and I felt the weight of the weekend slowly start to lift. Whatever happened next, I knew that we had shared something real—something worth fighting for. And as I drifted off to sleep, I felt a sense of peace, knowing that no matter what came next, we would face it together.
