A Chanceless love

They had always been close, bound by years of shared memories and the deep ties of family friendship. Yet, neither of them dared to voice the feelings they held for each other, afraid of what the truth might bring.

When they finally confessed, it felt as though the world had aligned just for them. They believed that from that moment on, everything would fall into place, that their love would conquer whatever lay ahead.

But fate had other plans.

Not long after their confession, he received a letter-one that shattered his world. It carried the devastating news of her death. The love of his life was gone, or so he thought.

Two decades passed. Twenty long years of emptiness, of carrying a love that had nowhere to go, and of grieving for a future that had been stolen from him. Then, one fateful day, he saw her again.

She was alive.

Disbelief consumed him. Questions raced through his mind, each more desperate than the last. Was it her memory that kept her hidden all these years? No. Then what was it? Why did she vanish from my life only to return now?*

The answer wasn't simple. It wasn't her memory that kept her away-it was something far more complex, something she couldn't control. What could have torn them apart so completely, only to bring them back together after all these years?