Ghosts of US

Title: No Ghosts of Us

Lavender never believed in ghosts, at least not the kind that haunt abandoned houses or whisper through cracked windows. But the kind that lived in memories, that lingered in the spaces between then and now-those she could never seem to escape.

New York City had a way of making the past feel like the present. Every street, every coffee shop, every fleeting song from a passing taxi could pull her back into moments she thought she had buried. It had been over a year since she last saw him, but some days, it felt like only minutes had passed.

She was good at moving forward-at least, that's what she told herself. Work consumed her, as it always had. Meetings, deadlines, numbers, strategies-things that had clarity, unlike emotions. Unlike love.

But when she spotted him across the street one rainy afternoon, standing beneath the awning of their favorite bookstore, the world around her faltered. He hadn't seen her. Not yet. And for a second, she considered walking the other way, pretending he was just another stranger in the city. But she knew better.

The ghosts of their love still lingered, waiting for acknowledgment. And as much as she wanted to pretend they had been exorcized, she knew deep down: there were no ghosts of them. Only the pieces of a story that had never fully ended.