The walk from the parking lot to the main building felt shorter than it really was. Maybe because we weren't in a hurry. Maybe because her hand was looped around my arm, holding tight the way she always did when she was in a good mood.
Students spilled around us in every direction. Laughter. Footsteps. A couple of people rushing toward the library with their coffees like their lives depended on it. The campus was alive again after the quiet weekend, the Monday buzz crawling in through every corner.
And yet, with her beside me, it didn't feel overwhelming. Just… background noise.
She was humming something I didn't recognize. Probably one of those songs she picked up on TikTok and played on loop until it drilled into my brain without permission. I didn't ask. I just let it fill the air between us.
