Rain fell softly against the city streets. The bright neon lights blurred into colors of red and yellow. Elora pulled her coat tighter around her shoulders. Her umbrella did little to shield her from the rain. She hated this weather. It made her feel empty. It felt like the city was moving around her but she was not part of it.
She walked past crowded cafes. Laughter and chatter spilled out, warm and inviting, but she could not reach it. People were in pairs. They were laughing and holding hands. Elora felt the familiar ache again. Heartbreak. Regret. The ghost of love she thought she had lost forever.
Her phone buzzed in her coat pocket. A message from her best friend, Mara.
"Do not stay out there too long. You will catch a cold. Come home."
Elora smiled faintly. Mara had always been the voice of reason. She reminded her to eat, sleep, and breathe when life felt like too much. But this time, Elora did not want comfort. She wanted something else, something she could not name.
She arrived at the small café she had been avoiding for weeks. Memories of him were tucked into every corner and table. Their favorite spot by the window, where they had shared laughter and whispered promises, was still empty. For a moment, she thought about turning away and walking back into the rain. But curiosity won.
She pushed open the door. The warm scent of coffee and pastries surrounded her. Soft music floated from the speakers. A melody she vaguely remembered from a long-ago morning. Her eyes scanned the room. Nothing had changed. And yet, everything felt different.
Then she saw him.
He was standing by the counter, unaware of her presence, flipping through a notebook. His hair fell into his eyes. He looked older and wiser. But his smile, the faint crease at the corner of his lips, was the same. That smile had once been hers alone. Now it was shared with the world.
Her heart twisted. A mix of anger, longing, and something she had not felt in a long time. Hope.
She wanted to leave, to run out into the rain and pretend she had never seen him. But her feet moved before her brain could protest. Slowly, she walked toward him. The sound of her shoes on the wooden floor echoed louder than the music.
In that moment, with the rain still falling outside, the past collided with the present. Maybe it was the beginning of something new.