The wind that evening was different.
It wasn't the kind of wind that simply brushed against the skin — no, it carried whispers. Whispers from somewhere beyond, from a time before memory itself.
Elena stood by the river's edge, watching the sky melt into shades of gold and crimson. The year was one long lost to history, yet the air still felt alive with magic. She didn't know it then, but every step that had brought her here had been leading to this very moment.
Adrian was already there.
He wasn't looking at the sunset — he was watching her. Something about her felt familiar, as if he had seen her in a dream he had forgotten but still carried in his bones.
Their eyes met.
It was not a simple glance. It was a collision — of lifetimes, of unspoken promises, of a love that had been here before. The world grew quieter, as if nature itself was holding its breath.
"Elena," he said softly, though they had never spoken before. The name rolled off his tongue like a memory he had always known.
She blinked. "How… how do you know my name?"
Adrian smiled — that small, knowing smile that would one day both save and break her heart. "I've always known."
For a moment, she almost stepped back, unsure of what she was feeling. But then came the pull. That invisible thread between them tightened, drawing her closer.
They spoke for hours — about nothing, about everything. The river kept flowing, the sun disappeared, and still, neither could bring themselves to leave. By the time the moon rose, Elena had already realized something terrifying:
She didn't just like him. She didn't just feel drawn to him. She remembered him.
That night, alone in her bed, Elena dreamed.
She dreamed of holding his hand under a different sky, wearing clothes she had never owned, hearing his laughter in a time she had never lived. And when she woke, one truth echoed in her mind:
I've met him before.
But in this lifetime, she didn't yet know the cost of finding him again.