Scene 1: The Shift
The days after their rooftop promises felt like a dream suspended in time. Elara and Lucien moved through Paris like two verses of the same poem—sometimes in harmony, sometimes in quiet dissonance. They shared meals, stories, silences. They wrote together, danced together, wandered through antique shops and bookstores where time seemed to pause for them.
But something had shifted.
It wasn't dramatic. It was subtle. A pause before Lucien answered. A glance Elara didn't recognize. A silence that felt heavier than usual.
One morning, Lucien arrived at Elara's studio with coffee and croissants, but his smile didn't reach his eyes.
"You're quiet," she said.
He shrugged. "Just thinking."
"About?"
Lucien hesitated. "A job offer. In New York."
Elara blinked. "New York?"
He nodded. "An editor I met last year reached out. They want me to join a publishing house. It's a big opportunity."
Elara's heart thudded. "And you're considering it?"
Lucien looked away. "I'd be foolish not to."
---
Scene 2: The Echo of Goodbye
Elara sat alone after he left, the croissants untouched. Her journal lay open, but the words refused to come. Instead, she wrote a single line:
> I didn't expect the goodbye to echo before it arrived.
She stared at the page, her chest tight. She had come to Paris to find herself. She hadn't planned on finding someone who made her want to stay.
She hadn't planned on falling in love.
---
Scene 3: The Confrontation
That evening, they met at the bridge. The rain had returned, soft and steady.
Lucien held the red umbrella. Elara didn't.
"I didn't know how to tell you," he said.
"You just did."
Lucien sighed. "It's not about leaving you. It's about not losing myself."
Elara's voice trembled. "And what about me? What am I supposed to do with this?"
Lucien stepped closer. "You're strong. You'll keep writing. You'll keep dancing."
"I don't want to do those things without you."
Lucien's eyes filled with pain. "I don't want to leave. But I also don't want to stay out of fear."
Elara looked away. "Then maybe we were never meant to last."
Lucien reached for her hand. "Maybe we were meant to matter."
---
Scene 4: The Silence Between Them
The next few days were quiet. They didn't meet. They didn't write. Elara wandered the city alone, retracing the steps they had taken together. The café felt colder. The garden felt empty. The rooftop felt too far away.
She wrote in her journal every night:
> I'm not angry. I'm just grieving something that hasn't ended yet.
> I thought love was a place. But maybe it's a moment.
> I want to be brave. But I also want to be held.
Lucien wrote too. Pages filled with longing, confusion, guilt.
> She made me feel like I belonged. And now I don't know where I do.
> I want to stay. But I also want to grow. Why do those feel like opposites?
---
Scene 5: The Letter That Changed Everything
On the fifth day, Elara received a letter. It wasn't from Lucien. It was from Amaka.
> Elara,
> Love isn't supposed to be easy. It's supposed to be honest. You taught me that. You taught me that showing up is braver than staying silent.
> If he's leaving, let him. But if he's willing to fight for you, don't walk away.
> You deserve a love that chooses you. Every day.
> —Amaka
Elara read the letter three times. Then she cried.
Not because she was heartbroken.
But because she realized she hadn't asked Lucien to stay.
---
Scene 6: The Rooftop Again
That night, she climbed to the rooftop alone. The stars were out, scattered like secrets. She sat on the blanket they had shared, the wine bottle still half-full.
Lucien arrived quietly, his steps hesitant.
"I didn't know if you'd be here," he said.
"I didn't know if you'd come."
They sat in silence.
Then Elara spoke. "I never asked you to stay."
Lucien looked at her. "Would it have changed anything?"
"I don't know," she whispered. "But I should've asked."
Lucien reached into his coat and pulled out a letter.
"I wrote this for you," he said. "I didn't know if I'd give it to you."
Elara unfolded the page.
> Elara,
> You made me believe in softness again. In silence. In truth.
> I don't know what the future holds. But I know this: I want you in it.
> Not as a memory. Not as a muse. As a partner.
> If you ask me to stay, I will.
> —Lucien
Elara looked up, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Stay," she said.
Lucien smiled. "Okay."
---
Scene 7: The Morning After
They woke in each other's arms, the city glowing outside the window. Elara brewed tea. Lucien read her journal entries aloud, pausing to kiss her between pages.
They didn't talk about New York. Not yet.
They talked about stories. About dreams. About the mango tree in Lagos and the garden in Marseille.
They talked about building something—not perfect, but real.
---
Scene 8: The Decision
A week later, Lucien declined the job offer.
"I'm not ready to leave," he told the editor. "I'm building something here."
Elara didn't ask for details. She just held his hand.
They began working on a book together—a collection of letters, poems, sketches. A love story told in fragments.
They called it DREEMS OF LOVE.
---
Scene 9: The Final Promise
On their last night in the residency, they returned to the bridge. The rain had stopped. The stars were out.
Lucien held the red umbrella. Elara wore her red scarf.
They stood in silence, then spoke together.
"I promise to choose you," Elara said.
"I promise to stay," Lucien replied.
And beneath the Paris sky, their hearts collided.
Not in pain.
But in love.
Scene 10: The Question That Lingers
Days after Lucien's decision to stay, Elara found herself asking a question she hadn't dared voice aloud: What if staying wasn't enough?
They had made promises under stars, written letters that bled truth, and chosen each other in the face of uncertainty. But love, she was learning, wasn't just about choosing—it was about continuing to choose, even when the path grew uneven.
Lucien had turned down New York. But he hadn't stopped dreaming about it.