Love, Mira learned, was not only warmth—it was fear.
Elias was offered an opportunity abroad. Temporary, but undefined. The unspoken question hung between them: Would love survive distance?
Arguments followed. Silence grew heavier. Mira worried she was holding him back. Elias feared losing her more than leaving.
The night before his departure, they met at the library one last time.
"No matter where I go," Elias said, holding her hand, "you are home."
Mira cried, but she didn't ask him to stay.