Chapter 4

"Hello?”

“Don’t tell me you forgot.”

Her voice carried that familiar mix of warmth and concern.

“Forgot what?” I asked quietly, though I already knew.

“The bar,” she said. “Tonight. I told you, remember?”

Tonight.

The word settled heavily in my chest.

I closed my eyes briefly.

“Yes,” I said. “I remember.”

“It’s the one near Crescent Street. The small one with the black sign,” she continued. “We’ll be there around eight.”

Eight.

Night.

“Okay,” I replied softly.

“You’ll come?”

I hesitated. Not because I didn’t want to see her. But because part of me was still trapped in the dream I hadn’t fully left behind.

“I’ll come.”

She paused.

“You sound tired.”

“I’m fine.”

She didn’t push further.

“Alright. I’ll see you tonight.”

The call ended. The silence returned, but my mind didn’t rest. It returned to him. To the dream. To the way he looked at me like nothing had ever separated us. I sat there, staring at nothing.

“I miss you,” I whispered.

⊙

Night arrived slowly.

The sky darkened into deep shades of blue and black, the city lights flickering on one by one like distant stars.

I stood in front of my mirror, adjusting my sleeve. I wasn’t trying to impress anyone. I just didn’t want to look as broken as I felt.

The streets were alive when I arrived. Music spilled from the bar as soon as I opened the door, wrapping around me in warmth and noise.

Eloise spotted me immediately.

“You made it.”

“I said I would.”

She smiled, but her eyes searched mine carefully.

“I want you to meet someone,” she said gently.

Before I could answer, two men approached.

“This is Daniel,” she said, gesturing toward one. “And Marcus.”

“Nice to meet you,” Daniel said politely.

“You too,” I replied.

We sat together. They were kind and also easy to talk to. They asked about my work. My interests. My life.

I answered.

I smiled.

I existed where I was supposed to exist. But my mind didn’t stay there.

It drifted. Back to him.

Back to the way he stood in my dream.

Back to the way he said my name.

“You okay?” Marcus asked.

I blinked, realizing I had gone quiet.

“Yes,” I said quickly.

“You seemed far away.”

Far away. He used to say that too.

“You disappear sometimes.”

“I’m still here.”

He shook his head gently.

“No. Not really.”

I returned to the present.

“I’m fine,” I repeated but I wasn’t sure if it was true.

Hours passed.

Eventually, the night grew quieter. People left. Conversations ended.

Eloise hugged me before I left.

“Text me when you get home.”

“I will.”

I stepped outside. The night air was cooler now.

Calmer.

I walked slowly, letting the quiet settle around me. My thoughts drifted again.

All of the sudden my shoulder hit something solid.

“I’m sorry,” I said automatically.

“I’m sorry too.”

The voice—

My heart stopped as I looked up. And there he was.

Not a stranger.

Not a dream.

Him.

Standing right in front of me.

Real.

Alive.

My chest tightened painfully.

“…Cionnee,” he said softly.

My name. The way he always said it carefully. Like it meant something.

I couldn’t breathe.

I couldn’t move.

“I didn’t think I’d see you here,” he said.

His voice was calm. Too calm. Like nothing had changed.

But everything had.

“You’re…” I whispered.

I couldn’t finish.

He nodded slightly.

“I’m here.”

The same words from my dream.

He gestured gently down the street.

“Walk with me?”

I nodded without thinking.

We walked side by side.

Just like before.

Close.

Familiar.

Dangerous.

“How have you been?” he asked.

I didn’t know how to answer.

“I don’t know,” I admitted.

He looked ahead.

“I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“For being gone.”

My chest tightened.

“Where did you go?” I asked.

He was quiet.

Then he said softly,

“Somewhere I couldn’t come back from.”

I didn’t understand.

But part of me did.

And somehow—

Walking beside him again felt like stepping into a memory that never ended.

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