Eli’s POV
I told myself it was fine.
Maybe she was tired.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr6S7aK57nr
Maybe she’d forgotten.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsZdJ5mzgUD
Maybe it was just one night.
But I knew better.
Mara didn’t miss things. Not like this.
It started small—the usual playlist never came. No message. No subtle emoji with a song link. Nothing.
I still showed up at the café. Still took Table Nine. Still ordered two coffees, like muscle memory was smarter than my pride.
She didn’t come.
The next night, same thing.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQwtUekfbQP
And the night after that.
On the third night, I didn’t order coffee. I just sat there, staring at the chair across from me like it had betrayed me.
I tried telling myself we weren’t anything. Not really. We hadn’t kissed. We hadn’t confessed. We hadn’t even made promises.
But her absence…36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHzBF3eqsKh
It hollowed out the room.
When I got home, I paced for over an hour. Thought about calling her. Thought about walking to her building. I even opened a blank message three times just to type:
Are you okay?
But I never hit send.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9K5vi0bEAs
Because I wasn’t sure what scared me more—36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcy9ZUOMKj4
that she wouldn’t reply…36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFIa5f2ep21
or that she would, and something would be different.
That night, I wrote something instead. Not for a book. Just for me.
Dear Mara,
I think you became my routine before I had the courage to admit it.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtj9pScRrns
I memorized the sound of your laugh in lowercase, the kind that only shows up in real conversation.I know we never said what this is.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFcCZGK1wFP
But not knowing doesn’t make it smaller.If you’re hurting, I don’t need details.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeQp473oqyW
Just tell me you're still here.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvXPSwyDowY
That you still want me to listen.—E
I didn’t send that either.
But I left it in her mailbox the next morning.
Handwritten.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmttlLf1egD
No envelope.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp0m9WUFchp
No signature.
Just one song attached to it on a flash drive:36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKVPzKOGRmE
The one we shared in the rain.
