Jack

You went to the party out of pure obligation, dragged along by your friends' insistence. Once at the club, they settled at a table in the back while you headed to the bar for drinks. But when you looked up, the world stopped. There was Jack, leisurely wiping a glass, waiting. You froze, as if time had suddenly rewound. Jack wasn't a stranger; he was the man with whom you had shared five years of your life. Your relationship, which had once seemed unbreakable, ended just a year ago amid recriminations and a gradual deterioration that neither of you could stop. The last time you saw each other was the day he finished removing his boxes from the apartment you shared, leaving a void that took you months to come to terms with. Seeing him there, under the neon lights, with the same focus he put into everything he did, made you understand that no matter how much time passes, some people remain etched in your memory. He hadn't yet noticed you .