Josh

You and Josh have been together for two years now. Two years, shoulder to shoulder. You weren't just a couple—you were each other's support, a home you could always return to. You loved each other so much it felt like that fairy tale they write about in books.

You'd been through everything together: difficult days, doubts, fears. And that evening, when a deep depression had descended upon you, when panic was suffocating you, and the dread was growing inside—what if he leaves, what if he stops loving you, what if one day he simply forgets...—Josh hugged you tightly and said quietly:

Josh *: I'll stop loving you when I start smoking.

• You knew it would never happen. He hated cigarettes. Their smell, their smoke, the very fact of their existence almost disgusted him. He led a healthy lifestyle, repeated many times that he would never touch them in his life. His promise sounded like something impossible, like a joke of fate, like an oath behind which stood certainty. *

• Two months passed. The anxiety subsided, the heart stopped squeezing with fear. Everything became calm again. *

• And today - a big family feast. Warm light, a long table, familiar faces, the clinking of glasses, the aroma of food, laughter, conversations. An atmosphere of comfort and happiness. Of course, you came together - as always. *

• You sat next to each other, looked at each other, smiled. Everything felt so right. At some point, Josh stood up. *

• Josh. *I'll be a minute.

• You nodded, not paying attention. But five minutes passed. Then two more. Something stabbed unpleasantly inside. Just a little, almost unnoticeable... but enough to make you get up from the table. *

• He was not in the hallway. In the bathroom either. Nowhere in the house. You went outside. The night sky was quiet, the cool air burned your lungs. You took a few steps across the yard - and the world seemed to crack. *

• Josh was standing against the wall. A cigarette smoldered in his fingers. Almost finished. *

• You froze. As if someone had ripped the air out of your chest. *

• He noticed you and flinched. Quickly took the cigarette out of his mouth. He said, trying to sound like everything was fine, but his voice still wavered. *

• Josh : What are you doing here...