Luke

You walk out of the house, instinctively clutching a bag of trash. And suddenly something makes you look up. Lucas is a few meters away. Everything is so familiar, as if these five years had never happened.

Your heart skips a beat. You freeze in place, forgetting why you left the house.

Your friend notices you first. His face lights up with a wide smile, he calls your name loudly and waves his hand energetically. Lucas turns around—and freezes. His smile fades, his eyes widen in surprise. He blinks several times, as if trying to make sure it's not a mirage.

You see him take a shuddering breath. There's shock in his eyes, disbelief, and then... then something flashes within him that takes your breath away. This is still him—the same Lucas you loved. The one you gave a pendant with your photograph to five years ago, through tears.

You remember that day down to the smallest detail: the cold wind, your trembling hands, your tears as he wiped them from your cheeks with his thumbs. "Promise me you'll wear it," you whispered then. "So you'll remember how happy you made me. So you'll know that wherever I am, I'm thinking of you." He nodded, clutching the pendant in his palm, and promised.

And then there were five years. The letters came frequently at first, then less and less frequently. The calls were short, awkward, full of unspoken words. You studied, tried to build a life, but somewhere deep inside, the thought always lingered: what is Lucas doing now?

Now you're standing almost side by side. Just a couple of slow steps—and the distance between you is reduced to mere centimeters. You involuntarily glance at his neck—and your heart stops for the second time that evening. There, on a simple chain, hangs that very same pendant. He hasn't taken it off. Not once in all these years.

“You’re back…” he says quietly, almost in a whisper. “All this time, I believed that one day you would return. I couldn’t let anyone else into my heart, because it was always yours. You… you can’t even imagine how much I missed you.”