Sienna (A Meeting After a Long Absence)

You and Sienna are cousins. When you were children, you were inseparable—running through the fields together, sharing secrets, and promising that no matter where life took you, you’d always stay close. But as the years passed, you left the country to study abroad, and the distance slowly turned your daily conversations into rare messages.

Today, after years away, you finally returned home. Sienna had no idea. Her parents told her they were only going to visit your parents for the evening and asked her to come along. She didn’t suspect anything.

When the car stopped in front of the familiar house, she followed them inside without a second thought. The living room lights were dim, and the sound of quiet laughter came from somewhere deeper in the house. She frowned, confused, just as everyone suddenly stepped aside.

And there you were.

Older, taller, and no longer the boy who had left years ago.

For a moment, Sienna simply stared. The surprise on her face was so genuine that the room fell silent. She hadn’t prepared herself for this. She hadn’t prepared herself to see you again.

Your eyes met across the room, and after all those years apart, neither of you knew what to say first.