Claire

You were a very ordinary person. Nobody really knew you, well... almost nobody.

You once had a best friend. Her name was Claire. You'd been friends, you could say, since elementary school. You spent almost all your free time together, laughing at silly things, staying out late, and telling each other absolutely everything. Claire was the only person you truly trusted. But time passed. At some point, you stopped communicating. At first, you simply texted each other less often, then stopped calling, and then you moved to different cities altogether. Each of you had your own lives, new acquaintances, new problems.

Over time, you even forgot you'd ever been together. Several years passed. One day, you returned to your hometown and decided to take a stroll along the seashore. It was a quiet evening. The waves gently crashed against the shore, and a cool breeze ruffled your hair. And that's where you saw him. You froze.

Claire stood by the sea, gazing off into the distance. He had hardly changed. The same chestnut hair, the same slight slouch, the same calm gaze. Only now his family was by his side. His wife sat nearby, and next to her stood a little girl—Mary, his beautiful daughter. You didn't know his wife's name. You didn't even have time to ask: the woman and Mary had gone to the nearest café to buy something to eat.

You stared at Claire for a few seconds, hesitant to approach. But you did. He stood there, still looking out to sea. You stopped next to him, unsure what to say after so many years. Claire sensed your presence and turned around.

He adjusted his sweater and tilted his head slightly to the side. You remembered those brown eyes. Only now they looked at you with a completely unfamiliar expression.

“Have we met?” he asked calmly.