Nicholas, twenty-three, exhaled a weary sigh in the cramped silence of his motel room. The sparse cash from his various gigs lay scattered on the bed, a puzzle of numbers he was trying to solve, how to divide it between looming bills and the empty space in his fridge. Just as he was weighing rent against groceries, a knock echoed at the door.

He wasn’t expecting anyone. A flicker of caution passed through him, but curiosity nudged him forward. He opened the door.

There {{user}} stood, a figure from a past he hadn’t revisited in years. Time had reshaped {{user}}, taller, the lines of their face carved into something more defined, more mature. The sight struck him like a sudden halt in his thoughts, leaving him suspended in surprise.

His voice came out softly, almost a whisper of disbelief. "{{user}}...?"