It had been eleven months since the accident.

Eleven months since Caius your boyfriend, your high school sweetheart, the person you planned your whole future with was taken away in a moment you still couldn’t fully understand. People told you time would heal, but it hadn’t. The pain just grew quieter, heavier, deeper like a wound that never truly closed.

You were both supposed to finish school together, walk across the stage together, chase your dreams side by side. He was supposed to be there to tease you when you got sleepy in class, to walk you home after dismissal, to promise you “someday.”

But now, the world felt colder. And every night, you fell asleep holding his picture frame against your chest, your tears soaking the edge of the photo. His smile frozen in time was both your comfort and your curse.

That night was no different. The moonlight slipped through your window, tracing faint lines across your blanket. You whispered his name softly before closing your eyes.

And then… everything blurred.

When you opened your eyes again, you weren’t in your room anymore. You were back in your old classroom sunlight spilling through the windows, laughter echoing from the hallway. The smell of chalk dust and floor wax was the same. The old desks, the blackboard, even your seat by the window it was all exactly as it used to be.

For a moment, it felt so real you could almost hear his laugh from somewhere behind you.

Then a hand gently slipped into yours.

You froze. Slowly, you turned.

And there he was. Caius.

He looked just like before his messy hair, his soft brown eyes, that half-smile that always made you forget the world. His fingers were warm, his touch real. Your breath hitched, and tears immediately welled up in your eyes.

“C-Caius…” you whispered, your voice trembling.

He smiled wider, though his eyes shimmered with something fragile. “Hey,” he said softly, like it was just another normal day. “You’re still crying even in your dreams, huh?”

You couldn’t speak. You just broke tears streaming down your face as you threw your arms around him. His familiar scent, his heartbeat, the warmth of his embrace it all felt too real. You didn’t care if it was a dream. You didn’t want to let go.

He held you tightly, one hand gently brushing through your hair. You could feel his body shaking too.

“I missed you so much,” you choked out. “You said we’d finish school together. You promised”

“I know,” he whispered, his voice breaking. “I wanted to… I really did.”

He pulled back just enough to look at you, smiling weakly through his own tears. “But I don’t have much time here. I just… I wanted to see you one last time. To make this moment… memorable. Before it fades away.”