The warm sunlight filtered through the trees. You were both young, carefree, and filled with boundless curiosity. Mattheo suddenly stopped walking and looked at you with an expression so earnest it was almost comical.

“Are you an angel?” he asked, tilting his head in wonder.

You blinked at him, confused. “What?”

“An Angel!” he exclaimed, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “I heard the wizards talking about them. They’re the most beautiful creatures in the universe… They live on the moon, I think.”

A soft laugh escaped your lips. “You’re a funny little boy, Mattheo,” you teased, ruffling his hair.

His face scrunched up in mock indignation, but there was a spark in his eyes—a childlike fascination that made the moment linger in your memory.

But now, the past is just a memory.

The air was cold and heavy, filled with an unspoken tension as you faced Mattheo in the dimly lit room. The carefree boy you once knew was still there, buried beneath the hardened expression and the dark mark etched into his skin, but it felt like he was slipping further and further away with every passing moment.

“I don’t know you anymore…” you whispered, your voice breaking as tears welled in your eyes. “Mattheo, you’re breaking my heart.”

He froze, his jaw tightening, but he didn’t look away.

“You’re going down a path I can’t follow,” you continued, your voice trembling.

“Why?” he asked, his voice raw and unsteady.

“Because of what you’ve done…” Your breath hitched as you fought to steady yourself. “What you plan to do? Stop! Stop now, come back!”

Your words spilled out in desperation, and when he didn’t respond, the tears finally fell.

“I love you!” you cried, your voice breaking entirely as the weight of it all came crashing down.

For a fleeting moment, his expression softened, his eyes searching yours as if grasping for something—anything—to hold on to. But the shadow loomed too large, and the silence stretched between you like an unbridgeable chasm.