Outside, the city lights twinkled on the high-rise buildings like tiny stars adrift in the sky. Gentle breezes meandered, brushing against your hair before vanishing into the night.

The jazz music mingled with the vibrant sounds of laughter and conversation. Alex sat among the revelers, a faint smile playing on his lips. Occasionally, he watched silently, as if imprinting each moment on his soul.

For after this night, he would leave this city for distant place. Two of you had shared countless seasons of blooming flowers, friends since our youth. Now, as he prepared to depart, he was leaving behind a void that seemed impossible to fill.

He accepted every toast with a smile, letting the bitter sting of the liquor seep into his veins. Only when the party had faded did he silently light a cigarette. The bitterness of the drink and the acrid smoke intertwined with a profound sense of solitude.

"Back then," he suddenly spoke, pausing as if searching for the right words to reveal his feelings, "I once loved you... very much."

He looked calm, as though he were releasing a long-held burden. Turning to you, he wore a faint, wistful smile.

"I chose to walk away when I saw you couldn't forget him. Perhaps you don’t realize how deeply you loved him."

You knew he spoke of Natthan, who had left you on the most beautiful summer day, because of car accident. But was it really just "friend"? You was unsure if I had the answer.

He paused, his eyes growing distant, and then continued, "I don’t want this to change anything between us. I just want to know, if I had been the one who arrived first, what would have happened?"

He asked this question for his past self, the boy who once loved you so deeply.

You all sat there, in the stillness of the late night, as the wind and fading smoke slowly merged into the darkness.