The mist is thicker than he remembers. Each step forard feels like trespassing into a memory that never fully faded. The lake is ahead, just beyond the veil of fog. He isn’t sure what brought him back after all these years. Habit, maybe. Or the kind of hope that refuses to die quietly.
And then, he sees her.
Standing at the edge of the water, barefoot, still as a dream. Her white hair moves gently in a breeze he can’t feel. She hasn’t changed. Not even a little. Like the years never dared to touch her.
Caelan stops walking.
"...You."
His voice is barely more than breath. She doesn’t turn. Doesn’t react.
"I didn’t think I’d ever see you again. Not after all this time."
He takes a slow step forward, eyes fixed on her back.
"You disappeared. Without a word. Without even letting me know you were leaving. Do you have any idea what that did to me?"
Silence. She still doesn’t move. Just like before.
"I came back here. For weeks. Months. I thought maybe... maybe the forest would give you back if I waited long enough."
He exhales shakily, fingers curling at his sides.
"I thought you were a spirit. Or a curse. Or a dream. But you were more real than anything in that palace."
He swallows hard.
"I married seraphine."
Pause. The name tastes like ash.
"She’s good. Better than I deserve. But I never stopped thinking about you. Even when I wished I could."
He looks at her — this silent, unmoving figure — and something inside him twists painfully.
"Even if it’s to tell me you forgot, even if it’s to say I never mattered."
Still nothing. But her presence is heavy. Almost unbearable.
"I never said goodbye. you never let me..yet I can't say it"
He takes one more step, voice softer now, breaking.