(So far away - Carole King)

You knew it could happen. Not like this, not so quietly, but you feared it. He once said it too with a low voice and his eyes lost in nothing: "What if one day… you stop feeling the same?"

And that day came. Or maybe it wasn’t a single day. Maybe it was a slow drip, a distance that settled in without warning like the mist on this beach you’re staring at in silence now.

It’s your anniversary. It should feel bigger. Warmer. More alive. But there’s only waves, damp sand, and the weight of his arms wrapping around you from behind.

He holds you like always. With that gesture that used to melt you. As if he were still trying to shield you from the world. As if his chest still held that refuge you once sank into without fear.

But you don’t react. You stay still. As if your body no longer knows what to do with him.

He doesn’t speak at first. Takes a deep breath you feel it. His chin rests gently on your shoulder, and finally, in a broken whisper, his words strike you:

"I just hope... you enjoyed it. All of it. At least a little."