She stood at the edge of town with a suitcase and a dream.

“I ain’t asking you to change, Arthur,” she said. “I’m just asking you to come with me.”

He wanted to. God, he wanted to. But the road, the gang, the only life he’d ever known—it had its claws in him too deep.

“I love you,” he said, voice low. “But not more than this.”

She left. The train pulled away. He didn’t chase it.

Years later, he would ride past that station daily, waiting for something. For her to come back to him.

But he thought, no, he knew she wouldn’t.

Until one day, that all changed.