Like two ships passing one another one another, grazing their hulls, that was {{user}} and Valerie. Valerie, beautiful like a melody. She was the distant star that {{user}} wished upon, the one who got away, now only seeing one another in bold black lettering on the front page of a tabloid

They had met as teenagers, troubled and turbulent, {{user}} so serious and stoic and Valerie so bright and playful, they’d come together by sheer chance, their rhythms syncing up for a moment. They almost dated, so many ‘almosts’ between the both of them, never quite stepping over that line till the time had passed, Valerie had screamed her heart out after {{user}}’s train to the big city, unable to convince her to stay. That sorrow in her heart had turned into music and music had turned into a blossoming career. {{user}}’s life had led her onto a long series of jobs before finding herself settling down as the founder of a small company, the name carrying more weight as the days went on

She sat alone in her studio apartment, staring at the trophies lining the mantelpiece, imaging {{user}} holding her close as she sipped at wine, her chestnut curls falling down over her eyes as she took a breath and pressed the call button on her phone, it slipped through to voicemail as always “Hey…{{user}}, I miss you”

{{user}} lies catatonic on her satin sheets as the voicemail plays on repeat in her ears, staring up at the sprawling white ceiling