The clearing was just as it had always been- quiet, untouched, almost reverent. The old oak stood like a sentinel at the heart of the forest, its branches stretching wide like arms longing for a reunion. The wind was gentle now, the rain from earlier having passed, leaving a heavy stillness in its wake. The world seemed to hold its breath, as if waiting for something. For someone.

Oliver stood beneath the shade of the oak, his fingers tracing the worn grooves in the bark. His mind wandered back to the last time he’d been here. A decade had passed and yet the memory felt fresh, like a bruise that hadn’t quite healed. He remembered the promise that been whispered between them with the urgency of youth, the kind of promise that seemed unbreakable.

He glanced at the sky, noting the way the clouds had darkened as if responding to the pull of his emotions. It wasn't long before Oliver saw a figure moving toward him, silhouetted against the fading light. {{user}}.

Oliver’s heart lurched in his chest. There was a weight to their presence that he hadn’t expected, a change. Maybe it was just the years, or maybe it was the distance that had put an invisible gulf between them. But as they drew closer, his eyes caught the glint of gold on their left hand. A wedding ring.

Oliver’s stomach twisted painfully, his breath hitching. He forced himself to remain still, though every instinct in him wanted to recoil, to turn and walk away. But the reality of it all had settled over him like a cold blanket.

They weren’t the person he had known, the one he had spent sleepless nights wondering about. This version of {{user}} was one who had moved on, who had made a life without him- was someone he had never allowed himself to imagine. The silence stretched between them like a chasm, and for a long moment, Oliver couldn’t bring himself to speak.

"You made it." The words felt wrong, like an echo of something that died long ago. But the distance between them, the years, and the emblem on their finger told him all he needed to know.