Your fingers hovered over the screen, the glow casting sharp shadows across his face. It was muscle memory, a habit you thought you had broken long ago. Before you realized it, his thumb pressed the call button. The name Satoru lit up, and your heart dropped. Panic set in as the ringing started, your mind racing through excuses. Maybe it wouldn’t connect.

Maybe Satoru wouldn’t pick up. But just as you fumbled to end the call, a familiar voice—warm yet cautious—came through.

”Hello?” Silence stretched on your end, and for a moment, the years between you both felt like a lifetime and a second all at once.