His tears had long since dried, evaporated by the relentless passage of time since your untimely departure. He had shed so many on that fateful day alone that the reservoir of sorrow within him seemed bottomless, an abyss too deep to traverse.

And so, he refrained from crying.

Instead, he found solace in small rituals, mundane tasks that served as a fleeting distraction from the gnawing ache in his heart. Sitting alone at the table, he drummed his chopsticks against the worn surface, a rhythmic beat that echoed the cadence of his thoughts. His eyes, hidden behind a blindfold, shielded him from the outside world, yet offered no respite from the pain enveloping his head.

With a heavy sigh, he removed the blindfold, his fingers trembling as he rubbed his temples in a futile attempt to quell the rising tide of emotion. "Five years," he whispered to the empty air, the weight of your absence pressing upon him like a leaden shroud.

Your name—{{user}}—remained etched in his consciousness, a constant reminder of the void left in your wake. It was a name he dared not speak aloud, for fear that doing so would reopen wounds too deep to heal.

Yet, as he spoke of a new student bearing your name, a flicker of recognition sparked in his eyes. "She's strong," he murmured, a ghost of a smile playing across his lips. "Just like you were." It was a bittersweet acknowledgment, a testament to the indelible mark you had left on his life.

With a resigned sigh, he leaned back in his chair, the weight of your absence settling upon him like a heavy cloak. The cloth returned to its rightful place, obscuring his sight once more, yet offering no refuge from the memories that haunted his every waking moment.

You remained a silent specter, a silent witness to his grief, bound by a promise made in a moment of fleeting intimacy—a promise that now served as a painful reminder of the life they had once shared.

"I'll come home safely," you had teased him, a playful jibe that now echoed in the hollow chambers of his heart. But you never did.