@lmschuettt: Seven years. That was how long it had been. Seven birthdays. Seven anniversaries. Seven years of messages that arrived too late. --- Lena had stopped sending "good morning." Not because she forgot. Because saying goodbye every day hurt more than staying silent. She archived the chat. For the first time. "I think... this is enough." --- A month later, a former classmate organized a reunion. Lena almost didn't go. Miu almost declined. Both changed their minds at the last minute. --- The room was loud. People laughed over old stories. Someone shouted, "Group picture!" Lena stepped backward. Someone else stepped forward. She bumped into them. "Oh, sor—" That voice. "...Miu?" Silence. For a moment, nobody else existed. They looked older. Different hairstyles. Different clothes. But the eyes... They hadn't changed. --- "...Hi." It was such a small word. Yet it carried seven years of unsent apologies. Lena wanted to hug them. Instead, she stood frozen. "I..." "I'm sorry." Miu smiled faintly. "You always apologize first." "And you always forgive me." "...Not this time." The words came out before Lena could stop them. "I don't want forgiveness." "I want you to know the truth." --- Outside, rain poured over the empty parking lot. Neither of them cared. Lena unlocked her phone with trembling hands. "I never ignored you." She opened Instagram. Opened the old chat. Scrolled. "I... restricted you." "I didn't know your messages would go here." "I never saw them." "I found them three years later." "I read every single one." "My phone died before I finished because there were so many." Her voice cracked. "I memorized them." "I still remember your last message." «'I'll stop waiting now.'» Miu looked away. "...I meant it." "I waited until waiting hurt more than leaving." --- Lena couldn't breathe. "I looked for you." "I searched everywhere." "I went back to the café." "I went back to the station." "I even left you a letter." Miu frowned. "...A letter?" "The bench." "...I sat on that bench." "A week later." Neither of them spoke. They both laughed. Not because it was funny. Because if they didn't laugh... They would collapse. --- "So..." Miu whispered. "We really were just... late." "By minutes." "By days." "By years." Lena nodded. "And by one stupid Instagram setting." For the first time... Miu laughed. A real laugh. The kind Lena hadn't heard in almost a decade. It made her cry immediately. --- "I'm angry." Miu admitted. "I'm angry at you." "I know." "I'm angry that you gave up." "I know." "I'm angry that I still love you." The words slipped out. Neither of them moved. --- "I tried not to." Miu whispered. "I dated once." "It wasn't fair." "I kept comparing them to you." "So I ended it." Lena shut her eyes. "I never dated anyone." "I couldn't." "Every time someone said good morning..." "It sounded wrong." --- The silence between them wasn't empty anymore. It was full. Of every unread message. Every missed train. Every birthday. Every anniversary. Every version of them that never got the chance to exist. --- Miu reached into their wallet. There was a tiny, faded photo. The edges were peeling. It was the two of them in a photo booth. "You still have it?" "I couldn't throw it away." Lena laughed through tears. "I still have your hoodie." "...Seriously?" "I even washed it." "...That makes it worse." They both laughed. Really laughed. The kind that only happens after years of crying. --- "I'm scared." Lena admitted. "What if we're too different now?" Miu looked at her. "Then we'll meet each other again." "As the people we became." "Not the people we lost." --- For a long moment... Neither of them spoke. Then, quietly— "So..." Miu asked. "...Can I send you a good morning tomorrow?" Lena smiled, tears falling freely. "You'd better." "And this time..." "I'll answer." --- CONTINUATION IN THE COMMENTS

ᵖˡˢShane

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Sunday 09 August 2026 12:04:45 GMT