Our Destinies Enjoined

A Seven Year Gap

As promised, the car arrived at midnight to pick Lily up. She had carefully packed her essentials and requested her father to lock up the house and hold onto the keys. The future of the house would be decided later, but for now, she was focused on moving away from this place.

Lily was set to board a train at one o'clock, bound for Meadowside. This small town, resembling Everwood, was situated on the opposite side of the country, a ten-hour train ride from Eldertown. 

Midnight proved to be the ideal time for Lily's departure, as she anticipated the neighbors, including Andrew, were unlikely to be peeking out of their windows at that late hour. Unbeknownst to her, Ethan was also on his way, boarding a train to Eldertown to meet Lily in person. 

Lily boarded the train, and the driver sent by her father to assist her with everything, helped her with her bags. He handed her the train ticket and, along with it, a folder. As she settled into her train cabin, Lily opened the folder to discover her admission letter to the college, a symbol of her dreams and ambitions. What surprised her even more was finding a key to a new house that her father had purchased for her, so she could stay in the unfamiliar city comfortably. In addition to these, Lily discovered a SIM card in the folder as well. This small but thoughtful addition brought a smile to Lily's face, appreciating the thoroughness of her father's preparations.

When Ethan reached Eldertown in the morning, Lily had already covered half of her journey towards Meadowside. Andrew picked him up from the station and they went straight to Lily's home from there. Andrew rang the bell several times but no one answered. Ethan attempted to peer through the heavily curtained windows but to no use. Her cell phone was not reachable anymore either. 

Ethan was overwhelmed by a profound sense of dejection. It felt as though Lily had deliberately cut him out of her life, leaving her home vacant, turning off her phone, and veiling everything in a shroud of mystery. The situation deepened his yearning and curiosity as he grappled with questions about where she was and what had led to her departure.

For the first time in four years, since the sudden loss of his father, Andrew witnessed Ethan's tears. Ethan slumped on the front stairs of Lily's empty home, buried his head in his hands, and cried. It was a silent cry, but the tears that flowed down his cheeks spoke volumes about his emotional vulnerability and the depth of his feelings for Lily. 

Ethan's longing to see Lily, even if for just one last time, was overwhelming. He would have gone to great lengths to catch even a fleeting glimpse of her, to ensure she was safe, to ask her just for the last time what was making her do all this to him. Ethan's love for Lily was unwavering, and he was willing to respect her wishes, even if it meant never seeking her again. However, her sudden and mysterious disappearance made it difficult for him to accept the situation. The uncertainty and the lack of communication were causing him immense distress, and he yearned for some form of closure or understanding about what had transpired between them.

Seven years later.

'Lily, the patient in room number 302 needs a follow-up. We can go for lunch after you are done with it. I am done with my duty as well.' Aiden said as Lily returned from her rounds in the emergency ward. 

Lily and Aiden were fellow residents in their second last year of Residency and were good friends as well. They started the medical school together and while many of the fellow students came and went they both remained in the same field and came a long way in their medical career together. Lily got great help from Aiden as he was a bright student from the beginning.