We Were Strangers| Completed

Epilogue ii

On a cold, windy day, I sat down on a bench. I had finished my classes for the day and had some time to kill before my shift began, and I would be busy for the rest of the day. I found myself at the local park, the largest in the city. I put on my headphones and read my book while listening to music.

I was completely immersed in my world when my phone rang, and when I opened it, I saw a text from Dan asking how I was adjusting to my new apartment. I quickly replied before returning to my reading. 

I turned the page, and my interest grew as my eyes followed the words. I was getting to the end of it.I was abruptly interrupted the second I heard loud barking coming my way. I looked ahead to see couples walking and bicyclists riding by, but I looked further ahead to see a loose dog roaming the park and barking at the birds flying above. 

I cracked a smile at the scene in front of me as more barks echoed from the golden dog. As the birds flew away in fear, the dog moved closer to me, and I set my book down as the dog approached. Once in front of me, I ruffled the back of the golden retriever's ears and looked at its missing collar as it moved toward me and began pawing at me. I realized how much the dog in front of me reminded me of Blue as I returned my gaze and bopped its nose.

"Are you lost?" I asked. The dog appeared too well-fed and clean to be a stray.

The dog panted and tilted its head to snuggle at my feet, and as it lay there, I thought of Blue, the lazy dog I knew and loved. I looked in my purse until I found the bag of apple slices and pulled one out as I handed it to the dog, who happily accepted it and began to nibble on the apple slice. I stuffed the slices back into my purse when I looked at the bottom of my bag and found the envelope I had yet to read. 

I took it out, and as I twirled it around, so the words faced me, I noticed my name written on the front. I thought about it for a while before I tore the top off and ripped it open. The inside of the envelope revealed white paper covered in ink. I unfolded the paper, and immediately my eyes were drawn to the words.

Dear Mila,

I don't know whether you'll ever end up reading this or if it will ever reach you, but if by chance it does, I write this for the things I didn't say.

When I met you, I was a bitter person who was closed off from the world and from the people I loved. I was angry at life. However, when I met you, that changed. You changed that. I didn't expect you to be a big part of my life, but I was wrong. You managed to break down these walls I had built so high, and despite my best efforts to push you away, you managed to captivate me with yourself. I had given up on the idea of love a long time ago, convinced that it was only for fools, and perhaps it is, but call me a fool because I fell deeply in love with you.

Our time was short-lived, and I wish more than anything that things had turned out differently.

As my eyes welled up with tears, I took a breather. I sniffled them back and wiped them away from my cheek. I returned my attention to the last paragraph.

My love, I know there was nothing I could say to change your mind, but what I can do for you is work on becoming the man you deserve, the man I couldn't be, and maybe one day, by the luck of the universe, we'll meet again and find our way back to what was once my greatest life's joy.

Sincerely,

                        Nico Valore

When I finished reading, the paper was left stained with tears, and the inked words were smudged. I folded the paper and sighed as memories flooded my mind, and I felt like I was 17 again, back when things were good, and we were happy and in love. 

It's as if all the suppressed emotions started to unpack, and I was now confronted with what I tried to avoid. I sighed, which drew the golden dog's attention, and he lifted his head to look at me.

"I look silly crying," I stated as I tried to fix my smudged mascara, and to my luck, the sky had begun to rain, which meant more people were leaving the park, and it made my tears look like raindrops—at least that's what I convinced myself of. I tried to regain my composure, and that's when I started stuffing the paper back into the envelope, and that's when I thought back at the words and looked at the date.

The letter was two years old, and that alone reminded me that so much time had passed and my time at Emerson had become a distant memory. Maybe that's all it was meant to be—nothing more. 

I look at the time and realize I need to go home. My gaze is drawn to the trash can nearby as I hold the envelope. After thinking about it for a while, I realized I needed closure more than anything else, and this might be the best I could get. So, I stood up slowly, making sure not to disturb the dog. I paused for a moment, then raised my hand. 

I was seconds away from throwing it all away and closing this chapter of my life, but then the unexpected happened. A bark followed by a voice erupted, stopping me in my tracks. My heart started racing.

"BLUE!" exclaimed the voice. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. It couldn't be. I took a step back and turned my head to face the voice when I heard the faint footsteps of the dog sitting up and walking over to its owner.

My hands trembled from the growing nerves as I looked at the familiar face—it was Nico. For a moment I thought I had been dreaming, but no, he was there. He looked the same now, only a bit older and stronger. 

His brown hair was a bit longer, and light stubble covered his jaw—he looked Mature. When I looked at his hand, I noticed the collar that was missing from Blue. Nico had yet to seem consumed with worry as he looked at his missing dog. But then he finally took notice of the figure standing next to his dog. Our gazes locked, and he narrowed his brows as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing, and in a way, I couldn't either.

Time stood still as he looked me down, and my heart raced rapidly as the seconds passed. My mind returned to the letter, and I wondered if this was our one-in-a-million chance—our second chance.

"Mila," he called out, and I drew closer. I was speechless and didn't know what to say. I looked at the letter in my hand, and I finally spoke.

"Does any of it still stand?" He took a moment to understand what I was saying, so I handed him the letter.

"Did you figure yourself out?" I asked once more, my voice cracking as I began to fear that maybe everything had changed between us. I stopped doubting when his eyes swarmed with what appeared to be hope. His hair bounced as he nodded, which was followed by his million-dollar smile.

"I figured myself out," Nico spoke up softly.I stared deeply into his eyes as I experienced a sudden high. I felt high off life, and I never felt more certain of anything. I let go of all of the bad and focused on what was in front of me, or rather, who was in front of me.

I stared deeply into his eyes as I experienced a sudden high. I felt high off life, and I never felt more certain of anything.I knew what we had didn't come close to being perfect, and I knew I'd be taking a risk by giving my heart up once again, but it was a risk I was willing to take because if there was one thing I was sure of, it was that I loved Nico. 

I did then, and I do now. With hope by my side, I wished more than anything for this to work out.

"Great." It was the last thing I said before our eyes locked, and before I knew it, his lips touched mine, and we shared a kiss under the cold rain. A wave of familiarity washed over me.

That's when it hit me that we weren't strangers. We were more than that, and somehow, we would always be connected. I was certain of one thing. This was only the beginning for us.

OK now this is the end <3 <3 <3