Letters I never sent | Englot AU

XIX

Euna

The cafe, once a haven of stolen glances and whispered promises, now felt suffocating. Euna's eyes darted around, searching for an escape from the prying eyes that seemed to lurk behind every latte steam. Cicely, sensing her unease, mirrored the movement.

"There's a park across the street," Cicely whispered, her voice a conspiratorial rustle against the cafe's murmur. "Nobody ever goes there this late."

Euna nodded, grateful for the plan. Slipping out into the cool night, they huddled closer, the shadows their only companions. Cicely walked ahead, a beacon in the darkness, her familiar gait etched into Euna's memory.

Sitting on a damp bench, knees close, the space between them vibrated with unspoken words. Euna's gloved fingers found Cicely's, the touch a whispered language understood only by their hearts. Tears threatened to spill, blurring the moonlight reflecting in Cicely's eyes.

They pulled off their masks and hats, the cool night air washing over their faces.

"I'm so sorry," Euna choked out, the words tumbling like pebbles onto the ground. "I was so scared. Of everything."

Cicely reached out, her fingers brushing against Euna's cheek. "I know," she said, her voice laced with understanding. "Me too."

They sat in silence for a moment, the only sound the gentle murmur of the water and the sigh of the wind through the willows. Each breath felt like a step on a tightrope, suspended between the precipice of their past and the fragile bridge of their future.

"I read your letter," Cicely said finally, her voice trembling. "Every word. A thousand times over."

Euna's eyes welled up. "I just wanted you to understand," she whispered. "Why I did what I did. Why I didn't show up."

"I do understand," Cicely said, her hand finding Euna's again. "The fear, the doubt, the terror of losing everything. We both felt it."

Tears streamed down Euna's face, cleansing the sting of regret and the bitterness of missed opportunities. Cicely pulled her close, their bodies a tangled mess of warmth and sorrow. The touch, once a forbidden dream, was now a lifeline, anchoring them to the present.

The air crackled between them, charged with the raw honesty of their confessions. Each word, a shard of truth piercing the armor they'd built around their hearts.

"Euna," Cicely said, her voice husky, "do you ever... do you ever wonder what could have been?"

Euna closed her eyes, the image of their stolen moments flashing behind her eyelids. The stolen glances, the whispered confessions, the way their laughter had filled the air, a symphony of unspoken promises.

"Every day," she admitted, her voice barely a whisper. "Every night, I relive the dream of what we could have been, of forever painted in your smile and the warmth of your hand in mine."

Cicely nodded, her tears leaving shimmering trails on her cheeks. "Me too," she confessed. "But sometimes, I wonder... maybe we are meant to be, Euna, but just not at this time."

Euna's breath hitched, the words hanging heavy in the air. "What do you mean?"

Cicely looked away, her gaze drawn to the shimmering river. "We have dreams, Euna, ambitions that stretch beyond this city, beyond each other. Right now, chasing them, chasing ourselves, is all we know how to do."

A bittersweet pang of understanding settled in Euna's chest. She knew Cicely was right. Their lives, their careers, were hurtling down separate tracks, a collision course they couldn't ignore.

"So what do we do?" Euna asked, her voice trembling with the weight of their impossible choices.

Cicely turned back to her, her eyes reflecting the moonlight and the storm of emotions raging within. "We let go, Euna," she said, her voice surprisingly steady. "Not forever, but for now. We chase our dreams, our destinies. And we trust that even if our paths diverge now, they'll find their way back to each other, when the time is right."

A tear rolled down Euna's cheek, tracing a path of sorrow and acceptance. The thought of letting go, of living a world without Cicely by her side, was like tearing the stars from the sky. Yet, she knew, in the pit of her aching heart, that it was the only way they could both truly fly.

"But promise me," Euna pleaded, her voice a threadbare whisper, "promise me you'll never forget me."

Cicely cupped Euna's face in her hands, her eyes brimming with tears. "Never," she whispered, her voice a vow carried on the wind. "Never, my love. You'll be the melody in my heart, the echo in my dreams, the firefly guiding me home."

And so, under the watchful gaze of the moon and the weeping willow, they let go. Not of love, but of the expectation that it had to be now, in this time, in this way. They released each other, with a promise etched in the starlight and a love that would forever burn, a beacon guiding them through the darkness of their separate journeys.

For Euna and Cicely, closure wasn't an ending, but a pause, a bittersweet melody played on the strings of fate, waiting for the day their hearts would beat as one, once again, under a different sky, in a different time.

In the end, they parted ways with heavy hearts but a renewed sense of hope. They knew that their love was meant to be, but they also knew that sometimes love requires sacrifice and patience. And so they bid each other farewell, promising to see each other again soon, but this time under different circumstances - as lovers who loved each other deeply but knew when it was time to let go.

"Maybe when we're ready, we'll meet again."