Twice a lifetime

A

n life from the outside, moving in slow motion as I tried to force myself to heal, to

tions and the pressure of meeting everyone's expectations. I was determined to make it out of thi

easons changed, and I remembered how we used to sit by the lake, watching the sunset together. Ethan's ab

re. But every quiet moment, every sunset, every familiar song on the radio brought me back to him. I started avoiding places we used

self in the art of photography, his passion lighting up every corner of the city. He made a name for himself, not just as a

ough a part of me was proud, another part of me wondere

orous, but it was safe. I became a public relations officer for a local company, my days filled with press releases and managi

he way Ethan had. They were kind, even thoughtful, but something was always missing. They didn't look at m

t was exactly the kind of opportunity I'd always known he'd get, but it was also the moment I realized how far apart we had grown.

stuck in the quiet comfort of the life I'd created. And yet, in the midst of

then. It was easy to convince myself I was fine until

thout him, learning how to live with the hole he'd left behind. But the second I saw him, my heart betray

l photographer, the one with the world at his feet. His eyes were still the same, though that spark of mischi

Cedar Creek. Did he ever think of me? Had he ever regretted leaving? And was I still th

ught in my throat. For that brief instant, it was like no time had passed at all. But the reality of the s

we'd spent apart, about the dreams he had chased, about the heart he left behind. But I w

d as he left, the sound sharp against the

waiting for, the answer to all the questio

m, familiar ache in my chest had returned, and no matter how many

my mind, unanswered: Wh