The phone rang just before dawn.
Noah stared at the screen, the glow cutting through the dim room like a blade of light. For a second, he considered ignoring it. The village was still asleep, wrapped in quiet, and he wanted to remain in that stillness a little longer.
But the name on the screen pulled him back to another world.
Daniel.
He answered. "Hello?"
"You disappeared,"
Daniel said without greeting. "Do you have any idea what's happening back here?"
Noah closed his eyes. "I told you I needed time."
"You needed time, and the world moved on,"
Daniel replied. "Your manuscript went viral. Three publishers want it. One wants you in the city—now."
Silence filled the room.
Noah sat down on the edge of the bed, his heart suddenly heavy. This was everything he had worked for. Everything he had once wanted. Yet, instead of excitement, he felt a strange resistance.
"When?" he asked.
"Tomorrow," Daniel said.
"This is not a request, Noah. This is a door opening."
After the call ended, Noah sat there for a long time, phone still in his hand, the village light slowly creeping into the room.
Tomorrow.
The same word Elena had said.
Elena was in the small library, rearranging books that didn't need rearranging. Her hands moved, but her mind wasn't there. Something felt unsettled, like the ground shifting under her feet.
She looked up when she heard footsteps.
Noah stood in the doorway.
Her heart skipped before she could stop it.
"You're early," she said.
"I needed to see you,"
he replied.
Something in his voice made her put the book down.
"What happened?" she asked.
Noah stepped inside, closing the door behind him. The space felt smaller suddenly, more intimate, more fragile.
"I got a call," he said. "From the city."
Elena didn't speak.
"They want me back," he continued. "For work. For my book."
Her fingers tightened around the table edge.
"When?"
"Tomorrow."
The word hung between them like a thread pulled too tight.
Elena nodded slowly, as if she had been expecting this. "That's… good news," she said, but her voice betrayed her.
Noah watched her carefully. "Is it?"
She looked at him then—really looked at him—and in her eyes he saw the same fear he felt in his own chest.
"It's your dream," she said. "You can't walk away from it."
"I don't know if it's my dream anymore," he
replied quietly.
The air shifted.
Elena took a step back, shaking her head.
"Don't say that because of me."
"I'm not,"
Noah said. "I'm saying it because I'm tired of choosing things that leave me empty."
Her breath caught.
"This is exactly why I was afraid,"
she whispered. "You came into my life like a quiet answer, and now… now you're leaving."
Noah reached out, stopping himself just before touching her hand.
"I haven't left yet."
"But you will," she said softly. "And I won't ask you to stay."
The words hurt more than he expected.
They walked outside together, the late afternoon sun painting everything gold. The village looked the same, but nothing felt stable anymore.
"Say something," Noah said.
Elena looked ahead.
"If I speak, I might ask you to stay. And I don't have the right to do that."
He stopped walking.
"What if I want you to?"
She turned, tears shining but unfallen. "Then you would regret it someday. And I would carry that guilt forever."
Silence followed.
A painful, beautiful silence.
Finally, Noah nodded. "Then I'll go."
Elena closed her eyes for a second, as if
sealing something inside her. "And I'll wait," she said, barely audible.
Noah felt his chest tighten. "Don't wait for me."
She opened her eyes, and this time, there was no fear in them—only certainty.
"I'm not waiting for you," she said. "I'm trusting what my soul already knows."
That night, Noah packed his bag slowly.
Elena stood by her window, watching the village lights.
Neither of them slept.
Tomorrow was coming.
And everything was about to change.