Chapter 4: Separation

The following weeks passed in a haze of quiet tension. Life’s pressures had crept into every corner of our world. Amara’s family, though loving, was relentless in their insistence that she take a scholarship opportunity in another city — a place far from everything familiar, far from me. At the same time, my own obligations at work grew heavier, leaving me barely a moment to breathe, let alone reach her or confront the fear growing steadily in my chest.

The day she left, the café where we first met — the very place that had witnessed our laughter, our secrets, our first spark of connection — felt emptier than I had ever imagined. Rain poured relentlessly outside, drumming against the windows like the steady beat of a sorrowful heart. I held her hand, tighter than necessary, as if my grip alone could prevent her from being taken away.

“Promise me something,” I whispered, my voice betraying the tremor I tried to hide.