May 24, 2019

Jonah traveled by cab to the airport in New York in the early morning of May 24. Once inside, it took him awhile to find Eliska—she had always been terrible with answering her text messages—but he finally spotted her in a small Starbucks near the gate she would be departing from.

As he approached her, he was stunned by her appearance, as he'd always been. She had cut her hair again, just as short as it was when they'd met over a year before. Her face was relaxed, eyes following along the lines of the book in her hands. She looked untouchable, and he didn't want to bother her, thinking that three months might not have been enough time to recover from splitting.

Ultimately, however, he couldn't help himself. He had always been drawn to her, and time hadn't changed that.

He knocked lightly on the surface of the table, sitting down in the seat across from her as she looked up at him, smiling a little.

"Jonah," she said softly, and that began the conversation that lasted for the following two hours.

Any individual who was a part of the masses of people passing by could look at the two of them and perceive them as best friends.

They did not interact like lovers. They were not constantly touching each other's arms, they weren't holding hands, they weren't crying about how much they'd missed each other, they weren't talking about how difficult it was to deal with the breakup.

They were completely comfortable with one another, talking and laughing like they had no other care in the world.

There were parts of each of them that was still in love with the person sitting across from them, but for one moment, they sat as nothing more than two people who wanted to be in each other's company.

Jonah had arrived early on purpose, but eventually, their time came to an end.

They stood up, threw away their empty coffee cups, and walked side by side to her gate.

In her mind, filled with thoughts influenced by years of reading and poetic expression, Eliska recognized that point as their crossroads, their last moment together before they went their separate ways once again.

She looked up at him. He was already looking at her, dark eyes kind and calm, as they always were.

"Well," she breathed out, "this is it."

Jonah nodded. His did not feel sadness, just a sort of apprehension that he couldn't explain. It was a bitter-sweet moment.

"This is it," he repeated.

"Thank you for coming all the way here, just to see me."

"Of course, El. And... please be safe over there. Take care of yourself."

He had always made it clear how much he

worried about her safety and well-being, so she didn't know why it still affected her so much.

"I will, Jo."

He smiled softly, and hugged her.

"I hope this isn't weird," he mumbled into her shoulder. She laughed.

"I happen to be weird myself. I can handle it," she said.

He closed his eyes, resting his cheek on top of her head as he wistfully thought back to one of their first conversations, when she said the exact same thing.

He knew it was already time. He pulled away.

"I know you have to go," he said, "but I'm really glad that we...."

"Got to do this," she finished for him.

He didn't nod or acknowledge that she'd completed his thought. He just stared at her, an unreadable emotion flooding his eyes.

His mind was in a frenzy. He knew he shouldn't say it, but she was right in front of him, and before he knew it, she would be gone.

"I'm going to wait for you, El."

There was a moment where he thought she wouldn't say anything, that she'd nod and turn on her heel and walk away, but she stayed frozen in place.

Though no expression took over her face to hint at her emotions, her stomach flipped over itself as she thought about what she was supposed to leave him with, how she was supposed to leave him behind.

He watched with bated breath as she adjusted the strap of the bag on her shoulder and took a step backwards.

Her features had melted into a confident, content display, eyes flicking over him as she bit back a grin.

"That's a pretty basic thing to say, don't you think?"

The last he saw of her before she turned and walked away were her grey, stormy eyes and half-smile.

Minutes later, as the plane took off down the runway, Eliska stared absentmindedly out the window.

I'm going to wait for you.

She didn't tell him what slipped into her mind when he said that to her because she didn't want to hold him back from whatever and whoever the unknown future might bring his way.

She didn't tell him, but she was going to wait for him too.

➵

I love you all so much.

Writing is an outlet that I have a passion for; I never would've dreamed or expected to receive the amount of support and encouragement that I do from you. Your messages make me smile, your comments make me laugh.

Thank you for everything you do, especially for that you do not realize, and I pray with all of my heart that you enjoyed reading this story as much as I loved writing it.