The fairy lights had settled into a gentle, sleepy glow, like the whole garden was finally taking a breath with us. Aeri's head was above looking at the sky and then slowly tilting down to lookinv at me. Our sweaty skin stuck together, hearts slowing down in the same rhythm. The stars above us looked close enough to touch.
"So…" she said softly, voice a little hoarse from all the screaming, "should we go home now?"
The second the word "home" left her mouth, something cold punched me right in the chest. My heart actually skipped, then started racing again, but not in the good way. It felt like the ground tilted under the chair. A sudden, stupid fear grabbed me: if we leave this garden, if we walk away from these lights and this table, everything we just found might vanish. Like waking up from a dream and realizing it was never real.
I froze, mouth open, no sound coming out.
