Velithra hadn't expected missing someone to feel like this.
She sat on the edge of the hotel bed, suitcase still half-unpacked, the sound of distant waves drifting through the open window. The place was beautiful—bright skies, warm air, unfamiliar streets—but something felt slightly off, like a picture missing a corner.
Her phone buzzed.
Kai: You made it, right?
Her heart lifted instantly.
Velithra: Yeah. It's… nice here.
Three dots appeared. Disappeared. Appeared again.
Kai: Nice doesn't sound convincing.
She smiled to herself.
Velithra: It is. I just keep thinking about home.
A pause.
Kai: Same.
She frowned slightly, fingers hovering over the screen.
Velithra: You didn't go anywhere.
Kai: I know.
Another pause.
Kai: That's kind of the problem.
Her chest tightened in a way that felt warm instead of painful.
Velithra lay back on the bed, staring at the ceiling as she typed.
Velithra: It's weird. I thought being away would make things quieter in my head.
Kai: And?
Velithra: It didn't.
The reply came faster this time.
Kai: Good.
She laughed softly, surprising herself.
Velithra: Why is that good?
Kai: Because it means it wasn't just routine. Or proximity.
Her breath caught.
She turned onto her side, phone close to her chest.
Velithra: What if things change when I come back?
This time, the pause was longer.
Kai: Then we deal with it. Together.
She closed her eyes.
Velithra: You're really calm about this.
Kai: I'm not.
She opened her eyes.
Velithra: You're not?
Kai: I just don't want to scare you by saying how much I'm thinking about you.
Her heart skipped—clean, sharp, real.
Velithra swallowed.
Velithra: You don't scare me.
Three dots. Gone. Back again.
Kai: That might be the scariest part.
She smiled, warmth spreading through her chest like sunlight.
Outside, the waves continued to crash—steady, distant, constant.
And for the first time since leaving, Velithra didn't feel far away at all.