In the days that followed , everything seemed the same the same place, the same silence and the same meetings.
Yet something had changed. Aiden noticed that Isla would sometimes stop mid-sentences, as if a word reached her lips and then turned back. One evening, the rain returned. Drop slid down the window glass as if time itself were melting.
Isla arrived late that day. For the first time, Aiden felt unease the kind that turns waiting into pain.
When she finally walked in, there was a smile on her face, but the tiredness in her eyes had deepened.
''I'm sorry ...I'm late' 'she said as she sat down.
''I understand, 'Aiden replied, though the concern in his voice betrayed him.
Silence lingered for a few moments. Then Aiden gathered the courage to ask: ''Is every thing alright?''
Isla didn't answer immediately.
''Sometimes,''
she said softly, 'life brings us to paths where we want to stay....but cannot''.
Aiden's heart began to pound. 'Are you going somewhere? 'He asked before he could stop himself.
Isla looked at him for a long time. There was a moisture in her eyes, and a decision. One she wasn't ready to speak aloud.
''Not yet' 'she said gently, 'but may be....one day.''
The moment froze for Aiden. He realized that some questions exist whose answers e ae not brave to hear. That night, when she left, the rain had stopped. But inside Aiden a storm had just begun.