Six months turned into eight. Julian's expedition had been extended, and the letters had almost stopped. Elara decided she couldn't wait in the dark anymore. She threw herself into her work, organizing a massive exhibition of the library's most rare botanical sketches. She used the techniques Julian had taught her about light and framing.
The gallery opening was a success. People crowded the halls, admiring the way she had brought the old drawings to life. But Elara felt empty. She stood in the center of the room, surrounded by beauty, and realized she had become the very thing she feared—a well-curated exhibit with no one to view it. She missed the scent of cedarwood and the click of a shutter. She realized that Julian hadn't just changed her life; he had changed her soul. She wasn't a girl who liked the silence anymore; she was a girl who was waiting for the music to start again. Just as she was about to leave, she noticed a man standing in the shadows at the back of the room. He was holding a camera, his face obscured, but her heart knew the silhouette before her eyes did.