Sitting at the airport, Gabriella couldn’t help but feel a strange mix of sadness and unease.
The announcement board and hum of conversations around her faded as she lost in her own thoughts.
The weight of her decision to leave Seoul pressed down on her chest, but she convinced herself that it was for the best.
Just then, a young boy dashed towards her, thrusting a white envelope and a small box into her hand before running off as though his life depended on it.
" Wait....!!! Who...? "
She barely managed to say that before the boy disappeared into the crowd.
She stared at the envelope and opened it cautiously, a small bar of chocolate tumbled onto her lap. Her fingers trembled as she unfolded the note inside.
" Have a safe and sweet journey!
Till we meet again, Mi amor ❤️"
Her heart skipped a beat. She read the words again and again, each repetition sending a jolt of emotion through her.
" Who is it? "
She whispered to herself, shivering slightly at the possibility of a stalker. She scanned the bustling crowd but saw no one suspicious.
She then shifted her eyes back to the note, and something about the note tugged at her memory.
Handwriting .
It was so familiar, too familiar to ignore.
Only one person came to her mind, and the thought made her sigh.
" But I didn’t tell anyone I was leaving today."
She murmured under her breath.
" How did he know? "
She was wondering now.
Before she could think any further, the voice over the intercom announced her flight for boarding.
The train of her thoughts shattered, leaving her with a flood of unanswered questions.
With a heavy heart, she stood up and walked towards the gate, glancing over her shoulder one last time in hopes of seeing any familiar face.
But all she saw was a sea of strangers.
Moments later, settling into her seat on the plane, she had tucked the note and chocolate along with the box safely into her bag.
She then put her head back of the seat and closed her eyes for some rest or maybe to sleep but her thoughts remained restless and sleep was no where to be found.
Staring out the window as the plane lifted into the clouds, she wondered if she had made the right choice by leaving or will she lose something she didn't realize was hers, at the moment. She couldn't help her thoughts kept drifting back.
She stayed like that for a long time, not realizing it but she felt helpless.
Reaching into her bag, she pulled out the her diary and pen with the thought of writing down whatever she had witnessed but absentmindedly pulled out the note again along with the box then curiosity peaked up.
" What could be in this box? "
She opened it with curiosity.
Upon opening it, a small slip of paper she hadn't noticed fell into her lap.
She looked down and unfold it, her breath stopped for a moment as she read the second note.
But it was the final line that blurred her vision with the weight of emotion.
" I'll be waiting for you! See you soon, Señorita ❤️
~Don't take too long. Waiting feels like forever. "
Her chest tightened with swirling up emotions mixed with hope and sadness.
Regret settled deep within her, a constant reminder of what she'd left behind, something that had once felt so undeniably hers.
Even though a part of her longed to stay, she wasn't able to find any courage to do so.
There was a silver pendant with a unique style, it was so beautiful that she looked at it for a moment, before caressing it with her finger as if feeling it. Her eyes were now ready to spill.
She couldn’t help but wonder.
Has she made the right choice by leaving
Or
Was she on the verge of losing something she had no idea about?
She wanted to go back but the thought of going back clenched her heart whatever she witnessed, the only thought of leaving sounds right at the moment.
The only hope she had at that time was him , to wait for her, just as he said he would.
She sighed, putting the note in her diary still holding the pendant he had given her as a departing gift or a memory of him, she couldn't tell.
Closing her eyes afterwards, she held it close, whispering to herself,
" Maybe, some stories aren't meant to end like this, not until the right moment. "
Then after a moment she said
"I don't know when, I don't know where, but let's meet again, somewhere, someday, never to part again,"
She hummed to herself, her heart aching with a longing that refused to fade.
And for the first time, she allowed herself to hold onto a fragile hope, a hope despite the distance and everything keeping them apart that they could still find their way back to each other.
She whispered softly, as if the words could somehow reach him,
" Let's meet again, Mike ✨."