Atasha's POV (continued)
My feet moved on their own before my mind could catch up. In a heartbeat, I was in Luna's arms—arms I hadn't felt wrapped around me in what felt like a lifetime. We hugged so tightly, it was as if we were trying to fill the spaces time had carved between us. I buried my face in her shoulder, breathing in the comfort of someone who had once known me better than anyone else in the world.
Neither of us spoke at first. There was only the sound of our hearts pounding, our emotions catching up to the silence we'd let grow between us.
"I missed you," I finally whispered, my voice cracking.
Luna pulled back just enough to look at me, her eyes glossy with tears. "You have no idea how much, Selene. I've replayed our last call a thousand times. I should've never let the distance happen."
We both sat down on the nearby bench, still holding hands like we used to. It felt like the years had melted away.
She told me about her work, her chaotic schedule, the people she met, the cities she traveled to. I listened, soaking in every word, laughing at her quirky rants, tearing up when she described the nights she cried missing home—missing me.
And I shared too. I told her about my nursing classes, my design sketches, the emotional rollercoaster of life. I confessed how I still reached for my phone sometimes to text her, only to hesitate. How Antonio and I got distanced . How I longed for just one familiar voice from my past. How I changed my name Selene to Atasha.
She teased me," So, should I call you Selene or Atasha?" "Of course Selene for you, Luna."
We talked like there had never been a gap between us—our words tumbling out, overlapping, laughing, apologizing, reminiscing.
"I thought you forgot me," I whispered.
"Never," Luna said firmly, squeezing my hand. "I just… I didn't know how to come back. But now I'm here. And I'm not leaving again."
That night, under the soft moonlight and between lingering tears and healing smiles, it felt like the universe had stitched something whole again. Something that had quietly broken inside me was slowly beginning to mend.
And it was all because of that one person who brought us back together.
Antonio.
Antonio's POV
I stood at a distance, leaning against the corner of the café's awning, far enough not to be noticed, but close enough to witness it all. My heart pounded like a drum, not out of nerves—but out of quiet hope. This moment wasn't about me. It was about them.
As Luna wrapped her arms around Atasha—Selene—I felt a strange tightness in my chest. I watched as Selene clung to her best friend like she'd been holding her breath for years, finally exhaling into the warmth of someone who once knew her soul's map. They didn't say a word for a while, and they didn't need to. Their silence said everything.
This… this is why I kept it a secret. Why I worked behind the scenes to reach out to Luna, to convince her, to book her ticket. I'd studied Atasha's eyes enough to know there were parts of her that still ached silently—wounds time hadn't quite healed. And Luna? She wasn't just a friend from the past. She was the missing piece of her present.
I watched them laugh through tears, hands clasped like they were ten again. I remembered Selene once telling me that she missed talking to someone who knew her before all the heartbreak and changes. And now… now she had that again.
I smiled softly, hands in my pockets, letting the wind carry their laughter toward me like a quiet reward.
I didn't need credit. I didn't need her to know just yet. I just needed to see her eyes sparkle again—unburdened, free.
And in that moment, I saw it.
Maybe love wasn't always grand gestures or poetic declarations. Maybe sometimes, love was stepping aside and bringing back what someone had lost, even if it meant staying in the shadows for just a little longer.
I turned to walk away, heart full.
She smiled again.
That was enough for today.