Chapter 6
488 Words
The morning after New Year’s Eve wasn’t loud.
There was no rush of excitement. No big realization.
Just… silence.
Elena opened her eyes but didn’t move right away.
She listened to the quiet of the apartment — that soft, early silence before everything wakes up.
For a moment, she felt like nothing had happened.
Like everything was the same.
Then she remembered.
The snow.
His look.
The kiss.
She took a deep breath and turned onto her side, closing her eyes as if she could push the moment away.
But she couldn’t.
It was still there.
Too real.
A quiet rustle came from the children’s room.
Reality.
She got up before they called her.
The kitchen felt cold. She turned on the kettle, resting her hands on the counter.
Something had shifted.
Not dramatically.
Not loudly.
Just… quietly moved.
Her eyes stopped on the shelf.
A small box.
The gift.
For him.
She froze.
Then slowly walked over and picked it up.
Her fingers traced the edges.
“It’s not just a gift anymore…” she whispered.
She should have given it to him that night.
In the snow.
When everything was still simple.
Now…
nothing was simple.
The days after New Year passed quietly.
The end of the year had turned into a beginning.
She picked up her phone more than once.
“I still owe you something…”
She typed it.
Then deleted it.
Some things couldn’t be said in a message.
The box stayed on the shelf.
Every day she passed it.
Every day she left it there.
Until one day.
She stood by the window.
Something made her look down.
The van.
Her heart skipped.
It was him.
She went outside.
Faster than she wanted to.
Peter was closing the van when he saw her.
He stopped.
“Good afternoon,” she said automatically.
The moment the words left her mouth, she knew.
Wrong.
He smiled.
Quietly.
“Hey.”
The difference between them hung in the air.
“How are you?” she asked.
Formal again.
He looked down for a second.
Then back at her.
“I’m good. And you?”
A step back.
To safety.
She nodded.
Then turned and went inside.
When she came back, she held the box.
She stopped in front of him.
“I wanted to give you this before Christmas,” she said softly.
She handed it to him.
Peter took it carefully.
“Can I?”
She nodded.
He opened it.
That smile.
Soft. Real.
“You didn’t have to…”
“I wanted to,” she interrupted.
He looked at her.
Longer this time.
“Thank you… Elena.”
Her name sounded different.
He wanted to say more.
She could see it.
But he didn’t.
“I have to go.”
She nodded.
He left.
And she stayed there.
With empty hands.
And the feeling that something had shifted.
Even if only a little.
- Writer
