a love so still
507 Words
Title: A Love So Still
---
Chapter One: The Return
The wind whispered through the trees of Willow Creek as Ruth stepped out of the bus, the familiar scent of pine and home soil clinging to her senses. It had been seven years since she left the small town behind, chasing a life in the city that promised more than what this place could offer. But dreams had a way of changing shape, and now—broken heart in tow—she was back.
Her suitcase bumped along the gravel path as she walked toward her grandmother’s cottage. The porch still creaked, the paint still peeled, and the garden bloomed as if nothing had changed. But inside Ruth, everything had.
"Ruth?" a voice called, low and familiar.
She turned. There, leaning against the old oak tree, arms crossed and smile uncertain, stood Christian.
He hadn’t changed much. Still wore those soft plaid shirts and that look in his eyes that made you feel seen. Time had been kind to him. Or maybe Willow Creek had.
"Hey, Chris," she said.
"Didn’t think I’d see you here again."
"Didn’t think I’d come back either."
They stood in a silence that wasn’t awkward, just... still. Like the town. Like the love they never quite spoke of.
---
Chapter Two: Familiar Strangers
Ruth spent the first few days reacquainting herself with the rhythm of Willow Creek. Morning tea on the porch. Visits to the small-town library. Sidewalk waves from people who hadn’t changed in a decade.
Christian ran the hardware store now. The one his father had owned. She walked in one morning, needing a new faucet knob and maybe, unconsciously, a reason to see him again.
"Let me guess," he said without looking up. "Kitchen sink still leaks?"
"Still judgmental?"
He grinned and finally met her eyes.
"A little."
She laughed. He handed her the part. Their fingers brushed. Electricity.
"Coffee sometime?" he asked.
Ruth hesitated, then nodded.
---
Chapter Three: Coffee and Closure
At the cafe, they spoke like old friends, but their words danced around what mattered. About the night she left, about how he never followed, about how love once simmered beneath unsaid words.
"Why didn’t you call me, Christian?"
He looked down. "Because I figured if you wanted me in your life, you’d make room."
She blinked. "I thought you wanted me to go."
"Never."
The silence stretched.
"I missed you," she whispered.
"Still do," he replied.
---
Chapter Four: Rain and Revelation
A storm came that night. Ruth stood at the window, watching raindrops race down the glass.
A knock at the door.
Christian.
Wet. Breathless. Like he’d run through the storm just to see her.
"I can't do this anymore," he said.
"Do what?"
"Pretend I don’t love you. Pretend that I ever stopped."
She froze.
"I know you came back to heal. But maybe you were also meant to come back to me."
Tears joined the rain.
She stepped forward. "Then don't leave."
---
Chapter Five: Stillness in the Heart
They rebuilt slowly.
- Writer
