Chapter 5: The Past he Left Behind
793 Words
The sky was painted in soft oranges and fading blues as dusk settled over the villa. The air smelled of salt and pine, and the wind whispered through the trees with a hush that made everything feel suspended — like time itself had slowed down.
Candice stood on the balcony outside her room, wrapped in a light shawl, staring at the endless sea. She hadn’t spoken to Sergio much that day, though she’d noticed how he always hovered nearby — never intruding, never too far.
She didn’t expect him to appear beside her now, leaning quietly on the railing, his presence calm, steady.
“Didn’t peg you as the sunset-watching type,” she said, eyes still fixed on the horizon.
“I’m not,” he replied. “But I figured you might want company.”
She hesitated, then nodded slightly. “I didn’t think I would either… but it’s nice. Peaceful. For once.”
They stood in silence, not the awkward kind, but the kind that settled like a blanket. The kind that allowed people to breathe.
“I’ve been thinking,” she said quietly. “You never really told me why you left the army. Why you went AWOL.”
Sergio’s jaw flexed. His fingers drummed the railing, once… twice… before he finally said, “It wasn’t just about my family. That’s what I tell most people. But the real reason…”
He trailed off. Candice didn’t push. She waited.
“She was my wife,” he said at last, voice rough. “Isadora. We got married young. I was stationed overseas when she got sick. I didn’t even know until it was too late.”
Candice turned to him slowly, surprised by the rawness in his voice.
“She hid it from me. Didn’t want to distract me. Said she’d be fine. But by the time I got leave and flew back, she was already in the hospital. Stage four. No cure. Just… time.”
He paused. His gaze was fixed on the sea, but Candice knew he wasn’t seeing it. He was somewhere else now — back there.
“They gave her two months. I begged my commanding officer to let me stay. He denied it. Protocol. Orders. So I left without permission. I left everything.”
“What happened to her?” she asked, her voice barely a whisper.
He looked down at his hands. “She died three weeks later. Holding mine.”
The wind stirred gently between them.
“I never went back,” he continued. “The army branded me a deserter. But I’d do it again. A hundred times over.”
Candice felt something twist in her chest. Not pity — but understanding. Deep, aching empathy.
“You loved her,” she said.
“More than anything,” he answered. “And after she was gone… I didn’t know how to be anything else. Not a soldier. Not a man. Just... lost.”
She reached out and placed her hand over his on the railing. Slowly. Gently. And for the first time, Sergio didn’t pull away.
“I’m sorry,” she said, her voice cracking. “I didn’t know.”
“No reason you should. I didn’t think I’d ever tell you.”
“Why now?”
He looked at her then — really looked.
“Because today, I realized I’m not the only one who’s been pretending to be fine.”
Candice blinked fast, trying to stop the tears that burned her eyes.
“I’ve never told anyone this either,” she said after a beat. “But sometimes I wish I wasn’t famous. I wish I could just… disappear. Not forever. Just long enough to figure out who I am without all the lights and expectations.”
“You’re stronger than you think,” he said gently.
“No,” she whispered, “I just got really good at hiding.”
Their eyes locked, and for a moment, everything else faded — the world, the villa, the past. There was only the wind between them, and the quiet understanding that maybe… they were both just trying to survive their own ghosts.
Sergio looked down at her hand still resting on his. She followed his gaze and pulled away quickly, flustered.
“Sorry. That was—”
He caught her hand before she could turn.
“Don’t be,” he said softly. “Not this time.”
A long pause. And then a small, uncertain smile tugged at the corner of her lips.
“Maybe this villa isn’t so bad after all,” she said.
“Don’t get used to it,” he replied. “The world won’t wait forever.”
She leaned her head on his shoulder.
“For once… let it.”
- Writer
