The Echo
317 Words
*Chapter Ten – The Echo of Almost*
It had been weeks since the lake.
Since the not-quite confession and the almost kiss.
Since the moment Eliana realized she’d let someone too close and didn’t hate it.
Kai hadn’t pushed. Hadn’t brought it up again. But it lingered. In the way he looked at her a second too long. In how their hands would brush, not by accident. In how her heart raced when his voice softened like it was meant only for her.
They were walking through the quiet part of town,old bookstores, flickering street lamps, places that looked like memories.
Kai carried his guitar case like always. Eliana clutched her sketchbook, even though she hadn’t drawn anything in days.
“You ever think about running away?” she asked suddenly.
Kai tilted his head. “From what?”
“Everything. This town. Expectations. People assuming they know who you are.”
“All the time,” he admitted.
She glanced at him. “Where would you go?”
“Wherever you go,” he said without flinching.
It was the kind of answer that wasn’t just romantic,it was dangerous.
Because it wasn’t just words. It was a promise. And Eliana had never known what it felt like to be someone’s choice.
They sat on the curb in front of the closed record shop. She opened her sketchbook. Blank page. Deep breath.
“Draw me something,” Kai said.
“I don’t have anything in my head,” she replied.
“Then draw how you feel.”
She hesitated. Then slowly, she began sketching.
Not a face. Not a place.
A sound.
The sound between them.
Something messy, undefined half-light, half-shadow.
When she finished, she looked up.
Kai was already looking at her.
“You feel like music,” he whispered.
And for once, she didn’t flinch.
Because maybe, just maybe, she was starting to believe it.
- Writer
