I will never be ready

Chapter Two — The Old BridgeMidnight came too slowly

Midnight came too slowly.

By 11:40 p.m., I was already standing in front of my apartment, staring at the rain pouring from the sky.

I should have stayed home.

That was what every sensible part of me was saying.

But Maya wasn't sensible.

She was the kind of person who would run into the rain without an umbrella just because she wanted to feel the drops on her face.

She was the kind of person who made me believe that forever was real.

So if someone knew why she had disappeared, I had to go.

At exactly 11:57, I arrived at the old bridge.

The place was almost completely empty.

Streetlights flickered above me, casting long shadows across the wet pavement.

I checked my phone.

11:59 p.m.

One minute.

Then midnight.

Nothing happened.

I waited.

Five minutes.

Ten.

"Maybe this was a joke," I whispered.

I turned around.

And froze.

A man was standing at the other end of the bridge.

He wore a black coat and held a small brown envelope in his hand.

"Are you Liam?"

I nodded.

"Who are you?"

He walked toward me.

"My name is Daniel."

"Do you know Maya?"

He stopped.

"Yes."

My heart slammed against my ribs.

"Where is she?"

Daniel looked down at the envelope.

"I can't answer that."

"What do you mean you can't answer that?"

"Because Maya made me promise."

I stepped closer.

"Promise what?"

"That I wouldn't tell you until you were ready."

I almost laughed.

"Ready?"

My voice cracked.

"She's been gone for three months. I've spent every night wondering if she's alive. You don't get to tell me I'm not ready."

Daniel's expression softened.

Then he handed me the envelope.

"This is from her."

I stared at it.

My name was written across the front.

LIAM.

In Maya's handwriting.

My fingers trembled.

"Where did you get this?"

"She gave it to me two weeks before she left."

"Two weeks?"

I looked up sharply.

"So you knew she was leaving?"

Daniel didn't answer.

"You knew!"

My voice echoed across the empty bridge.

"You knew where she was going!"

"I knew she was sick."

Everything stopped.

The rain.

The traffic.

Even my breathing.

"What?"

Daniel looked at me with sad eyes.

"Maya was sick, Liam."

I shook my head.

"No."

"She didn't want you to know."

"No."

"She was afraid you'd stay."

I stepped backward.

"No."

Daniel's voice became quieter.

"She didn't leave because she stopped loving you."

My eyes burned.

"Then why?"

He looked at the envelope in my hand.

"Read the letter."

I stared at it for several seconds.

Then I opened it.

The first line destroyed me.

Dear Liam,

If you're reading this, I'm probably already gone.

My vision blurred.

I couldn't breathe.

I read the next line.

Please don't hate me for leaving.

A tear fell onto the paper.

Then another.

And another.

I kept reading.

I didn't leave because I wanted to.

I left because I was afraid that if you knew the truth, you'd spend the rest of your life trying to save me.

My hands began shaking violently.

I looked at Daniel.

"What happened to her?"

He looked away.

"Keep reading."

I lowered my eyes to the letter.

And then I saw the words that would change everything.

Liam, I have cancer.

My knees nearly gave out.

I grabbed the railing.

"No..."

The letter slipped from my hands.

Daniel caught it before it touched the ground.

I stared at him.

"She's alive, right?"

He didn't answer.

"Daniel."

Silence.

"Is Maya alive?"

He finally looked at me.

And the sadness in his eyes gave me my answer.

"She was when she wrote the letter."

I closed my eyes.

That wasn't the answer I wanted.

I needed more.

I needed certainty.

I needed Maya.

I opened my eyes again.

"Where is she?"

Daniel took a deep breath.

"There's something else you need to know."

"What?"

"Maya didn't disappear by herself."

My blood ran cold.

"What are you talking about?"

Daniel looked toward the dark road behind us.

"Someone helped her disappear."

"Who?"

Before he could answer, headlights appeared in the distance.

A black car was speeding toward the bridge.

Daniel's face suddenly changed.

"Get down!"

"What—?"

He grabbed my arm and pulled me behind the concrete barrier.

The car raced past us.

Then stopped.

My heart pounded.

Daniel whispered four words.

"They know you're here."