Maria:
For a while, we just walk.
No urgency. No destination. Just the quiet stretch of sand and the steady rhythm of the waves folding into themselves and pulling back again. I hold my heels in one hand, the straps dangling between my fingers, and focus on where I’m stepping so I don’t sink too deep. The cool grains shift under my bare feet with every step.
He stays beside me. Close, but not touching.
It feels deliberate. Like we both understand that something already shifted and we are being careful not to rush past it.
“I don’t do this,” he says after a while.
I glance at him. “Do what?”
“This.” He gestures vaguely, like even naming it is unnecessary. “Talking like this. Feeling… anything I can’t control.”
I let out a small breath that almost turns into a smile. “That explains a
