The Lakefront horizon
209 Words
As the sun began to set, they sat on a wooden bench at North Avenue Beach, watching the skyline begin to twinkle. The Willis Tower and the Salesforce Tower were just buildings now—steel and stone, no longer spires of war.
"What happens now?" Kaelen asked, his head resting against hers.
"Now?" Elara laughed softly, watching a dog chase a frisbee across the sand. "Now we pay rent. We argue about what to watch on Netflix. We go to grocery stores and complain about the price of avocados. We live, Kaelen. We just live."
Kaelen looked at the horizon, where the water met the sky. "I think I can handle that. As long as you’re the one explaining the avocados to me."
He leaned in, his lips brushing her ear. "I love you, Elara Vance. Not because of the tether, and not because of the math. Just... because."
"I love you too, Architect," she said, closing her eyes. "Because of everything."
The "collision of universe" was gone. In its place was something much more stable, much more complex, and infinitely more beautiful. It was the sound of two hearts beating in the same world, at the same time, for no other reason than they wanted to be there.
- Writer
