Chapter Four: After the Storm
232 Words
Months passed.
Goodness and Felix settled comfortably into their relationship. They looked happy together, and for a while, they truly were.
Andrew slowly became less present.
He still replied to messages and attended occasional gatherings, but something about him had changed. He seemed quieter. More distant.
Ella noticed.
One evening she sent him a message about an article that reminded her of a conversation they'd had.
He replied.
Then another message followed.
And another.
Soon they were talking regularly.
The conversations stretched far beyond casual friendship. They discussed work, family, fears, ambitions, and the strange loneliness that sometimes followed people even in crowded rooms.
One night they spoke on the phone for nearly two hours.
Andrew admitted, "I think the loneliest I've ever felt was surrounded by happy people."
Ella understood immediately.
"Yeah," she said softly. "I know that feeling."
There was a brief silence.
Then Andrew laughed.
"You're easy to talk to."
"Most people don't think so."
"I did," he replied. "From the first night."
Ella smiled to herself.
She wasn't surprised.
She had noticed that too.
As the weeks passed, their friendship deepened.
Coffee became a regular thing.
Phone calls became normal.
Conversations that should have lasted fifteen minutes somehow stretched into hours.
For the first time in a long while, neither of them felt quite so alone.
Neither of them said what was happening.
But both of them knew.
- Writer
