The cafe buzzed with Friday night chatter, but Elias felt a cold quiet descend. Across the small table, Amelia laughed, her eyes crinkling at the corners – a gesture he'd memorized from countless afternoons spent building forts in her backyard. She didn’t recognize him. He’d introduced himself as "Elias from work," hoping to ease in, to gauge her reaction. Nothing. She treated him like any other colleague, pleasant but distant.
He stirred his coffee, the spoon clinking against the ceramic. “So, you’re saying you’ve never been to the old park by the river?” he asked, trying to sound casual. Her brow furrowed, a flicker of confusion crossing her face.
“No, can’t say I have,” she replied, taking a sip of her own drink. A small smile playing on her lips. “Sounds like a nice place, though.” He tightened his grip on the coffee cup. He’d spend an entire summer with Amelia at that park. They’d built dams in the stream and spied on the ducks. He’d shown her how to skip stones. Now, she spoke of it like it was a place on a distant planet.
He felt a sudden compulsion to tell her a story, a specific story. He began, “Do you remember that time, by the river, when…” but instead, he cut himself off. The details he had memorized could serve their own purpose.