The waves of love in my life

The evening was quiet, thick with the scent of summer rain and distant streetlights glowing like stars trying to be noticed.

Lena stood on the rooftop of the community center, her arms folded against the soft breeze. Below, the world kept spinning—cars moving, voices echoing, lives unfolding.

But up here, time slowed.

Footsteps behind her.

Aariz.

He didn't speak right away. Just stood beside her, close but not touching. The kind of closeness that says I'm here, if you want me to be.

"I wasn't sure you'd come," she said.

"I told you," he replied softly. "I won't walk away this time."

She looked at him. His eyes didn't flinch. He meant it.

They sat on the rooftop bench—wooden, worn, still warm from the sun. Lena pulled her legs up under her, like she used to in college. The posture of deep talks, nervous laughs, and hearts learning how to open.

"I keep asking myself," she said, "why now? Why are you showing up after all these years?"

He looked at her—not rushed, just present.

"Because I'm not scared of you anymore."

She blinked. "You were scared of me?"

Aariz smiled softly. "Not of you. Of what you made me feel. You loved me with this… clarity. This strength. And I didn't know how to meet it. I wasn't strong yet. I thought I had to match your light to be worthy of it."

Lena looked away. "I didn't want you to match me. I just wanted you to stay."

"I know," he whispered. "And I didn't. I was a boy trying to be a man, and failing. But now… I'm not here to be fixed. I'm here because I still remember the sound of your laugh in the mornings, the way you say the word 'wreckage,' and how your silence always meant more than most people's words."

She laughed gently. "Still poetic, I see."

"Only when it's you."

There was a long silence between them. Not uncomfortable. Full.

The kind of silence that builds a bridge between souls.

Then, he reached for her hand.

Slowly.

No rush.

Just asking.

And Lena let him. Her fingers intertwined with his like they still remembered how.

She didn't say anything.

Neither did he.

They just breathed together.

Hours Later – Her Apartment

They didn't plan for him to come over. It just… happened.

The kind of unspoken decision that's made through a thousand glances and unsaid words.

Now they sat on her couch. Socks off. Tea untouched. Music playing low.

"You always kept your space so… calm," he said, admiring the small plants, warm lighting, and handwritten quotes pinned to her wall.

"It's the only space I've ever felt safe enough to be messy in," she replied.

He turned to her. "Can I ask something without it breaking the moment?"

"Ask."

"What would it look like, if we tried again? Not as old us. But who we are now?"

Lena's throat tightened.

"Scary," she whispered. "It would look scary. Because I don't know how to love without trying to hold everything together. And I'm tired of being the glue."

Aariz leaned in, resting his forehead against hers.

"Then let me hold you," he said, "not so you don't fall—but so you can finally rest."

And in that moment, she let go.

Of the weight.

Of the fear.

Of the guilt she'd carried for loving someone she couldn't save.

They kissed.

Not desperate. Not fiery.

Tender.

Like coming home after a long journey. Like relearning a language you forgot you once spoke fluently. His hand traced her jaw like it was something sacred. She buried her face in his shoulder, and for the first time in years, she didn't feel like she had to be anything.

Not strong.

Not perfect.

Just Lena.

And for him, that was more than enough.