I opened the apartment door and was greeted by the scent of coffee and lavender, a fragrance that felt like memory itself. This was the same small haven where Althea and I once spent rainy Sundays, where books sat in friendly piles and pale blue curtains softened the light.
It was the kind of place that made the heart remember what the mind had tried to tidy away. I had come only to return a set of keys and a few old letters. Instead, I found a new beginning.
