Morning came with light slowly filtering through the window of Arvian's room. He opened his eyes with a feeling unlike any he'd had before.
It had been a long time since he had felt that peaceful.
Last night's meeting was still vivid in his mind. The way someone had looked at him, the way that voice had called his name, and all the words that had finally come out after years of being nothing but silence.
Arvian sat on the edge of the bed.
“What have I really been searching for all this time?” he muttered.
He looked at a small box tucked away in the corner of his room. He hadn't opened it in a long time. He had deliberately kept many things in there because they were too difficult to remember.
His hand slowly reached for the box.
When he opened the lid, several old items came into view. Photos, little notes, and simple things that had once held great meaning.
Arvian picked up a piece of paper that had begun to fade.
His own handwriting was visible on it.
“Never forget why you held on.”
He read the sentence over and over.
He had written it back when his life was at its lowest point. He had tried to remind himself that every loss had a reason.
But the more he read it, the more he realized there was one thing he'd been avoiding all this time.
He hadn't only lost someone.
He had also lost a part of himself.
His phone rang.
A message came in.
“Are you up?”
Arvian looked at the sender's name.
A small smile appeared on his face.
“Yeah. You?”
A reply came not long after.
“Me too. I still can't believe we met again yesterday.”
Arvian stared at the screen for a moment before typing.
“Me neither.”
He paused for a moment.
There were so many things he wanted to write, but he was afraid it would all be too soon.
In the end, he sent a simple message.
“Thanks for coming back.”
A few minutes later, a reply appeared.
“I never really left.”
Arvian fell silent as he read the words.
A warmth filled him that was difficult to explain.
All this time, he had always thought that time would erase everything. It turned out that time only taught people how to hold on to things more peacefully.
That afternoon, Arvian decided to visit an old place he used to go to often. A small café at the end of the street that had managed to stay open despite all the changes around it.
As soon as he walked in, someone recognized him.
“Arvian?”
Arvian turned around.
A man he hadn't seen in a long time stood there with a smile.
“Reza?”
They moved toward each other and shook hands.
“I thought you never came back here anymore,” Reza said.
“I thought so too.”
Reza chuckled.
“Nothing's changed. You always answer with these impossible-to-read lines.”
Arvian smiled.
“You still like to joke around.”
“But you still like to keep everything to yourself.”
The words made Arvian go quiet.
Reza watched him.
“I know you've changed, but there's one thing that hasn't.”
“What?”
“You're still carrying something from the past.”
Arvian looked out the window.
“Maybe.”
“Not maybe. I can see it in the way you look at this place.”
Arvian didn't argue.
Because he knew Reza was right.
“I met her yesterday,” Arvian said quietly.
Reza immediately fell silent.
“Seriously?”
Arvian nodded.
“After all this time.”
“And what did it feel like?”
Arvian thought for a moment.
“Like finding something I'd lost, but I'm not sure I'm still worthy of having it.”
Reza gave him a small smile.
“Sometimes something doesn't come back so we can have it again. Sometimes it only comes back to make us realize that we were once happy.”
Arvian looked at his old friend.
Simple words, but they felt so profound.
Evening came again.
Arvian walked home with lighter steps.
He didn't know what would happen after this.
He didn't know whether the past would truly become a new beginning or merely a brief meeting that reminded them of something that had once existed.
But there was one thing he knew.
For the first time, he was no longer running from his own longing.
Because maybe longing wasn't something to fight after all.
Maybe longing only wanted to be heard.