09/17/2025
A Promise Under the Stars
The night sky stretched endlessly above, scattered with diamonds of light. The world was quiet, as if holding its breath for something sacred.
Maya stood at the edge of the hill, her dress swaying with the wind, eyes fixed on the constellations she used to trace with him long ago. The stars hadn’t changed—but everything else had.
Behind her, footsteps approached. A familiar voice, low and steady, broke the silence.
“You still come here.”
She turned. There he was—Ethan—his presence both distant and close, like a dream returning to her.
“I never stopped,” Maya said softly. “This place… it holds our promise.”
Ethan’s gaze followed hers to the sky. For a moment, the years between them faded. He remembered the night when, as reckless teenagers, they had stood in this very spot, swearing that no matter how far they wandered, they’d find their way back to each other beneath these stars.
“I thought I lost you,” Ethan admitted, his voice barely louder than the wind.
“You never did,” Maya whispered.
He stepped closer, close enough for her to feel his warmth against the cool night air. Gently, he took her hand, their fingers fitting as though they had never been apart.
“Then let’s make another promise,” Ethan said, his eyes shining with something eternal. “Not to let go. Not this time.”
Maya’s heart ached, but it was the sweetest ache she had ever known. With the stars above as witness, she smiled through her tears.
“Under these stars,” she breathed, “I promise.”
And in that moment, surrounded by infinity, their love was written into the sky—eternal, unbroken, and shining forever.