The afternoon had slipped into a gentle dusk, and the remnants of the day clung to everything like a soft sigh. Kael and Liora walked along an old stone bridge that arched over a quiet stream, its waters murmuring low and steady as they passed beneath crumbling arches. The bridge had seen better times when people gathered here to laugh, to share meals, and to dream. Now, it was a silent witness to the passage of their own burdens and hopes.
Kael's gaze wandered over the water, tracing the familiar curve of the stream as it slowly eroded the solid stone. "You know," he began thoughtfully, "there was a time when this bridge was a place of gathering people would meet here, share stories, exchange greetings. It makes me wonder if we ever had something real before all this ruin took hold." His voice was soft, almost lost in the gentle rustle of the passing wind.
Liora leaned against the cold stone railing, her eyes reflecting the twilight. "I think we did," she said quietly. "Every stone here, every crack, holds a memory of what once was. I try to see it not just as ruins, but as reminders that life wasn't always shadowed by loss. There was warmth in these moments. There was connection."
They paused midway across the bridge, where the pathway widened just enough to sit for a while. Kael removed his cloak and folded it neatly beside him, then sat on the edge, his gaze never quite leaving the water below. The fading light painted the scene in soft tones, as if the world was gently easing its pain into a slower, quieter rhythm.
"Sometimes, I wish I could remember exactly when things changed," Kael murmured, his tone laced with a wistful sadness. "Not to dwell on the past, but to understand it more clearly so I know what I can bring back, what I can hold onto." His fingers absentmindedly traced patterns in the worn stone, as though trying to decipher the stories etched into it.
Liora joined him, tucking her feet beneath her as she sat down. "We can't always remember every detail," she admitted. "But maybe that's okay. Maybe the beauty of the past isn't in the exact moments, but in the feelings we carry with us hope, warmth, connection. Those are the things that matter, not the precise memories."
Her words hung in the air, gentle yet profound. Kael looked at her, seeing the truth in her expression the quiet strength in the way she allowed herself to hope despite the pain. "I suppose you're right," he said slowly. "Even if I can't name every little joy from before, I can feel it, here and now." He placed his hand over his chest, as if to keep that feeling safe.
A soft breeze rustled the leaves overhead, and for a moment, all sounds became a tender symphony: the whisper of the wind, the steady flow of water, the soft creak of ancient wood. In that fragile space, the world felt a little less burdened, the wounds of the past a bit more bearable.
After a long pause, Liora spoke again, her voice gentle and introspective. "Maybe what we need is to build new memories, even if they're small. It doesn't have to be grand a shared smile, a quiet conversation, even a walk across a bridge can remind us of who we still are. Not as the people we lost, but as the people who are still here."
Kael's eyes glistened in the fading light as he nodded. "I'd like that," he said, his voice steadier now. "Let's try to find, or even create, those small moments those sparks that remind us how it feels to be alive."
They stood together for a moment, side by side on that old bridge, letting the quiet absorb them. In the gentle rhythm of the stream and the soft murmur of distant memories, there was a promise a promise that even amidst the ruins, new beginnings could whisper their way into the heart.
And as dusk surrendered to the approaching night, Kael and Liora rose together, a subtle determination etched