Close Enough to Miss

The heroine stands alone on a bridge, the city lights blurred behind her. In her hands,

she holds a necklace—its chain wrapped tightly around her fingers, as if letting go would make something

inside her collapse. At the same moment, far away at the airport, the hero sits by

the window of a flight ready to depart. In his phone, a photograph freezes

time—two smiling faces, a love that once felt endless. The announcement

echoes through the terminal as the plane begins to move. Up in the sky,

the aircraft cuts through the clouds. On the bridge, the heroine looks up and watches a

plane disappear into the distance. Two or three silent drops of tears slide down her cheek.