Chapter 3

The night before my graduation ceremony, I sent one last message in the group chat to confirm everything.

"Tomorrow morning at 9:00 am. Don't be late."

Ethan replied, "Don't worry. I'll be sitting in the front row by 8:30 am."

Yohan sent a cheeky emoji. "Can't wait to watch you trip over your own feet on stage."

Connor was the most serious of them all. He replied, "My camera's charged. I'll record the whole thing when you get your diploma."

I stared at their replies for a long time. Then, I registered their names for the three family seats in the front row.

By 8:30 am the next morning, all three seats were still empty.

At 8:40 am, there was still no sign of them.

At 8:55 am, Ethan finally called.

"Zelda, we might not make it in time for the ceremony."

"Why?" I asked, tightening my grip on my graduation cap.

The line went completely quiet on the other end.

I broke the silence, asking, "What happened to Willow this time?"

Ethan cleared his throat before answering. "She's moving today."

For a moment, I thought I'd heard him wrong.

"I thought that was scheduled for this afternoon?" I asked, my voice tinged with confusion.

Ethan let out a sigh before explaining, "The weather forecast says there's going to be a thunderstorm this afternoon. The moving company called and asked if they could move everything up to the morning. How is she supposed to handle all that stuff by herself?"

"So, all three of you went to help her?" I asked.

"Yohan's packing at the old place. Connor's getting things ready at her new place, and I'm driving," Ethan replied, his voice carrying a hint of guilt.

Everything was perfectly organized. They had planned everything even more carefully than they had planned my graduation ceremony.

"Ethan," I murmured, staring absentmindedly at the three empty seats in the front row. "Today is my graduation ceremony."

He fell silent for a few seconds. When he spoke again, he sounded helpless.

"I know. It's not like your diploma is going anywhere. We'll come by later and take pictures with you, okay? What if it really rains heavily this afternoon while Willow's only halfway through the move?"

Just then, the announcement system called my name.

Ethan was still lecturing me over the phone. "You're an adult now. Stop acting like a spoiled kid."

I hung up without saying another word.

As I walked onto the stage, a sea of glowing phone screens lit up the audience below.

Someone was calling out their daughter's name. Someone else stood up and applauded for their sister. A mother was dabbing tears from her eyes, overwhelmed with emotion.

Julian handed me my degree folder, his eyes drifting toward the empty seats in the front row.

"Your family didn't come?" he asked quietly.

"They're stuck in traffic," I murmured, my eyes fixed on the three seats that had been empty from the very beginning.

It was the first time I had ever made an excuse for them. It was also the last.

After the ceremony, everyone gathered with their families to take pictures. I stood near the auditorium entrance for a long time, holding my bouquet.

Eventually, someone I didn't know approached me.

"Hey, do you need someone to take your picture?" she asked with a smile. "I can do it for you."

She crouched down to find the right angle, then ran over to a nearby tree to check the lighting. In the end, she took nearly twenty photos, each one with far more care than Connor had ever shown when taking my picture.

Handing the phone back, she asked casually, "So, where's your boyfriend?"

I smiled faintly.

"Oh, he's busy helping a friend move."

The lady blinked, caught off guard for a second. In the end, all she could manage to say was "Oh." The silence that followed was awkward.

Around 1:00 pm, Willow posted on social media.

In the photo, she stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window of her new place, holding a bouquet of housewarming flowers and smiling brightly.

Ethan was crouched on the floor, assembling a shoe cabinet. Yohan stood on a ladder, installing a ceiling light, while Connor stood behind her, tying back the curtains.

The caption read, "Made it into my new home before the thunderstorm. Thank you to my three superheroes!"

The comment section was filled with people saying how jealous they were.

I stared at the photo for a long time.

My brother, my childhood friend for over a decade, and my boyfriend of four years were all missing from my graduation photos.

Yet, all three of them were there in Willow's ordinary moving-day photo.

Ironically, it didn't even rain that afternoon.

That evening, all three of them finally showed up at my apartment.

Ethan brought a bouquet of flowers he'd picked up on the way over. Yohan had a cake in his hands.

Connor handed me a gift bag. "Come on. Don't be upset. We really didn't mean to miss it," he said gently.

I opened the gift bag. Inside was an umbrella.

"This is the most practical gift I could think of. You just don't check the weather," he said with a smile.

He reminded me, "From now on, remember to take it with you whenever you go out. Then, you won't keep getting caught in the rain."

I ran my fingers over the handle of the umbrella and said nothing.

He had no problem sending Willow daily reminders about when the temperature would drop, when it would rain, and how strong the winds would be. He would even set customized alerts for a hailstorm that never even happened.

When it came to me, I was simply told to remember for myself.

Yohan suddenly chimed in. "By the way, isn't Willow going to Halston for training next week?"

Ethan pulled out his phone immediately.

"Hasn't Halston been pretty hot lately?"

Connor glanced down at his phone screen.

"Eighty-four during the day. Sixty-four at night. There's a chance of light rain on Thursday, but it's sunny for the two days she'll actually be there for training."

I stood just a few feet away, watching him. Then, I suddenly noticed that the second city listed on Connor's weather app was no longer Lindale. He had changed it to Halston.

In that instant, everything clicked into place.

It was never about the cities. It was all about Willow.

Wherever she traveled, the saved city on their weather apps changed with her. Wherever she traveled, they checked the weather there ahead of time for her.

I suddenly asked, "How about Fordham?"

Connor looked up from his screen. "What?"

"What's the weather like in Fordham right now?" I asked.

All three of them turned to stare at me.

"How are we supposed to know?" Ethan asked with a chuckle.

"Why are you suddenly asking about Fordham in Ivoria?" Yohan asked, looking confused.

I offered no explanation.

A month ago, I'd sent the notice about my final interview in Fordham to the group chat. Two weeks ago, I'd told them I'd passed. Three days ago, I'd told them I'd received the offer.

It wasn't that they hadn't checked their phones. Those messages simply weren't important enough for them to stop and read carefully.

Willow was only going to Halston for three days the following week. They already knew the daily highs and lows by heart.

I looked down and folded up the umbrella.

For the first time, five thousand miles didn't seem so far away.