The Fire Died, So I Chose the Sea

With 7 days left until my departure, I started packing.

While sorting through my wallet, I came across a photo of Vittorio Salvetti and me.

Three years earlier, I had rescued Vittorio after an avalanche. At the time, I was leading my sled dog team alongside the villagers in search of survivors.

Dolly, the sled dog I had raised from a puppy, caught the scent of blood. She stopped in front of a snowdrift and tugged hard at the hem of my pants, refusing to let go. That was how I dug a blood-soaked Vittorio out from under the snow.

I brought him back to the village and treated his wounds, and he began three months of recovery.

At first, we only exchanged a few words whenever I changed his bandages. Later, I started telling him about my adventures in the snowy mountains, the village legends of the polar night and the Snow God, and the warm ocean I had longed to see ever since I was a child.

In return, he told me about the world beyond the ice and snow. He described his family, a harbor that never froze, and beaches covered in golden sand. All of it sounded so warm.

He promised to take me to see the ocean and to hold our wedding beneath clear skies beside the blue sea.

Later, he missed our wedding three times in a row because of Amelia Rinaldi.

My thoughts drifted. I crumpled the photo in my hand and tossed it into the trash can.

I was halfway through packing when familiar voices and laughter came from outside the door.

Vittorio was carrying both of their suitcases. The two of them wore nearly identical black suits, and matching bracelets glinted on their wrists.

Amelia’s eyes lit up when she saw me. “Vera, are you still mad? I told Vittorio ages ago that I could handle the job myself, but he insisted on supervising me because he was worried. I tried to talk him out of it, and it still ended up ruining your wedding.”

Vittorio smiled and ruffled her hair. “It was your first solo job. Vera grew up with you, so of course she’d put your safety first too.

“Pushing the wedding back a few days is no big deal. We can just hold the ceremony next polar night.”

I looked at them. “There won’t be a next time.”

Vittorio sighed, and a hint of disappointment crept into his gaze, as though he were dealing with a child who refused to grow up.

“Vera, you’re an adult now. There’s no such thing as a Snow God. It’s all just backward superstition meant to fool you.”

Amelia nodded in agreement. “If you’d ever left the village, you wouldn’t let these old rules hold you back.”

The two of them echoed each other perfectly, and my chest tightened with hurt.

Vittorio took my arm, looking exasperated. “Vera, you need to get out and see the world like Amelia. You can’t stay this naive forever.

“Once you marry me, you’ll have to learn what really matters. It’s time you grew up.”

When we first met and he learned that I had never left the village, he said I was as pure as the polar snow. Now that same purity had become ignorance and old-fashioned thinking.

The first time Vittorio broke his promise, I took my sled out alone onto the ice fields to clear my head. He thought I was going to do something drastic and braved a blizzard to find me.

His black coat was crusted with frost, and his whole body was ice cold. Only his tears were hot.

“Vera, don’t leave me. I can’t lose you.”

I believed him.

After that, I ignored the ridicule and gossip of everyone in the village, along with the Snow God’s curse that the custom warned of. I stubbornly held on to Vittorio’s promise.

Back then, Vittorio had kissed my cheek softly. “Don’t mind those people, cara. Once you marry me, my family will be your new family. Don’t let people like that upset you. They aren’t worth it.”

He broke his vows again and again, and the rumors only grew worse.

Vittorio pulled me into a familiar embrace.

His voice was low. “Vera, Amelia officially works for the family now. She’s one of us.

“Next time we host a dinner, I’ll bring you to the family banquet and let everyone know you’re my fiancée.”

After my parents passed away, I had always longed for a new family. When he learned this, he promised to bring me home and make his family mine.

Three years later, however, I was still in the far north. Amelia was the one he took to dinners and introduced to the family, and he had even gone traveling with her.

“You don’t know the family well yet. I was worried you’d feel out of place. Amelia is just going ahead to pave the way for you.”

I turned my head away from his kiss. “No. I don’t need that anymore.”

Vittorio’s expression darkened. “Vera, stop being so stubborn.

“I already explained this. If anything went wrong on Amelia’s first job, her life could have been in danger. I couldn’t leave her on her own.”

I opened my mouth, then closed it again without a word.

The first time, it was Amelia’s future. The second time, it was her career. The third time, it was her safety.

It seemed that whenever Amelia was involved, anything could become Vittorio’s excuse to leave me behind. Now even my decision to stop waiting was just me being stubborn.

When I said nothing, his expression softened, and he casually pulled out a necklace.

“I bought this especially for you to make up for missing the wedding this time. Forgive me?

“The job wore us out, so I’m going to take Amelia to get some rest first. I’ll come see you later.”

He left with Amelia before I could answer.

The necklace looked familiar. It was from the same collection as their bracelets, and the tag that had not been fully removed read “Free Gift with Purchase.” The words stung my eyes.

The three years I had spent waiting for him were worth no more than a cheap freebie tossed my way to keep me quiet.