All Chapters of We Were Almost : Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

Sophia had been traveling for five days.She slept on buses. Ate when she could. Walked when the money ran out.Her mother was somewhere in the north. That's all she knew. Her father's people had moved her after Sophia stopped responding. A punishment. A warning.She had no phone. No money left. No plan.Just a name. A town. Hope.The bus dropped her at a dusty junction.Small town. One road. Shops with faded signs. People staring at the stranger.She asked around. Described her mother. Nothing.She kept walking.By evening, her feet were bleeding. She sat on a bench outside a closed shop and cried.Not loud crying. Quiet. The kind that comes when you're too tired to fight anymore.A woman appeared beside her."You okay?"Sophia looked up. An older woman. Kind face. Worried eyes."I'm fine.""You don't look fine."Sophia almost laughed. If she only knew."I'm looking for someone. My mother. She was brought here. I don't know where."The woman studied her for a long moment.Then: "Come

Maya's mother called on a Thursday.Her voice was different. Tired. Careful."Aya. Your father is worse."Maya's heart stopped."What do you mean worse?""The doctors say his heart is failing. They don't know how much time he has."Maya sat down hard on her bed."Months. Maybe weeks. They can't say for sure.""I'm coming home.""Aya, your exams…""I don't care about exams."Her mother was quiet. Then: "Okay. Come home."Maya hung up and stared at the wall.Her father was dying.Ethan found her an hour later.She was still sitting in the same spot. Phone in hand. Eyes empty."Maya? What happened?"She told him.He sat beside her. Took her hand."I'm coming with you.""No.""Maya…""No, Ethan. I need to do this alone."He flinched. "Alone? After everything…""Because of everything." She looked at him. "I can't focus on us right now. I can't focus on healing or trust or any of it. My father is dying.""I can help. I can be there for you.""I know you want to. But every time I look at you

Maya stayed for three days.Three days of walking around campus like a ghost. Three days of avoiding the bench. Three days of talking to Ethan in short sentences and long silences.It wasn't easy.Every time she looked at him, she remembered. The kiss. Sophia's lips on his. The way he didn't tell her.But every time she looked at him, she also remembered the good. The coffee. The bench. The night he drove four hours.She was torn in two.On the second day, they sat in the library.Not talking. Just existing in the same space.Maya watched him study. The way his brow furrowed. The way he chewed his pen. The way he glanced at her every few minutes to make sure she was still there."You keep looking at me," she said."Sorry. I'm just…" He stopped."Just what?""Afraid you'll disappear."She felt something twist in her chest."I'm here, Ethan.""For now.""For now."He nodded. Looked back at his book.But she saw his hands shaking.That night, they walked to the bench.Not to sit. Just to

Maya counted the days.Twenty-three days until she would see Ethan. Twenty-three days of planning, imagining, hoping. Twenty-three days of checking the ticket on her phone just to make sure it was real.She hadn't told him yet. Not the exact date. She wanted it to be a surprise. Wanted to see his face when she appeared at his door.Her mother noticed the change."You're different," she said one morning. They were having tea at the small kitchen table. The same table Maya had sat at her whole life. Same cracks in the wall. Same everything."Different how?""Lighter. Happier. You smile more."Maya felt her cheeks warm. "I'm happy, Mama.""Because of him?"Maya nodded.Her mother smiled. Small. Sad. The kind of smile that carried years of memory."He's a good boy, that Ethan. Made mistakes. But good.""We all make mistakes.""Yes. But not everyone fights to fix them."Maya thought about that. About the months of calls. The patience. The way he never gave up even when she gave him every r

The one-year anniversary came and went without either of them noticing.Not the anniversary of them meeting. Not the anniversary of them getting together.The anniversary of her moving to the city. Of them finally being together. Of everything feeling possible.It passed on a Tuesday. Maya was at work. Ethan was in a meeting. Neither of them remembered until days later.Maybe that said something.Maya's life had settled into a rhythm.Wake up. Coffee. Work. Come home. Dinner with her mother. Call Ethan. Sleep.Same thing every day.Her mother was better now. Stronger. She could walk to the market alone. Cook her own meals. Laugh at things on television.The shop was gone. Sold to a young couple who painted it yellow and turned it into something new.Maya passed it sometimes on her way home. Looked at the yellow walls and tried to remember what it looked like before.She couldn't.Ethan's life was different.City life. Fast. Loud. Always moving.He liked his job most days. Hated it on