It started with a lost notebook, leather-bound and smelling of jasmine. Elias found it tucked between the slats of his bench. Inside weren't just notes, but sketches of people—vibrant, laughing, and full of life. A name was inscribed on the inside cover: Clara .

By autumn, the bench was still there, but Elias rarely sat on it. He was too busy walking through the woods with Clara, sketching the changing leaves and realizing that even the oldest trees grew new branches every spring.

for linen shirts that caught the breeze.

"You look like you're waiting for a train that already left," Clara told him, her eyes dancing. "Why not try a different station?"