Mon histoire

Previously

…Then, he was there. Not suddenly, not startlingly, but as if he had always occupied that space, a quiet presence that settled into the twilight like a forgotten chord. He was the stranger from the cafe, the one whose eyes had held a universe she’d only glimpsed. He stood a few feet away, his hands tucked into the pockets of his worn coat, his posture relaxed yet attentive, as if he’d been waiting for her to notice him. Elara’s breath hitched. Her instinct was to retreat, to melt back into the anonymity of the evening, to build the