Laughter returned.
But beneath everything was that conversation.
That crack in the wall.
By noon the rain had stopped.
Adanna gathered her things.
“I should go.”
I nodded.
My chest felt strangely heavy.
She reached for her bag.
Then stopped.
“Emeka?”
“Yeah?”
For a moment she looked exactly like the woman who had sat beside me at that conference all those years ago.
Nervous.
Hopeful.
Terrified.
“I need to tell you something.”
I already knew.
But I let her continue.
She took a deep breath.
“I’m moving.”
The words hit harder than expected.
“Moving?”
“My company offered me a position.”
“Where?”
“Abuja.”
Everything went silent.
“When?”
“Three weeks.”
Three weeks.
After two years of careful distance, suddenly there were only three weeks left.
I looked away.
Trying to process it.
Trying to pretend it didn’t hurt.
Trying and failing.
Then she said the words that changed everything.
“I turned it down.”
I looked back at her.
