Flowers at the end of summer

Summer advanced like a calm river, unhurriedly, but with a subtle force that dragged everything in its path.
Ren began to feel that the seasons were no longer just cycles of the weather, but moments in his life that, little by little, were intertwined with Aria.

Since that fleeting kiss On the cheek, something had changed between them.
It wasn't a dramatic change, but it was palpable enough for Ren to feel in every gesture, in every conversation.
There was a new tension in the air, an echo of something bigger than his words could reach.
But neither of them dared to break that unspoken silence, that space that uncertainty had created.

That morning, Ren woke up earlier than usual.
Through the window, sunlight filtered through the curtains, bathing the room in warm tones.
Ren sat up, stretching his numb muscles.
There was something different about him; something he couldn't define, but which filled him with a strange sense of urgency.

He decided to go for a walk around the village, at first just to clear his mind, but soon, as if fate was already playing its part, he found himself walking along the same path he had walked with Aria days before.

The town square was empty, as it is most mornings, with the few stalls that remained beginning to open.
The breeze caressed Ren's skin, bringing with it the smell of wet earth and sea.
He looked around, looking for Aria, but he didn't see her.
Still, his mind seemed to follow the course of the last conversation they had had.
The kiss on the cheek... the words that got stuck between them, floating like air bubbles.

When you reach the edge of the beach, Ren sat down on the rock where he had rested with Aria, looking out over the horizon.
The sea was calm, its waters seemed to be a perfect mirror of the clear sky.
He remembered his words, Aria's, about dreams kept in shells.
What dreams did he have?
He had stopped dreaming a long time ago, without realizing it.
He had stopped believing in the possibility of something beyond the emptiness of his daily routine.

At that moment, he saw a figure approaching.
It was Aria.
His silhouette was silhouetted against the golden background of dawn, walking steadily towards him, as if he had been looking for him from the beginning.

"I didn't expect to see you here so early," he said, sitting down next to him without losing his trademark smile.
The closeness of his body caused the air to become thicker, and the sun, despite being soft, seemed to become more intense.

Ren smiled, though something inside him was twisting.

"It's strange, isn't it?" I've always been an early riser, but this time... I felt like I should be here.
As if the sea had something to say to me.

Aria looked at him with an intensity that made her feel like she was seeing something beyond its surface.

"And what does the sea tell you?" he asked, in a whisper.

Ren didn't know how to respond.
The sea said nothing to him.
But if there was something in his words, it was that need to share something else, something that could not be translated into simple words.

"I don't know yet. But I think I'm going to find the answer.
Maybe the answer is to be here with you.

Aria was silent, but her gaze softened.
For the first time, Ren could see in her eyes something he had never seen before: vulnerability.
It was a fleeting flash, so fast that he hardly noticed it.
But enough to know that she wasn't the confident girl he'd always shown the world.

"Sometimes the sea holds more secrets than we can comprehend. Aria said, almost to herself.
—And it reflects us as we are. If you look closely, you will see everything you have inside.

Ren looked at her, confused.
What did he mean by that?
What did she see in him that even he himself could not recognize?

"What I see in you is—" Aria paused, searching for the right words, "a mixture of doubts and unfulfilled longings.
"The sea reflects that. But it also reflects what we are capable of becoming. If only we allow it.

Ren stared at her.
It was as if Aria could see through him, read the pages of a book he never dared to open.
He had never been one to share his deepest thoughts, he had always kept everything to himself.
But with Aria... Everything seemed simpler, as if she had the key to unlock the parts she had kept locked for so long.

"What do you mean by that?" he asked, in a low voice.

Aria looked at him with a mixture of tenderness and sadness.

"I mean you're afraid.
"Fear of believing.
—Fear of opening up to what you could feel if you let the sea enter your life.
"But you need not fear.
"I'll be here, whenever you need it."

Aria's words floated between them, like a spell that could not be broken.
Ren didn't know what to do with everything he felt.
It was as if he had discovered a new world in front of him, but at the same time he didn't know how to get through it.

He looked at the sea once more, feeling like something inside him was waking up, something he couldn't control.

The breeze moved her hair, and Aria looked at him once more, as if she were waiting for something, something he was not yet willing to offer.

But Ren, for the first time in his life, felt no fear.
Maybe he didn't have all the answers, but he didn't care anymore.
Because, for some reason, I felt like I was about to discover them.

When Aria got up to leave, Ren looked at her one last time, as if he knew that this moment, that connection, would be something he would carry with him forever.

"See you tomorrow," she said, smiling softly, before taking a step back.

Ren didn't respond immediately, but when he saw her walk away, he felt that his heart had already started beating in a different way.

He was no longer the same.