The room hums with voices.

  Laughter. Glasses clinking. A piano playing something soft and familiar.

  But I don’t hear any of it.

  My hands are shaking.

  My throat’s dry. My heart’s racing in a way it hasn’t in years, really ever since the moment our fates were sealed together.

  Then the music shifts, and the old wooden doors open up.

  She steps through the doors.

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  Veil down. Dress flowing like the moonlight. Everyone turns to look at her, but she doesn’t look at them.

  She’s walking toward me though she her face was covered I just knew she was looking directly at me, like she's done many times before. Like this moment was never in doubt.

  I can’t breathe. Because even with the veil, I know it’s her. Not by her face, but by the way, my chest tightens.

  That familiar pull I never could explain, even all these years later.

  As she stops in front of me. I could smell the faint smell of lavender before she leaned in close.

  And a smile grows on her face like she’s been waiting to say this for years.

  And just for a brief moment, there was silence.

  Until she finally spoke into my ear.

  “You’re such a rascal.”

  And for a moment, my brain blanked out.

  My eyes widen.

  My breath catches.

  And in that moment,

  I remember everything, and how she said those same words all those years ago.