The Betaab Valley, with its sprawling meadows and the glistening Lidder River, seemed like a painting left unfinished by the divine. Snow-draped peaks loomed in the distance, unyielding and ancient, while the air carried the crisp bite of winter. The valley, in all its cruel beauty, reminded me that nothing truly belongs to the present. It’s all echoes—refracted light from a dying star.

I had come seeking peace, a brief reprieve from the chaos of my thoughts, but I found her instead. She stood by the riverbank, her figure a silhouette against the soft glow of the fading sun. The years had shaped her, softened some edges, but even from this distance, I recognized her.

At first, I hesitated. Could it really be her? The thought alone sent my heart plunging into the past—slowly at first, then accelerating until the weight of nostalgia threatened to drown me. But in that moment, a surge of memories overtook me, like a dam breaking under the weight of an eternal flood.

I took a step closer, and the sound of my boots crunching against the snow betrayed my presence. She turned, and her eyes met mine.

It was her.

Time stopped. Her eyes, though alight with emotion, seemed to agree. They were a battlefield of desire and...