The Bench by the River

The bench still looked the same.

It was made of old wood, with cracks and rough edges, but it was strong. It stood under the big willow tree, near the river, just like it always had. It looked like it had been waiting for someone.

So had Nora.

It had been fourteen years since she left this town. Twelve years since she told herself that she would never come back. But now, here she was again. She walked along the river path with a bunch of daisies in her hand, and her heart felt strange, like it did not know whether to be happy or sad.

Everything looked smaller now. The trees were not as tall, and the river was not as wide as she remembered. Maybe it was not the place that had changed. Maybe she had.

She sat on the bench carefully. It felt like sitting beside a memory.

The air smelled like wet soil and flowers. The river moved slowly. Nora closed her eyes. For a moment, she was seventeen again, with bare feet, laughing as Daniel carved their initials into the tree.

N + D. Forever, he had said.

But forever did not last.

After Daniel’s funeral, Nora left. She could not stay. The pain was too heavy. The accident happened at night. A truck. Rain on the road. People said it was fast, that Daniel did not suffer.

Nora never cried at the funeral. People said she was strong. But the truth was, she felt like she had no more tears left inside her.

Now, she was back because of a dream.

In the dream, Daniel was sitting on this very bench, looking at the river and smiling. He did not speak. He just looked at her and pointed to the empty space beside him.

When she woke up, she bought a bus ticket and came home.

She placed the daisies beside the bench. “I came,” she whispered.

Suddenly, someone spoke behind her. “You never liked daisies.”

Nora jumped. Her heart raced.

A man was walking toward her from the trees. He was tall, wearing jeans and a brown jacket. He looked familiar. Too familiar.

“Sorry,” the man said. “I did not mean to scare you.”

The sun was behind him, so she could not see his face clearly. But something about his voice made her feel dizzy.

Then he stepped into the light.

It was Daniel.

Nora could not believe what she saw.

Her mouth opened, but no words came out.

Daniel raised his hands slowly. “I know this is hard to understand.”

She took a step back. Her chest hurt. “No. You are not real. You died. We buried you.”

“I know what they told you,” he said gently.

He looked older now. His hair was shorter. He had lines on his face. But it was him. It really was Daniel.

“You let me believe you were gone,” she said in a small voice.

“I had no choice,” Daniel replied.

Fourteen years earlier, Daniel had been working with a secret team of state police. He had joined a group of criminals to help the police catch them. But things became dangerous. One night, the police told him he had to disappear to stay alive.

They made it look like he died in a car accident. They even had a fake funeral. Daniel was given a new name, a new life, and was sent far away.

“I asked them to let me tell you the truth,” he said. “But they said it was not safe. Anyone close to me could be hurt.”

Nora sat down slowly. She was shaking. “So all this time… you were alive?”

He nodded. “I wrote letters to you. Every year. I never sent them, but I kept writing. You were always with me, in my heart.”

She looked at the tree where their names were still carved.

“I missed you every day,” she said. “You were the love of my life.”

Daniel sat beside her. “I saw a photo of you a few months ago. You were giving a talk at a university. You looked so happy. I thought maybe I should not come back.”

“Then why are you here now?” she asked.

He pulled a folded letter out of his jacket. “Because I had a dream. You were sitting here, by the bench. You looked at me, and I knew I had to come.”

Nora stared at him. “I had the same dream.”

They were both quiet.

The river moved gently. The willow tree swayed above them.

He looked at her with soft eyes. “I do not expect things to go back to the way they were. I just want to know you again. Even if it is only as a friend.”

Nora wiped her face. She had cried for him before, and now she was crying again. But this time, it was different. The pain was still there, but now there was something else too.

Hope.

“Let us not call this a second chance,” she said. “Let us call this the second first time.”

Daniel smiled. And the tree above them moved like it remembered too.