The Bench in the Rain

The first raindrop hit the wooden bench just as Anna sat down. She didn't care. The weather was gloomy, much like her mood, and she had forgotten her umbrella — not accidentally.

It had been two years since she last came to this park. Two years since Liam had sat beside her on this very bench and said the words that shattered her world.

"I love you, but I can’t stay."

That was the last time she saw him.

Back then, Liam was full of dreams. A struggling artist, he had received an opportunity to study in Paris — a once-in-a-lifetime offer. Anna had smiled, told him to go, told him she understood. But inside, her heart had crumbled.

She never told him how much it hu❤❤

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Today, she came back to the bench without knowing why. Maybe it was closure. Maybe it was hope. Or maybe it was the smell of rain that reminded her of him — he always said he loved the scent of wet earth.

She closed her eyes and listened to the rain whisper through the leaves. Everything around her seemed unchanged, except her. Time had moved forward. Life had gone on. She had a new job, a new apartment, and a few new scars no one could see.

Then suddenly, someone spoke.

"Still sitting in the rain without an umbrella, Anna?"

Her heart skipped a beat.

She turned.

And there he was — Liam. Older, with a trimmed beard, soaked to the skin, but unmistakably him.

"You're... back?" she whispered.

"I never really left," he said, sitting beside her. “I left the country, yes. But not you.”

She stared at him in disbelief. "You didn’t write. You didn’t call."

"I did. You never answered."

Anna felt her breath catch. She had changed her number. Blocked his emails. It had been too painful to hear from him when she believed he’d moved on.

"I thought you forgot me," she whispered.

"I tried," he said softly, looking away. "But every painting I made in Paris had your face in it. Every story I wrote ended with your name. I realized, no matter what I achieved... it meant nothing without you."

The rain fell harder now, but neither of them moved.

"Why today?" she asked.

"I didn’t know you’d be here. I just... I come here sometimes. To remember. I guess today, fate decided it was time."

She laughed bitterly. "Fate. That’s funny. Where was fate when I cried myself to sleep every night?"

"I’m sorry," he said, his voice trembling. "If I could go back, I would have taken you with me."

"You didn’t even ask," she said. Her voice broke on the last word.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out something — a tiny, folded piece of paper, now wet from the rain.

"I wrote this the night I left," he said. “It was for you. I left it under the bench. I hoped you'd find it.”

With shaky hands, she opened it. The ink had smudged, but the words were still readable:

"One day, I’ll come back to this bench. If you’re there, I’ll never leave again."

Tears mingled with the rain on her cheeks.

"You came back," she said, not quite believing it.

"And you’re here," he replied, smiling for the first time.

She looked into his eyes. The same eyes she had fallen in love with. The same smile that had once broken her — and now healed her.

Without another word, she leaned on his shoulder, letting the rain soak through both of them.

There was no need for apologies anymore. The past had already been spoken for.

What mattered now was this bench, the rain, and the promise that somehow — after all the time and silence — love had found its way back.

#Lovefriends #Lovely #Lovestory #