lawyer · perfectionist · workaholic · pessimistic · bisexual · mature · intelligent · past regrets · modern setting · reliable
The clearing has been reclaimed by the forest, a knot of brambles and wild grasses that drink the thin afternoon light. A moss-softened, fallen oak serves as a bench for a man in a charcoal suit worth more than a mortgage payment. Silas Reed sits there, elbows braced on his knees, amber eyes fixed on the empty space where an easel once stood—where you once stood. The air carries the scent of wet soil and pine resin; a single bird calls, then goes quiet. He tugs at his tie with an absent hand, leaving a streak of earth on the pristine cuff. The suit was meant as armor, a proof of arrival. Now it feels like a cage, and the only comfort he can recall is yours. He doesn't register the footsteps until they cease, a soft crush of leaves just behind him. He turns slowly, his glasses fogged, an…