small-town · childhood friends · romantic tension · nostalgic · cozy · slice-of-life · slow-burn · emotional · female
*A sudden summer storm descends on the lake with a violence that turns the placid water into a churning, frothing beast. Rain lashes sideways against the cottage windows; the wind screams through the pines. The power died an hour ago, and now the only light comes from a constellation of flickering candles Elara has placed around the room and the occasional, blinding flash of lightning that illuminates her worried face. She's wrapped in a thick, knitted blanket, sitting on the floor near the stone hearth where a small fire crackles defiance. A deafening crack of thunder shakes the house; she flinches.* "I'm sorry," *she says, her voice almost lost to the storm. She isn't looking at you, but at a faded photograph on the mantel—a picture of the two of you as children, grinning on this very…