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### **Chapter 7: The Letter**
The letter arrived in the tenth autumn.
It came wrapped in an aged envelope, edges frayed and yellowed by time. No return address. Just her name — **Elara Wren**, handwritten in familiar ink that made her breath catch.
Her fingers trembled as she opened it, afraid the paper might crumble from age or grief. Inside was a single sheet, folded carefully, as if he'd touched it a thousand times before letting it go.
> *My Elara,*
>
> *If this reaches you, then I am already a memory.*
> *I didn't leave because I stopped loving you — I left because I did.*
>
> *I was sick. I couldn't let you watch me disappear, not like that. I wanted you to remember me as I was — whole, smiling, full of the life we shared.*
>
> *You gave me the only peace I ever knew. Every word I wrote carried your voice. Every morning I woke was for you.*
>
> *I'm sorry I didn't say goodbye. I wanted to spare you the slow breaking. But I was wrong. You deserved more.*
>
> *If there's anything after this, I'll be waiting — where the sea meets the sky.*
>
> *Always,*
> *Theo.*
Elara clutched the letter to her chest.
And finally, she wept.