The coastal town of Silver Bay was quiet in the off-season, its streets mostly deserted except for the occasional local passing by. The air was cool, carrying the scent of saltwater and pine trees, and the sound of waves crashing against the shore filled the empty space. Clara stood on the wooden porch of her family’s old beach house, looking out at the ocean, her heart heavy with memories of the past.
It had been five years since she had last set foot in Silver Bay, five years since she had walked away from everything that tied her to this place—including Ethan. The thought of him still sent a shiver down her spine, but this time, it wasn’t from the cold.
Clara had met Ethan during one of those magical summers when everything seemed possible. She had been twenty-two, fresh out of college and unsure of what to do with her life. Her family had vacationed in Silver Bay every year, and that summer, she had stayed longer than usual, trying to figure out her next step. That’s when she had met Ethan.
He was a local, working at the marina, and they had crossed paths one evening at the town’s small café. What began as casual conversation quickly grew into something deeper. They spent endless days together—walking on the beach, swimming in the ocean, talking about their dreams under the stars. Ethan was everything Clara had never known she wanted: adventurous, kind, and deeply connected to the simple joys of life.
By the end of the summer, they had fallen in love. But Clara had a life waiting for her outside Silver Bay—a career she had just started in the city, friends, and ambitions that couldn’t be contained within the borders of a small coastal town. Ethan, however, belonged to the sea, to the quiet rhythms of the life he had always known. He had never wanted to leave.
When summer ended, they had tried to make it work, but the distance between them had grown too vast. Clara’s job became more demanding, and Ethan’s life in Silver Bay remained unchanged. The phone calls grew shorter, the visits fewer, and eventually, they drift
