TOWARD THE DISTANCE Chapter 8

Three days until the flight.

Lily sent a photo of Cade at a beach barbecue, shirtless, laughing, a beer in one hand.

【Lily: Celebrating! He took me to the Maldives to celebrate the pregnancy. He says I deserve to relax now that I'm carrying his child. All I have to do is eat and enjoy myself. 😍】

Elena didn't reply. She spent the afternoon meeting a few close friends for one last dinner. She didn't tell them why. She just laughed, and ate, and held onto the feeling of being known by people who actually saw her.

Two days until the flight.

Lily sent another photo. Cade, sitting on a white deck chair, reading a book titled "Baby's First Year: A New Parent's Guide."

【Lily: New daddy is already studying up! The baby is still just a tiny bean in my tummy, but he's already talking to it through my belly every single day. 🥺】

Elena didn't reply. She went to the bank, withdrew every cent she had, converted it all to euros in cash, and closed every account in her name.

One day until the flight.

Lily sent a video this time. Aerial footage of fireworks blooming over the ocean — gold and silver and violet, reflected in black water. In the foreground, Lily was crying, and Cade held her close, whispering something Elena couldn't hear.

【Lily: He bought out the entire fireworks show for the whole island. Just for my birthday. Every single light in the sky was mine. 💎】

Lily's birthday. Of course.

Elena watched the video once, then set her phone down and picked up the phone instead. She called a local charity.

"Hi. I have some clothes I'd like to donate. Quite a lot, actually."

A representative arrived within the hour. Elena had already packed everything — five enormous bags of clothes, shoes, anything that belonged to her. Every single item went into those bags. She kept nothing.

Her ID, her university records, her household registration — everything that said "Elena" — she took to a secure document shredding service on the edge of the city. She watched through the glass as the machine reduced every sheet to confetti.

She stood in the house one last time after everything was done. Five years she had lived here. Five years of building a home — arranging furniture, planting flowers, learning what Cade liked and what he didn't, making this place feel like somewhere worth coming back to.

Now it was spotless. Empty. Not a trace of her anywhere.

She had one backpack. Inside: her passport. Nothing else.

And one phone.

She hailed a cab to the airport. The driver pulled up to the departure terminal, and Elena reached for her phone to pay — just as Cade called.

"Elena, I'm back from my trip. I'm heading home to pick you up. Want to grab dinner together?"

He was back. Right now. She could see him through the taxi window — stepping out of the terminal with two suitcases on a cart, one blue, one pink. Matching luggage. A couple's set.

Lily was beside him, her arm looped through his, leaning into his shoulder like a bird settling onto a branch.

"How was the trip?" Elena asked, her voice perfectly calm.

"Not bad. Not too tiring." A pause, then brighter: "Oh — I remember you said I could open that gift today. The one on the table. Can I?"

"Yes. You can open it now."

"I've been thinking about it all week. What did you get me? It's our anniversary, so it must be something meaningful —"

"It is. Very meaningful. You'll understand when you see it."

"I can't wait. I'll be home in about two hours —"

"That works."

Two hours was plenty. By then, her plane would be past the border.

"Okay. See you soon. I love you, Elena."

She hung up. Watched through the glass as Lily pouted, and Cade leaned down and kissed her lips, quick and easy.

"Miss?" The driver's voice broke through. "Your fare —"

Elena scanned his payment code. Then she opened her wallet and transferred every last cent she had left — every euro, every dollar, everything — directly to the driver.

He stared at the screen. "Miss — this is way too much. It says ten thousand dollars. Your fare is a hundred and thirty. Let me send the rest back —"

"Keep it," Elena said, stepping out of the car. "I won't need it anymore."

"That doesn't make sense. I have to —"

"You drove me here," Elena said. "That matters more than you think. Thank you."

She pulled out her phone, removed the SIM card, and dropped it into a trash can. Then she handed the phone itself — still warm, still holding years of her life in its memory — to a little boy standing nearby with his mother, waiting at the curb.

The boy's eyes went wide. "Thank you, lady!"

Elena smiled and touched his hair gently. "You're welcome."

His mother looked embarrassed. "Oh, we really can't accept something like that —"

"Are you heading overseas?" Elena asked.

"Yes — we're going to Africa. To find his father."

Elena smiled again. "Then take it. You might need it when you get there."

"Thank you so much —"

Elena waved goodbye to them, turned, and walked toward the terminal.

The intercom crackled overhead: "Passenger Wren Faraway, please proceed to Gate H23. Your flight is boarding. This is your final call…"

Elena clutched her passport — the one that bore a name Cade had never heard — and looked back one last time.

Then she walked through the gate and didn't look again.