Chapter 06

**Episode 11: A Year Apart**

It had been a year since that awkward conversation with Ariel. I had gone off to college, and life had moved on. But the memory of that moment lingered, haunting me like a ghost.

Now, I was back home for a holiday, and I couldn't help but feel a mixture of excitement and anxiety about seeing Ariel again. She was finishing high school, and I had heard from my mom that she had become more mature, more confident. I wondered if she still thought about what had happened between us.

As I walked into our family gathering, I scanned the room for familiar...