It was time to leave.
I wiped my tears and started searching for plane tickets online.
The new semester would start at the end of August, but I decided to leave a month early. I would need time to settle in to get acquainted with my new life.
Just then, my phone buzzed. It was a message from my Aunt Petunia.
[Darcey, I’ll handle your passport and visa. You just focus on getting ready, okay? Let me know if you need help with anything.]
I felt my eyes sting again reading her words.
She’d tried, gently, to tell me before to let my feelings for Ulysses go. But I was too stubborn to listen.
Now, looking back, I realized she’d been right. Some paths just don’t lead anywhere.
Laughter floated up from downstairs—Ginger must’ve arrived. I turned up the music on my phone and started packing.
In the back of my closet, I found a pile of postcards and photos I’d stashed away over the years—all tied to Ulysses.
I looked through them one by one. Each photo felt like a tiny blade, slicing fresh wounds into my heart.
In the end, I packed them all into a box, sealing them away along with the naive feelings of my younger self.