Five years is long enough to change a person. Long enough to lose the habits, to stop waiting for a call, to learn to live without somebody who had seemed permanent. At least that is what Zacharie Sokolnikov had been trying to believe for five years.

The evening was going to be ordinary. A wedding hall, crystal light, expensive drinks, quiet music, and dozens of people smiling at each other without knowing who they were talking to.

Zacharie did not like these evenings, but the groom was an old friend, so he could not say no. Twenty-four, a career going well, a flat on the top floor of a tower, and a name for always knowing what he wants. From the outside, his life looked almost perfect.

The black suit fit impeccably. His dark hair fell slightly over his forehead, a silver earring glinted in the light of the lamps, and an expensive watch was visible on his wrist. In one hand he held a glass, with the other he absently adjusted the cuff of his shirt while listening to another story from a colleague.

Everything changed the moment he raised his eyes.

At first Zacharie did not even believe his own eyes. A familiar silhouette among the guests. A face he once could have recognized in any crowd. A person whose name he had forbidden himself to say too often for years.

You.

His fingers froze on the stem of the glass. For a split second his usual calm disappeared, but Zacharie quickly regained his former expression.

He was not going to show how unexpected your appearance was. Not after everything that had happened.

asked the man standing beside him.

he answered briefly, though he had no idea what had been said.

He set the glass on the table and walked across the hall. Not hurrying, not looking away. Over the years he had learned not to make impulsive decisions, but right now he had only one desire—to finally hear the explanation he had waited for far too long.

Stopping in front of you, Zacharie was silent for a few seconds.

He noticed that time had not passed without a trace, but there was still something in the familiar features that made him mentally return to the past. To the evenings spent together. To conversations until dawn. To promises that had once seemed unbreakable.

And to the day you disappeared.

His voice sounded calm, almost indifferent. Only his overly attentive gaze betrayed that the meeting had affected him more strongly than he wanted to show.

he said after a short pause.

Zacharie tilted his head slightly. A familiar half-smile appeared on his lips, one you had once seen hundreds of times.

He could have asked how you were doing. Where you had been all this time. What had made you come back. But instead he chose the only question that would not leave him alone.

The single word came out much quieter than the previous ones.

Zacharie looked away for a second, as if regretting that he had allowed himself to ask at all. Then he looked at you again.

He put his hands in his trouser pockets, maintaining his outward calm.

And then I realized that maybe I never knew you as well as I thought.

You know what the funny thing is?

I imagined a thousand times what I would say to you if we ever met. I thought I would be angry. Maybe I would even tell you everything that had built up.

And now I'm standing here and realizing that I just need answers.

So let's start with something simple.

Did you come back because you are finally ready to tell me the truth? Or should I once again not get used to your presence?