Nancy stood in front of the fresh grave, her heart numb. The chilly autumn wind blew through the cemetery, but she didn’t even feel it. She was too empty inside. Patrick—her husband, her best friend, her everything—was gone. Just like that. “A car crash,” the doctors had said. “It was instant.” Instant? Like that was supposed to make her feel better. It didn’t. Not even a little. Nancy stared at the mound of dirt that now covered Patrick’s coffin. Her eyes didn’t cry anymore. She had cried so much already,

After life’s tough twists pulled them apart, a man made a promise to wait for the woman he loved at their favorite café. He waited for nearly twenty years before fate finally brought them back together. Ralph was in his mid-fifties when Natalie, a woman just shy of fifty, applied for the job as his housemaid. From the very first moment they met, Ralph’s heart was captured by her. He began courting her gently, hoping she might feel the same. At first, Natalie was nervous around Ralph. She thought he

Mike sat behind the grocery store counter, slouched and tired. His work uniform was wrinkled, and he looked like he hadn’t slept well in days. All around him, customers chatted, scanners beeped, and carts rolled past. But Mike’s mind was somewhere else entirely. He bagged groceries without thinking, his hands on autopilot. When a customer handed him a crumpled twenty-dollar bill, he forced a fake smile. “Thank you. Have a good day,” he said, his voice rough. But honestly? His days never felt good anymore. As the next customer stepped