Chapter: The Emerald Green Dream

Night fell faster than usual. Olivia lay on her bed after a day that had stirred up too much. Her encounter with Matías had reopened a wound she thought was closed, but it had also brought her a glimpse of peace. Knowing that Tom had someone who loved him like a brother... comforted her. Still, that night, insomnia soon knocked on her door.

She stared at the emerald ring she still wore on a chain, close to her heart. Tom had given it to her one winter afternoon, when he asked her to be his girlfriend for the first time.

"It's not just any ring," he had told her then. "I've had it stored away for years. I wanted to give it to someone who could see more in me than just a sick boy. And that person is you, Liv."

She had kissed him with her soul, with the emotion of someone who finds home in another person.

That night, with the ring between her fingers, she finally closed her eyes.

And she dreamed.

The place was familiar, but bathed in a soft light that seemed to float in the air. It was the park where they used to walk after class. The leaves danced in slow motion, and in the distance, sitting on a bench, was him.

Tom.

Not like the last time she saw him, but as he was in his best days. Smiling. Strong. Alive.

"Hi, Liv," he said, with no surprise in his voice, as if he had been waiting for her forever.

She ran to him and embraced him, feeling his warmth, his scent, his life.

"Is this real?" she asked, tears in her eyes.

"No," he replied, caressing her face. "But it's not a lie either."

"I met Matías," Olivia said, as if she needed to tell him, as if she owed him that truth.

Tom nodded.

"He was important to me. I'm glad you found him. He needed you too."

Olivia lowered her gaze, her fingers searching for the ring on the chain.

"I can't stop missing you."

"You don't have to stop," he told her. "But don't let it stop you from living."

She let out a trembling sigh. Tom took her hand and placed it over his chest.

"Every time you touch that ring, think of me. A part of me lives with you."

She nodded, wanting to stay, wanting the dream to never end.

But the light began to fade. And he, with a sad but peaceful smile, whispered in her ear:

"I still love you, Liv. And I will always, always, be waiting for you in the smallest corners of your days."

She woke up with tears in her eyes and the chain clutched tightly in her fingers. Outside, dawn timidly peeked through the window.

And Olivia, though still in pain, felt —for the first time— at peace.