Chapter: The Hidden Notebook

Olivia didn't quite know what she was looking for when she returned to Tom's grandparents' old house. Matías had told her that some of Tom's belongings were still there, in a room that had barely been touched since he left. The house held that air of suspended time, of memories breathing through the walls.

She climbed the stairs carefully, and when she pushed the door open, the dust floated like a sigh. Everything remained just as he had left it: the bookshelf with his messy books, the figurines he collected, and on the desk, a worn leather notebook.

She picked it up with trembling hands and opened it.

It was a notebook of thoughts. Not a diary, but phrases, brief poems, memories, reflections. Some were signed with his initial, others accompanied by small drawings on the side. Among those pages, Olivia found this:

"If one day I don't come back, I want Olivia to know that she was my safe place. The only one. The real one. I'm not ready to tell her how much I love her with all that I am. Maybe I'll never say it. But she knows. I know she knows."

She sat on the edge of the bed, the notebook pressed tightly to her chest. The tears came quickly, but this time they didn't hurt the same way. There was something warm in that discovery. Something that embraced her.

That night, back in her apartment, she pulled out her own notebook and wrote the second letter.

Letter #2: I Found Something of Yours

Hi, love,

Today I touched things of yours I thought no longer existed. I entered the room where you grew up, and it felt like walking into your soul. I found a notebook. Your words. Your thoughts. And among them, one that was for me, even if you never gave it to me.

You said I was your safe place. That you loved me. That even if you never said it, I'd know. You were right. I always knew. But reading it, seeing it written in your handwriting... it was like seeing you smile again.

Thank you for loving me so deeply. For trusting me, even in silence. That notebook stays with me. Just like this love that doesn't die, it just changes form.

I miss you. Always.

—Olivia