Chapter: The Promise That Crossed Oceans

A few months had passed since graduation.

Olivia had stopped counting the days without Tom. Not because she forgot him, but because now she felt him in every step. In her silences. In her achievements. In the days that didn't hurt so much. Each letter written, each gardenia found, each memory shared with her friends had been rebuilding a bridge between his absence and his constant presence.

But what she didn't expect... was the letter.

An envelope sealed with an old stamp, her name written by hand. She recognized the handwriting immediately.

Tom.

Inside, a carefully folded sheet. And a postcard.

The letter said:

"Liv, If you're reading this... it means you've made it. And though I'm not there to hug you, I hope you can feel the pride that bursts in my soul just imagining you in cap and gown, notebook in hand, with that look you always have that says 'I'm here, even if it hurts.' I never doubted it. Not for a second. You are the strongest woman I have ever known. Do you remember our dream of living a year in Italy? Walking through Florence, getting lost among old books in Rome, eating pasta until our stomachs hurt... Well, it turns out I got a little ahead of myself. Before... well, before I left, I opened an account in your name. I saved as much as I could. If you've made it this far, it's because you deserve that trip more than anyone. Because we promised. Because life doesn't end where a love story ends. Sometimes, it begins anew. Go to Italy, Liv. Take me in your backpack. In your letters. In your notebook. But above all, take yourself. I'll be waiting for you in every sunset over the Arno. In every old second-hand book. In every gardenia you find by accident. With eternal love, Your Tom."

Olivia let the letter fall from her hands, tears streaming silently.

And she knew she had to go.

Three months later, with a suitcase, a notebook, and a dried gardenia as a bookmark, Olivia landed in Florence. She walked to the Ponte Vecchio, took out the notebook, and wrote:

"I've arrived, Tom.
I'm living what we dreamed of.
And I feel you in every step."

She stayed there, looking at the river.

And smiled.

Because true promises know no boundaries.