Days became a routine shared between the old man and the boy.
They met every morning at the same wooden bench.
Gabriel spoke less about the present and more about the past.
He told stories that felt like they belonged to another world.
Stories of love that survived hunger, silence, and distance.
Stories of laughter echoing inside a house that no longer existed.
The boy began to imagine people he had never seen.
He started feeling like he knew them through the old man’s voice.
One morning, Gabriel arrived slower than usual.
His hands trembled slightly as he placed the cups down.
“Time takes everything,” he said quietly.
“But it never takes what the heart refuses to forget.”
The boy didn’t reply, but those words stayed inside him.
The sky turned gold as the sun rose over the sea.
Gabriel stood up slowly, holding the edge of the bench.
“This place will remember you too one day,” he said softly.
The boy looked surprised but didn’t ask why.
The wind carried a strange feeling that morning.
Like something important was slowly becoming a memory.
And the sea kept listening without ever answering.
