Happy Place

They belonged to you before I ever saw you. They belong to you in every universe we’re in, Harriet.”

Like even when something beautiful breaks, the making of it still matters.

“But that’s the point. Your job doesn’t have to be your identity. It can just be a place you go, that doesn’t define you or make you miserable. You deserve to be happy, Harriet.”

You can trust me, Harriet.”

In that moment, he pierces a little deeper into my heart, opens another door, finds an entire walled-off room I didn’t realize was there.

He pulls me into his chest, and our heartbeats sync. I’ve never felt so certain of anything, so right, so safe

“I always want to be around you.”

warmth that comes only from being in the exact right place with the exact right people.

“I thought I made you.” He tips his head so that my hand slides back toward his ear. “Just by wishing.”

He will be waiting on the other side, still covered in sawdust and smelling like pine. Before I even see him, my heart starts singing its favorite song.

You, you,
you.

He will be waiting on the other side, still covered in sawdust and smelling like pine. Before I even see him, my heart starts singing its favorite song.

You, you,
you.

“Wyn,” I whisper shakily. His fingers twitch, tightening through my curls. “Are you saying I can come home?”

“I’m saying,” he murmurs softly, “it’s not home unless you’re there.”

My arms twine around him, my heart speeding wildly as the wind batters us. “I love you,” I tell him.

“In every universe.” He kisses me then, a windblown curl caught between our lips. Like it’s a first and a last. The end of one era and the beginning of another.

This, I know, is exactly where I want to be.