A Quiet, Quaint Parisian Café
Under the soft glow of Parisian streetlights, Briar sat at a corner table in Café Merci, the quaint café she had visited so many times since moving to the city. The buzzing hum of chatter and the clinking of coffee cups around her felt comforting, but tonight, the usual peace felt like a distant memory. It had been exactly three weeks since she last saw him—Theo. They had met in this same café, both seeking a possible refuge from the rain. Their comfortable shared smile that day had been the beginning of something neither of them had expected. They spent seemingly endless hours talking about everything and nothing, their connection instant and effortless. But after that evening, he had vanished. No message and no explanation. Just the stone-cold silence. Briar stirred her coffee absentmindedly, lost in thought. Her gaze wandered toward the door absentmindedly, almost expecting him to walk righy through it. But the bell above the door remained frozen, and the world continued...