After staying in the countryside for over a month, Cedric came to the village to find me. I was curious. "How did you find me?"
"Two days ago, you posted a picture on social media with a wooden tower in the corner," he said, eyeing my expression. "I hired an analyst, ran the data for a day, and located you here."
I thought back and remembered that moment.
I had turned off my phone for over a month, completely disconnected from the outside world. But that night, the sunset was so beautiful. The clouds were ablaze in fiery colors! I had only ever seen such a sight in my elementary school textbooks. I couldn't resist, so I posted it.
"You're creepy," I said.
He pressed his lips together and replied, "But I was worried about you."
The weather forecast said a heavy snowstorm was coming, and I had planned to build a three-story cat mansion for the stray cats in the village. So, Cedric decided to stay.
After all, free labor shouldn't go to waste.
The day the cat mansion was completed, snowflakes began to fall heavily. I looked through the acrylic window and saw several cats curled up together, their soft, plump bellies exposed as they slept soundly. I smiled and snapped a photo.
It replaced Aldric as my new wallpaper.
I no longer spiraled into hysteria or tortured myself.
On a quiet day, amidst the muffled sound of snow crunching beneath my boots and the meows of cats, I finally let go of someone who had once been very, very important to me.
