What you doing for the rest of your life?

Everyone laughed. The plane trip had been fun and sweet. Oh, divine treasure youth is! They were in the moment to be wild and sassy. Committing crazy things out of love or stupidity and being carried away by their instincts and desires. Maybe that was the sensation of nostalgia that invaded him; seeing his friends laughing and wishing maturity would take years to come; hoping this instant would freeze and grow up wasn’t imminent.

But, something was wrong, some anxiety caused by an old memory he could not find. The boy forced his head to remember, to understand what presence caused his uneasiness.

He smiled when one of his friends told a funny anecdote, although he hadn’t heard anything. His mind was busy trying to comprehend what was missing in this image he could not completely be part of; his hazel eyes barely focused in one place at the time. The boy brought a hand to his chest and frowned at the strange pressure he felt -at the emotion that washed over him.

A little laugh snapped him out of his trance. It didn't belong to his friends, much less his girlfriend. It was the laugh of the unknown woman whose notebook had fallen as she passed next to him. She was also lost in her daydreams and the words of her friends. But, he recognized that laugh. There was too many people inside the airport; the hustle and bustle suffocated the senses of everyone.

But he felt the sting of familiarity in his chest.

Staring at her he noticed, she looked lost too.

Her eyes were looking for something. Or someone.

The boy bent to pick up the small notebook with an elaborate cover and followed the clueless owner with his gaze. He needed to see her face. The why escaped him, but something told him that everything would be fine if he could see her eyes; that he should reach her and kindness had nothing to do with it.

The luggage he had previously guarded with suspicion now seemed a hindrance. The boy started walking toward her, following her. He heard his friends calling him, but he did not care. She would soon reach the stairs and the boy of hazel eyes didn't know if he would be able to reach her if that happened. He ran and the emotion that had disturbed him earlier intensified.

She was too far away. He tightened his grip on the notebook.

He ran harder; he had to catch up. His sight was completely focused on her, in the caramel tone of her hair. The boy needed to see her. He didn't notice someone had pushed him until he almost fell. He had to hold onto the railing and panicked at the thought of losing her. The excitement and anxiety lessened as she walked away, leaving a bleak emptiness behind.

His eyes searched desperately for her, there were too many people around, He was looking for a needle in a haystack. The boy felt an unease that he knew would soon turn to oblivion if he gave up. He gripped the railing harder, forcing himself to erase any thoughts obstructing his search, the hazel in his eyes desperate.

And he saw her.

Her beautiful, laughing amber eyes looking at her friends; her playful and sweet smile.

His heart stopped. The euphoria invaded him more strongly than before and a storm of feelings unleashed inside him. Longing, sadness, pain, anger, bliss, ecstasy, relief... Love. He was no longer surprised to have recognized her laughter, nor to feel her presence even when they had not seen each other. They had always known. How many years had it been?

Didn't matter.

He could find her; they had always known.

He ran, he ran like he never had. There was no way he would let her go this time. He heard his friends running after him and calling him back. But despair was catching up with him; she was getting closer and closer to the door, still not knowing that he was near. He needed to stop her, buy time. Make her see him somehow. She was going to leave and maybe, this time, forever. The boy screamed.

For the first time in years, he spoke her name.

And she heard it. She also felt the same excitement and anxiety. He knew. When her notebook fell she was looking for him. They were still tied to each other.

She turned, searching for the voice, her curious and demanding amber eyes as desperate as his. Maybe the girl didn't know what she was looking for, but she knew she had to find it. Overwhelming hopelessness washed over her as the sound and its echo faded. She had lost her only clue to dispel what was clouding her senses.

He kept running, running like he never had before. The boy collided with a couple of people, but he barely noticed when he fell. It took him only a second to get up and pick up the notebook, running again.

But she was already gone.

The boy walked out of the airport, his heart pounding in pain, his eyes desperately searching for any trace of her, his fingers tightening their grip on the notebook.

He didn't notice the delicate and confused amber-eyed woman turning her back to him until she stumbled and he caught her in an act of reflex. The notebook fell.

There were those curious, sweet eyes. The same ones he had fallen in love with when they were teenagers discovering the world. He felt himself release the air he didn't even know he had been holding.

The two groups of friends had finally caught up with them and were staring in awe -almost without believing what they saw.

But for our the young couple, the world had stopped. They observed themselves studying how the features of the person they had loved for so long had changed. Finding comfort and satisfaction in how their bodies still fit together perfectly despite the years and such innocent contact.

She was no longer the girl he remembered. Her pose was much more determined and confident, her smile was more flirtatious and mischievous, her curves had been defined giving way to a delicate and addictive beauty, her gestures were more graceful -the clumsiness that had long ago accompanied her had faded. But her eyes... those were the same.

So sweet, so smiling, so sagacious, so fierce.

Her amber eyes were still as warm and challenging as he remembered them.

He wasn't the boy she remembered either. His back had widened, his arms and chest had a firmness and strength that surprised her, his emerald eyes had become much more determined and loving, his hands held her more securely, and his features had grown sharper. But his smile was still the same.

Carefree, playful, and warm.

His smile was still that of a mischievous and affectionate child.

They looked at each other in silence, their gazes conveying every emotion running through them at that moment. They remembered the pain that their mistakes caused, the anger when they felt betrayed or abandoned, the sadness of their farewell, the longing of not finding someone made for them, the unconditional affection that they showed regardless of their fights, their complicity, the way so many words were transmitted in the way the stared at each other’s eyes, the joy they felt when they laughed together, and above all, the immense love they had for each other.

Anyone would understand if at this moment they fought or shouted, if kind words were mixed with scathing comments, if they shed tears, or if they merged into a deep kiss. They had been confidants, lovers, a couple, friends, and family. They had been too much.

Each option was full of the intensity that represented them, of the storms they kept inside.

But they weren't what they wanted.

They didn't want to lie, at least not now, at least not yet.

They vaguely remembered that feeling of loneliness and restlessness that invaded them when the possibility of being reunited was slowly fading.

The world had stopped, at least until the rain brought them out of their trance. They had not sensed the cold until the sound of falling drops caught their attention. Turning to look at the complicated city they both called home, a bright smile appeared on the woman's face. She was ready to keep lengthening this moment that was stolen from the cheating time.

He pulled her close to his body unconsciously; he remembered how easily her skin cooled.

The girl took her phone and chose one of her favorite songs before releasing herself from his grip and walked until she was out in the rain. She was doing something crazy and miraculous, but it would take her just a second to get used to it. He always came and messed up her world; turned a gray day into one filled with colors.

She took a deep breath and turned to face him, a sweet smile crossing her thick lips as the drops fell out her extended hand. He would understand the invitation. He knew. Always had.

The boy smiled. He remembered every moment with her perfectly. Somehow, he was used to spontaneity, but she found a way to fill everything with romance and surrealism. Together they inspired every scene recreated in movies and books. He took her hand and walked until he was standing in the rain next to her.

He remembered the first time he saw her dance in the rain while everyone ran for cover. He had wanted to join her in this silly game.

The first chords of the song began and they danced to the melody of one of their favorite bands. He with as little rhythm and grace as he had since his adolescence. Her with her exaggerated hip movement and setting the pace with her shoulders. They laughed and the world around them stopped again.

Even without speaking or seeing each other, they were still part of each other's life. Always present, hidden in their thoughts and emotions.

It was just the two of them in one of those moments they stole from the future. Saving this instant from the funny tricks of time.

Their companions watched them with surprise. Despite all the damage they had done years ago, despite not having seen each other in so long, despite the way they had changed... They still looked at each other with such affection and complicity that no one around them could doubt that their love defied time.

They all knew that things had just gotten complicated and that there would be laughter and tears accompanying them.

But nothing mattered more than these stolen moments.

Growing up, the future, and clarification could wait.