Violet found the list on a Tuesday afternoon while cleaning out the back room of The Hushed Hour. It was tucked inside an old copy of Leaves of Grass, the cover faded and the pages feathered with time. The handwriting was unmistakable—hers, from years ago. But the words felt like a message from another life.
Things I Want to Find Someday
1. A place that feels like home
2. A love that stays
3. A reason to wake up early
4. A friend who remembers the worst day and still sticks around
5. A moment I don't want to end
She held it in her hands like a relic.
Grace poked her head into the back room. "You alive in here? I heard a sneeze and then suspicious silence."
Violet turned the paper around. "Found a time capsule."
Grace leaned in. "Wow. That's your old writing?"
Violet nodded slowly. "I must've written this the year I left town."
Grace's eyes softened as she read. "Well, I'd say you've found at least four out of five."
Violet smirked. "I'm still not a morning person."
They both laughed. It was the kind of laughter that came easy now—without effort, without pain underneath. The healing had taken root.
Grace settled onto a stool. "I met Lucas's parents last weekend. His mom already bought a wedding binder. I think she's planning a small-town royal ceremony."
Violet grinned. "Do I get to wear a ridiculous hat?"
"You get to wear two," Grace said. "Also, you're my maid of honor."
Violet blinked. "Really?"
"Was there ever a doubt?"
They hugged, a little tighter than usual. Because after everything—fights, tears, growing up, growing apart—here they still were.
---
That evening, Violet and Adam sat on the back steps of their shared house. He was sketching a layout for the next issue of The Stay, while she read the list aloud to him.
He didn't interrupt. Just listened.
When she reached the last line, he looked up.
"You know, I think we've had that last one a lot lately."
"A moment I don't want to end?"
He nodded. "Like this one. Or the one on the rooftop. Or even just walking through the farmer's market on Sundays. That look you gave me last weekend when you thought I wasn't watching? That's the kind of moment I'd live in forever."
She leaned against his shoulder, warm and safe.
"I think I used to believe love was fireworks," Violet said. "Now I think it's more like tea. Or sunlight. Or a well-worn sweater."
"Reliable," Adam said.
"And gentle. And something you miss the second it's gone."
They sat quietly, letting the wind move through the trees, letting the dusk wrap around them like a wool blanket.
"I never asked," she said softly. "Did you make a list?"
Adam tilted his head. "Not on paper. But I kept a mental one. Mostly just one item: Don't ruin it this time."
Violet's eyes welled.
"You didn't," she whispered.
"Only because you stayed," he replied.
---
Two days later, they drove to the state literary showcase together. The venue was inside a repurposed train station—arched ceilings, stained glass, and rows of booths from bookstores, presses, and libraries from all over.
Violet clutched Adam's hand the entire time they set up their modest table. A hand-painted sign that said The Stay Zine, a stack of copies, and a small card that read:
Created in Elden Bridge
For the ones who came back
And the ones who never left
The crowd was slow at first. But then a young girl with purple braids came over and said, "I read this in my library. It made me want to write my own."
Then a teacher asked for thirty copies for her creative writing class. Then a man from a regional press asked if they'd ever consider turning it into a quarterly.
Violet's cheeks hurt from smiling.
She stepped away from the booth for a moment, wandered to a corner, and watched Adam talk to a pair of readers. He was animated, glowing. At ease in a way he hadn't been when they first met again. He belonged to himself now.
And maybe that was what love really meant—finding someone who helps you return to who you were always meant to be.
---
That night, they checked into a tiny bed-and-breakfast not far from the venue. There was no Wi-Fi. The wallpaper was floral. The bed creaked when they laughed.
"I think this is the best day of my life," Violet whispered as she lay next to him, the moon casting gentle light through the lace curtains.
Adam pulled her close. "Then let's make tomorrow even better."
"Do you think we ever really stop being afraid?" she asked. "Of losing this? Of screwing it up?"
"I think we just get better at trusting what we've built," he said. "And each other."
They held hands under the blanket. Quiet. Steady.
---
In the morning, Violet woke first again. The sunlight spilled over the quilt, golden and calm. She watched Adam sleep for a while, smiling at the slight snore he'd never admit to.
Then she reached for the notepad on the nightstand.
And she wrote a new list:
Things I Want to Keep Forever
1. This feeling
2. The sound of his laugh
3. The bookstore and its morning light
4. Grace's lemon cookies
5. A love that doesn't leave—even when life changes
She folded the list and slipped it into his coat pocket.
Because some love doesn't need to be shouted from rooftops.
Some love just stays.
---