Chapter 47
Astrid
I shut the car door with my hip as I made my way toward the studio.
Aeron had only been gone for an hour, for something about legal paperwork for the theater renovation, and I was already pining like a sad puppy.
I was missing him, missing his warmth, his cuddles, missing just him.
Ridiculous, really. I'd forgotten how to survive without his hugs for more than sixty minutes.
My phone lit up with a message from Orchids , the cake company I’d reached out to, sending photos of their themed cakes.
Mabel’s birthday was only a month away, and since Aeron had missed the last five, I'd talked to him into celebrating this year. I even tortured him into inviting his younger sister, Nora Snora .
Let her burn with a little jealousy.
And he agreed.
I scrolled through the pictures. They looked nice enough to go ahead with. I texted back asking for a garden theme with lots of plants, set my phone aside, and got back to work.
Later in the afternoon, Mary, my landlord, called asking if I’d like to pitch in for the train conductor’s retirement gift. They were throwing a send-off party for him.
I felt weirdly sentimental all of a sudden. I wanted to say goodbye to him in person, but there was also something else I needed to ask. Mind made up, I grabbed my keys and drove over to the station.
Simon was clearing out his desk.
“Astrid,” he smiled. “Well, this is a surprise. Come on in. You’re actually the first one to come from Orange Falls. I was betting Aeron would drop by.”
“He’s out of town. But he’d have definitely come if he’d known.” Simon’s shelves were lined with awards and shiny glass trophies, nothing like my participation certificates.
“You two good?” he asked hesitantly.
“We are. Don’t worry.” I assured him. I knew he hadn’t forgotten that little slip-up. I could feel the guilt dripping from his voice. I hadn’t asked Aeron who she was, even though he’d brought it up himself, but that tiny, stubborn curiosity just wouldn't leave my mind alone.
“Have you…have you seen her?” I asked, my voice coming out hesitant, like I wasn’t even sure if I should be asking.
“Some things are best left where they are,” he said softly. “I know you're curious, but it's better not to go there.”
I would’ve let it drop if it had been about anyone else.
“I promise I won’t tell Aeron.” And even if I did find out, it wouldn’t change anything between us. She was his past, and I am his present.
“It’s not about telling Aeron—”
“Please.” My voice strained painfully. “I just..I can't go on without knowing who she was.”
“You’re stubborn, just like my granddaughter,” He sighed, shaking his head. “He's been looking for this girl for five years. Every year he comes here hoping to meet her, but she never does. Yet he never stopped coming back.”
Five years.
The truth was worse than I'd imagined. Knowing she'd been stuck in his head for five years made my chest ache, someone squeezing all the air right out of me.
I regretted asking.
I forced myself to swallow past the lump in my throat. “Let me help you pack.” I needed a distraction to keep my mind off this. Reaching up, I grabbed a tray from the top shelf, sending a cloud of dust into the air.
I sneezed.
“Sorry about that,” he said. “It’s gotten pretty dusty over the years. Just some personal stuff I tossed in there. It’s been forever since I actually cleaned out that tray.”
There were coins, emblems, probably service badges, and a few random personal items. Mixed in with all that was something that definitely didn’t belong: a pink unicorn notebook.
My heart started pounding fast, recognizing that familiar notebook.
“This…” My voice came out shaky, more breath than words.
“How do you have this?” It should’ve been with him .
I'd asked, on our very last day, if we could finally meet, but he never replied. Worse, the notebook wasn't even in the seat where we’d spent five whole days swapping notes. So how, exactly, had it found its way into Simon’s tray?
“Someone lost it,” he said. “One of the cleaning staff found it under a seat and brought it to me. I only read the first few words and realized it was something personal, so I didn’t want to pry. There were no names anywhere, so I couldn't return it.”
Under the seat?
I remembered seeing the cleaning staff moving around the train that day.
I turned the page, my messy handwriting staring up at me. Chicken scratch , he'd called it, and even now, that memory brought a small smile to my lips.
I flipped slowly through the pages, my thoughts slipping five years into the past. I wasn't sure if my mind was messing with me today, because the more I read his responses, the more I noticed this handwriting strongly resembled the one I'd seen in Kelly's yearbook.
No. It couldn't be.
It couldn't possibly be him.
My mind was still spinning from this realization when another hit me, stealing my breath entirely.
Meet me here next year, Asteroid, on the same day we first met. I'll be right here, waiting for you. Next time, I'll make it right—no notes, no hiding. Just you, me, and the date we should’ve had. And maybe those chocolates. We'll eat them together if they haven't expired by then.
Just say yes.
He’d wanted to meet me.
“Simon.” I pushed the words past the lump in my throat. “What date does Aeron come here every year?”
“Astrid, I told you to leave—”
“Please,” I begged. “Just tell me.”
“I don’t remember the exact date,” he said. “He comes back to Orange Falls once a year. Every time, he visits this station. Every time, he takes that ride.”
We’d met for the first time on Hitchhiker’s Bend—the day he came back.
The realization sank in slowly, then all at once.
It had always been him.
I hugged the notebook to my chest, tears blurring my vision, though I wasn’t entirely sure if they were happy tears or sad tears or something inconveniently in between.
I ran, barely registering Simon’s voice shouting after me, warning that I couldn't just take someone else’s book.
But none of that registered, or mattered, because that someone was me.
I drove straight to Aeron’s house, marched through the door like I owned the place, and stormed into his room. I opened the drawer, and sure enough, there sat the grey box he’d tried hiding from me.
I flipped the box open, patience long gone, hands moving faster than my brain.
Inside was the star pendant I'd given him—the clue to my name when he’d asked.
But it was the photo beneath that stole my attention—me, in that yellow dress, head thrown back in laughter.
I picked it up, fingers tracing the heart he'd drawn around my face, pausing on the handwriting beside it.
Two words stared back, hitting me like a comet.
My Asteroid.
I pressed my hand to my mouth, the name ringing loud enough in my head to drown out everything else. I had to see him—to shout at him, maybe shake him by the shoulders and demand why he'd never told me. My feet were already moving, running downstairs. I nearly collided into Mabel.
I threw my arms around her, hugging her so tightly it startled her.
“What happened?” she asked, startled but already laughing with me.
“I’m just—” I pulled back, laughing like a total idiot. “I’m just really, really happy.”
I hurried out of the house, calling Aeron on the way. Of all the times for him not to answer, he chose now. I tried again impatiently.
“Sweetheart,” he answered quickly. “I'll call you back in—”
“When are you coming back?” I interrupted, patience clearly not my strength today.
“Probably this evening, or later tonight, if things—”
“Four o’clock. Train station.” I cut in again. “I’ll be waiting for you.”