The Invisible String

The sound of laughter mixed with splashes of water as the evening sun painted the sky with hues of orange and pink. Azael leaned against the pool railing, drink in hand, observing the scene before him. He wasn't one to dive into social gatherings—especially not when Vanessa was around.

He had noticed her the moment she stepped onto the pool deck, hair curling softly from the humidity, sunglasses pushed up into her hair like a crown. He was too shy to approach her, yet too captivated to look away.

The first time they had spoken, long before this night, she had teased him with a playful smirk. “Men with green eyes are dangerous,” she’d said. He had laughed, unsure how to

respond. Dangerous? Him? Hardly.

Tonight, though, he was just as paralyzed. Vanessa floated through the party with ease, laughing with friends, catching up with familiar faces. And Azael stood in the shadows, his heart doing somersaults every time she came near.

She wouldn’t remember him, would she? That offhand comment years ago couldn’t possibly have stuck with her. But he had held onto it, turning it over in his mind more times than he cared to admit.

The party wound down, the crowd thinned, but Azael stayed—watching as Vanessa dipped her feet into the water, lost in her own thoughts.

A thousand words begged to be spoken, a thousand chances slipped through his fingers.

And as she left, throwing one last glance over her shoulder, he wondered if she had ever really forgotten those green eyes at all.

Months had passed since that poolside evening, yet Vanessa hadn’t forgotten him—the man with quiet eyes that held stories he never spoke aloud. Azael remained a fleeting thought, but thoughts of him arrived unprompted, lingering longer than she expected.

Ahmer, the glue holding their fates together, sent out an invitation: a rodeo night. Vanessa didn’t hesitate to accept. She arrived, boots tapping against the pavement, scanning the crowd until her gaze landed on him—Azael.

There, beneath the neon glow of the carnival lights, she started to notice what she had been too distracted to see before. He could be the Gordo to her Lizzie—the unexpected but perfect fit. The thought amused her, warmed her. But she was hesitant. It wasn’t like her to make the first move, and he—he wouldn’t either. So they danced around each other, exchanging glances, passing moments without claiming them.

The night ended, and again, fate let them drift apart.

But fate was patient.

When Ahmer announced his wedding, Vanessa knew—this was it. The final invitation, the last chance to rewrite the pages of their untold love story. A space party, he said. And Vanessa prepared accordingly.

She picked out her prettiest dress, her nicest shoes. She had to feel like the version of herself that wouldn’t let hesitation win.

The night arrived, and she wasn’t alone—she came with friends, but the moment she spotted Azael, the rest of the world blurred out. He stood there in his plaid shirt, familiar and quiet, an anchor in the chaos of the celebration.

She didn’t hesitate this time.

With confidence fueling her steps, she made a beeline for him, and without a word, wrapped her arms around him in the biggest hug she had ever given. Azael stood frozen for only a moment, before melting into it—before realizing that this was the start of something neither of them would ever forget.

And from that hug, from that single embrace, the rest unfolded—the best love story ever, etched into memory, into fate, into forever.