‘We’ll check the airport cameras,’ she added. ‘Maybe she really was there.’
The police left, leaving Alex standing in front of the door, as if between the past and the future.
He went up to the flat. Elena threw her arms around his neck.
‘Why did you come back?’ she asked, though her eyes shone with relief.
He wanted to tell her the truth, but fell silent. What could he say? That a girl he barely knew had saved his life?
They hugged. For the first time in a long time, Alex felt truly at home.
A few minutes later, the doorbell rang. Alex went to open it, thinking it might be the police.
But standing on the doorstep was her.
Ariana.
Small, quiet, still carrying the same backpack.
She held out her hand. In her palm lay a small pendant. Silver, shaped like a wing.
‘This is for you,’ said the girl. ‘So you don’t forget that sometimes you have to change course in time.’
Alex carefully took the pendant.
‘Thank you…’ He leaned towards her. ‘Ariana, why did you help me?’
The girl looked up. Her eyes were frighteningly mature.
‘Because you are needed at home now,’ she said. ‘By your daughter. And by one more person.’
‘Another person?’ Alex asked.
Ariana nodded.
‘Your wife is expecting a baby. She’ll find out in two days. If you had left, you would have missed it all.’
The world swayed again.
Elena… pregnant?
Ariana smiled and, without waiting for his reply, turned and walked down the stairs.
Alex stood holding the pendant, trying to comprehend everything he had heard. It was as if fate had taken him by the hand today and simply turned him in a different direction.
Elena came out into the corridor.
‘Who was that?’ she asked.
Alex closed the door, pulled her close and whispered:
‘A gift from fate.’
And for the first time in many months, he knew: he was home at the right moment.
And this time — forever.