INT. BOOKSTORE – LATE AFTERNOON

(A quiet, cozy bookstore. Stacks of books surround the space, muffling the outside world. AMELIA, late 20s, browses a shelf, pretending to focus. Across from her, LUKE, early 30s, does the same. They glance at each other when they think the other isn’t looking. The air between them is heavy, charged—unspoken words clinging to the silence.)

LUKE

(softly)

You always find the best corners to hide in.

AMELIA

(smiles faintly, not looking up)

Maybe I just know where you’ll end up.

(A beat. LUKE watches her, something almost breaking through before he forces himself to look at a book in his hands.)

LUKE

You ever read this one?

AMELIA

(steals a glance)

“Love in the Time of Cholera.”

LUKE

Yeah.

AMELIA

(quietly)

It’s about waiting.

(LUKE exhales, nodding. He traces the spine of the book, as if weighing his next words.)

LUKE

You think it was worth it? All that time?

AMELIA

Depends.

(pulling a book from the shelf, avoiding his eyes)

Some people wait because they have no choice. Others—

LUKE

(interrupting, gently)

Because they’re afraid.

(Silence. AMELIA grips the book tighter. LUKE watches her, his jaw tightening, as if stopping himself from saying something else. Finally, she lets out a small breath and puts the book back.)

AMELIA

We should go. It’s getting late.

LUKE

(nods, forcing a small smile)

Yeah.

(They move toward the exit together, too close yet not touching. The moment lingers—something unsaid hanging in the space between them. As they step outside, the distance returns, as if the world reminds them why they can’t.)

FADE TO BLACK.