WHEN I WAS 7 YEARS OLD, I CRIED AND SAID I WAS GOING TO MARRY MY NEIGHBOR. I WENT TO A JOB INTERVIEW 15 YEARS LATER — THE GENERAL MANAGER LOOKED AT ME AND SMILED: ‘THE GENERAL MANAGER… DID YOU APPLY TO BE HIS WIFE?

“Lucía Herrera… It has been fifteen years since I made the first offer. I think it’s my turn now.”

He knelt down.

“Will you marry me?”

My tears did not stop.

I remembered the little girl in the courtyard.
My wounded knees.
Closed door.

And I realized that it was all worth it.

“Yes,” I said, laughing and crying. “Yes, Emre.”

## Epilogue

Our wedding was simple.

Close family. Friends. The sun illuminating the garden.

My mother was crying more than me.

“You were finally right,” he whispered. “You’ve always been so stubborn.”

I laughed.

Emre held my hand at the wedding.

“Thank you for not giving up,” he said.

“Thank you for coming back,” I said.

The moment we said “yes,” it wasn’t just a word of love.

It was proof that dreams born in childhood innocence can stand the test of time.

Sometimes life separates us to grow.
Sometimes fate tests us.

But if two people’s paths are really going to cross, the path will definitely go back to where it started.

That seven-year-old girl didn’t know the distance or the future.

He only knew what he felt.

And fifteen years later, his heart was right.

Because true love is not lost.

He waits.
It grows.
And when the time comes… blooms.