Elena tore herself away from her memories when she heard the sound of a snowboard approaching quickly behind her.

  Ryo stopped on the snow right behind her, laughing as he called out:

  “Hey! Are you tired already?

  Why did you stop here?

  Weren’t you the one who challenged me a moment ago to catch you?”

  She turned toward him slowly, that mischievous smile he knew so well resting on her lips.

  She said, raising an eyebrow in challenge:

  “Yes… and I’m still in the challenge.

  Come on, Ryo…

  my eternal partner,

  if you can catch me, then do it!”

  Before he could finish replying, she pushed off with her board and shot across the snow with incredible speed, leaving a long white trail behind her.

  Ryo shouted as he rushed after her with excitement:

  “Challenge accepted!”

  The slope filled with their laughter and cries of challenge.

  They descended between the skiers with speed and lightness, as if they were two children who had escaped the world’s restraints for a brief moment.

  Ryo laughed as he shouted from behind her:

  “Elena! You turned in the wrong direction!

  Stop!”

  But she didn’t stop.

  When he finally reached her, they burst into laughter together.

  Their breaths were fast, and their hearts were pounding so strongly it almost felt as though the sound could be heard.

  Some skiers who passed by them glanced at them with smiles.

  It wasn’t difficult for anyone to feel the warmth that connected them.

  In the end, Elena reached the bottom of the slope first, and as usual she declared her victory with the skill of a professional skier.

  Ryo arrived moments later, panting.

  He said with a playful, surrendering smile:

  “Alright… you won.”

  Then he reached toward a nearby pine branch, snapped it off, and raised it high as if it were a championship trophy.

  He said in an exaggerated celebratory voice:

  “The winner of the world snowboarding championship…

  Elena Williams!”

  Then he bowed slightly and added:

  “And this is your trophy, my lady.”

  Elena laughed, took the branch, and threw it at him playfully.

  She said:

  “Ryo… do you have a death wish?”

  Then she ran toward him shouting:

  “If I catch you… you’re dead!”

  Ryo was known for his extreme seriousness.

  He rarely spoke much.

  He liked order in everything and dealt with life as if it were an equation that had to be precisely balanced.

  Many people thought he was arrogant… or cold.

  But with Elena…

  he was a completely different person.

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  The seriousness disappeared from his features, replaced by a playful side that no one else ever saw.

  A side that would do anything… just to make her smile.

  Elena finally caught him.

  She pushed him lightly and he fell onto the snow. Then she jumped on top of him and pressed her hands against his neck playfully.

  She said in a dramatic, stern voice:

  “You… are sentenced to death.”

  Then she asked:

  “How would you prefer to die?

  Hanging… or being shot?”

  Ryo pretended to be terrified and said:

  “Please, merciful executioner…

  I choose to be shot.

  I don’t want to suffer.”

  Elena raised two fingers like a small gun and pointed them at his forehead.

  She smiled and said:

  “As you wish…

  Bang… bang… bang!”

  Ryo closed his eyes, then opened one of them playfully and said:

  “Kind executioner…

  I died from the first bullet.

  Weren’t three bullets a bit excessive?

  Don’t you think that’s unfair?”

  Their eyes met…

  and they burst into laughter again.

  But suddenly…

  a strange sound was heard.

  Elena froze for a moment.

  It was the clear sound of her stomach growling.

  She smiled shyly and said:

  “I think the alarm bell has rung…

  I’m hungry.”

  Ryo laughed as he tried to stand up.

  “Come on, get up.

  I feel like I’m really going to die here.”

  She said sarcastically:

  “Really?

  Let me help you die faster, recently executed man.”

  And she pressed down on him more playfully.

  But she didn’t know…

  that Ryo…

  Ryo himself, the one who always told her she wasn’t beautiful,

  and that no one would ever fall in love with her…

  was actually madly in love with her.

  He knew everything about her.

  Every small detail.

  What she liked… what she hated… what scared her… and what made her happy.

  And he loved her…

  with all of it.

  To him…

  Elena was perfection in its most beautiful form.

  His gaze toward her always seemed to shout:

  You are the one.

  The only one.

  The perfect one for me.

  She wasn’t just a beautiful girl.

  She was… perfection itself in its most radiant form.

  After their adventure in the snow, Ryo and Elena headed to a warm restaurant near the slope.

  They chose a table by the window.

  Behind the glass, snow was falling gently, like pearls dancing in the air.

  Elena inhaled deeply and said happily:

  “Ryo… I can smell the smoked salmon.

  I can’t wait!”

  Ryo laughed and joked:

  “You little glutton…

  What’s so special about smoked salmon that you love it so much?”

  Elena smiled, her eyes sparkling.

  She said simply:

  “I can’t resist it…

  it’s unbelievably delicious.”

  The waiter approached with a smile.

  “Good evening. Have you decided on your order?”

  Ryo looked at Elena and then said:

  “Yes.

  We’ll start with vegetable soup for two, two salads,

  and two plates of smoked salmon.”

  Then he added:

  “And for dessert… we’d like to try the dessert your restaurant is famous for.”

  Elena’s face turned slightly red.

  She said shyly:

  “Actually… make it three plates of salmon.”

  Then she looked at Ryo and added:

  “I think one plate won’t be enough for you.

  You need more vitamins to feed your muscles.”

  The waiter laughed and said:

  “Three plates it is.”

  After a delicious dinner…

  they returned to their suite at the hotel.

  The suite had two separate bedrooms, each with its own bathroom, along with a shared living room.

  As soon as they entered…

  Elena threw herself onto the couch in exhaustion.

  She picked up her phone to call her mother.

  But suddenly…

  the lights went out.

  She raised her head in surprise.

  In the darkness, a small light appeared approaching.

  It was Ryo.

  He was carrying a small chocolate cake with a lit candle in the middle.

  He smiled and said:

  “Happy birthday…

  you are officially twenty now.”

  Elena’s eyes shone.

  A small tear slid down her cheek.

  She stepped closer, blew out the candle, and said in a trembling voice:

  “Ryo… thank you.

  You are the most beautiful thing

  that has happened to me in these twenty years of my life.”

  Ryo took a small box from his pocket.

  He opened it.

  Inside was a delicate bracelet with a narcissus flower hanging from it — the flower Elena adored.

  She smiled and pointed at the cake.

  “And who is going to eat this cake?

  I’m about to explode from all that salmon.”

  He noticed her slight teasing tone.

  So she laughed and held his cheeks between her hands.

  She said:

  “Don’t be sad.

  I’ll take a shower first…

  then we’ll play cards and eat it.”

  Ryo smiled.

  “Alright…

  but hurry.”

  While Elena was enjoying a warm lavender-scented bath…

  she dipped her head under the water, trying to relax.

  But suddenly…

  that feeling returned.

  That strange sensation…

  as if something was pulling her toward another place.

  She whispered to herself:

  “Not tonight…

  please… not now.”

  She tried to resist it.

  But…

  in the end, she gave in.

  Her body began to grow heavy.

  Her breathing became uneven.

  But this time the pain was lighter than before.

  The last time…

  it had happened during an exam.

  She couldn’t even finish it.

  She left the room with difficulty.

  And drove her car home as fast as she could.

  Since that day…

  she had been prepared.

  A small bag containing her passport, her cards, and some money.

  Because she never knew…

  to which land she would be pulled next.

  She lay down on her bed and whispered:

  “I’m on my bed…

  let it be another dream.”

  And she disappeared.

  When she opened her eyes…

  she was in the middle of a huge crowd.

  Loud music.

  Colorful lights.

  People dancing and jumping around her.

  From the language she heard, she quickly realized the truth.

  Russia.

  In the middle of a massive music festival.

  Her body moved without her will.

  It guided her to an old abandoned shop that once sold traditional Russian toys.

  She entered.

  And on a dusty shelf…

  there was a traditional Russian toy.

  Blue…

  decorated with gold and red.

  Her hand reached toward it without control.

  And suddenly…

  light exploded in the place.

  Glowing symbols filled the air.

  Energy flowed toward her body…

  and settled in her lower back.

  There…

  the second mark appeared.

  Perfectly aligned with the first.

  But this time…

  it was not just a mark.

  It was the soulmate mark.

  The mark of belonging.

  The mark of deep love.

  The mark of eternal connection.

  And this time…

  Elena was ready.

  She did not ask anyone for an explanation.

  Because the picture had become clear.

  This always happened…

  one day after her birthday.