"I know. I lied. I broke my promise. I could lie and say I'm sorry. The truth is, I'm not. This", he gestured around himself, "is for me. Just for me. I think I deserved it. It's been over a hundred and fifty years." He shook his head and turned off the camera.

The garden was identical to how it was. The grass hadn't been mowed in a while. The wooden gate separating the garden from the public road was still dark green. As Chris slowly came closer, he noticed the tiny scratches in the paint. They'd been there all this time. He just couldn't remember it.

A lump formed in his throat. It had been so long. His house, his home, it had become a distant memory. Details buried deep in his mind, it's former familiarity a forgotten dream. He opened the gate, followed the brick path to the door and opened it. He went inside and wiped his shoes on the door mat, a habit so ingrained he did it without noticing. The door closed behind him with a soft click.

As he saw the coat rack, his once favorite cap hanging there, with a scarf of Sarah wrapped around it, he leaned back on the door. He could feel the lump in his throat growing. His eyes were stinging. He blinked rapidly, pushing away the tears and exhaled and inhaled slowly. After a few minutes he straightened up and opened the door to the living room.

He was greeted by Ann standing in the corner, engaged in an animated conversation with her husband and his neighbors. As he motioned himself towards his destination, old emotions and feelings that had been hidden away for a long time arose to the surface. "Claire... Thomas... James..." One by one he got reunited with friends and family. He barely remembered a word of what was spoken that day, but the warmth he had felt that day slowly began to rekindle inside him. His heart rate increased, the pounding louder with every step. He entered the kitchen. And there she was. A small smile on her face, her eyes filled with heartfelt emotion. He had forgotten many things over the years. He remembered that look. The moment flashed before his eyes. It had been that last night.

He sat in his chair, a conversation about nothing in particular with his aunt... aunt... not important, just finished.. He had thought about what was coming towards them, that inevitable fate. For some reason all his worries and all his sadness had hit him right that moment. His eyes had watered up and he had looked away, trying to avoid eye contact with anyone who he could see him. Then he had seen her staring at him. She had smiled the little smile she kept only for him. The comfort of her face had radiated through the room, towards him, and even though she was thirty feet away he had felt the warmth she spread. The look on her eyes had said all he needed to hear at that moment. "No matter what's going to happen, we'll always have each other."

His legs succumbed. He fell down to the kitchen floor, the lump in his throat swelling. His eyes burned, and something in him broke. He slowly began to sob. His body shook as the tears ran down his face. So close. So far away. Reunited but separated. He and she lost each other since that day. Lost but never forgotten.

After ten minutes, he pushed himself up from the ground. His eyes were thick and red, his knees fragile. He slowly inhaled, the lump in his throat poignant. He walked towards her and embraced her in a firm hug. The tears ran down his cheeks again as he sobbed. "I missed you so much... I missed you so so much." He kissed her cheeks softly.

"You know...", he barely got the words out of his mouth, his throat still closed up, "all these years...", he shook his head, his eyes fixated on her face as if they tried to capture the moment. "Even though you were here... you kept me going. You know you promised me that day that we'd get through it together? I..." the tears welled up his eyes again, his cheeks wet, his nose running. "I think we did. I know you weren't there. I know you're not..you didn't... but here", he put his hand on his heart, "here. You were here with me all along, in here. Thank you for being who you are. I couldn't have done anything of it without you." He kissed her gently on her forehead, his lips touching her cool, rigid skin. Her eyes were absent, her smile now hollow.

He took a step back, releasing them from their tight embrace and captured the moment. "Thank you", he repeated. He tried to turn around, but stopped abruptly mid-motion. As if he was to turn back to her, his shoulders shocked, his feet shifted on the floor. Then he turned back around, walked through the living room, through the hallway and closed the door behind him. Not looking back, he pulled the gate behind him shut. With thick tears running down his face, he walked back to his car. "I'm coming back." He opened the car door, sat down and started the engine.

"I promise."