The drive had been long but beautiful — winding roads through whispering pines, the world fading into a quiet that seemed to belong only to them. When the car finally stopped, Ivy pressed her palm to the window and smiled. The cabin stood nestled among tall trees, its windows glowing golden in the falling dusk. Beyond the forest, the faint shimmer of a lake caught the last light of the day.

“It’s perfect,” she breathed.