Before Goodbye Comes

Some nights pass like any other. Others quietly change everything. On a cold Christmas Eve in New York City, the streets glow with the warmth of holiday lights while snow falls softly over the restless hum of the city. People hurry home to families, to laughter, to warmth waiting behind familiar doors. But for Nathan, Christmas Eve is just another long night after an exhausting day of work, another quiet walk through crowded streets, and another lonely return to an empty apartment. He does not expect anything different. He certainly does not expect her. Sammy appears in the middle of that winter night like a small bright interruption in the rhythm of the city. She is warm where the night is cold, light where the world feels heavy. With hazel eyes full of quiet curiosity and a presence that feels strangely familiar, she turns what was meant to be an ordinary walk home into something else entirely. What begins as a chance encounter between two strangers quickly becomes a journey neither of them planned.