Chapter 1: Strangers Under the Aurora
Ronan had always been drawn to the cold. There was something about the way the Arctic wind bit at his skin that made him feel alive, reminding him that he was still here, still moving forward. As a photographer, he had traveled the world, but nothing compared to the vast, untouched landscapes of Norway’s northernmost reaches.
One evening, as he set up his camera near a frozen lake, waiting for the Northern Lights to appear, he noticed another figure standing a few feet away. Wrapped in a thick coat, the man gazed up at the sky with an almost wistful expression.
Ronan had seen that look before—on people searching for something they weren’t sure they’d ever find.
“First time seeing them?” Ronan asked, his breath visible in the freezing air.
The man turned, startled. His sharp green eyes flickered with something unreadable before he nodded. “Yeah. Thought it’d be brighter.”
Ronan smirked. “They don’t always come when you want them to. But when they do, it’s worth the wait.”
The stranger gave a small, thoughtful smile. “I’ll take your word for it.”
That was the first time Ronan met Elias.
Chapter 2: A Collision of Paths
They met again the next evening—this time, on purpose.
Elias, a quiet but restless scientist researching atmospheric phenomena, had come to Norway chasing the auroras, hoping to understand their patterns. Ronan, on the other hand, was there simply to capture their beauty.
“So, you study them,” Ronan mused as they walked through the snow. “I just take pictures of them. Guess that makes us opposites.”
“Not really,” Elias replied, shoving his gloved hands into his pockets. “You see them for what they are. I see them for what they’re made of. Different, but still the same thing.”
Ronan glanced at him, surprised. “That’s… poetic.”
Elias gave him a sideways look. “I’m not poetic. I’m a scientist.”
“Sure,” Ronan said, grinning.
Chapter 3: Cracking the Ice
Ronan had always been easygoing, but Elias was harder to read—reserved, methodical, always lost in thought. Yet, something about him intrigued Ronan. Maybe it was the way he talked about science like it was magic, or the way he focused so intently on everything, except when he laughed—when he laughed, he forgot himself completely.
One night, while setting up his camera, Ronan found himself watching Elias instead of the sky.
“What?” Elias asked without looking up from his notebook.
“Just wondering why someone like you is out here alone,” Ronan said. “You don’t seem like the type to take random trips into the wilderness.”
Elias hesitated, then shrugged. “Sometimes, I need to get away.”
“From what?”
A pause. Then, softly, “Myself.”
Ronan didn’t push. Instead, he handed Elias a flask of coffee and nudged his shoulder. “Well, whatever you’re running from, at least you’re running somewhere beautiful.”
For the first time, Elias smiled—a real one.
Chapter 4: The Storm
The storm came without warning.
What had started as a gentle snowfall turned into blinding winds, forcing them to take shelter in a small research cabin miles from the nearest town.
Trapped together, with nothing but flickering lantern light and the sound of the wind outside, they sat in silence for a long time.
Then Elias spoke.
“When I was a kid, I used to think the Northern Lights were ghosts,” he admitted. “That they were lost souls looking for home.”
Ronan studied him carefully. “And do you still believe that?”
Elias exhaled, his breath shaky. “I don’t know.”
Ronan hesitated before reaching out, fingers brushing against Elias’s hand. “Maybe they’re just looking for someone to see them.”
Elias looked at him then, truly looked at him, and Ronan felt something shift. The space between them felt smaller, warmer, like the storm outside couldn’t touch them anymore.
And when Elias leaned in, Ronan met him halfway.
Chapter 5: A Light That Stays
By the time the storm cleared, something had changed.
They still watched the Northern Lights together, but now, they stood closer. Elias still buried himself in his research, but now, he let Ronan distract him.
When it was time for Ronan to leave, he hesitated for the first time in years.
“You could come with me,” he said, half-joking, half-hoping.
Elias smirked. “And abandon my work?”
Ronan shrugged. “I’m just saying… the sky looks different from every place on Earth. Maybe you should see it from somewhere new.”
Elias didn’t answer. But when Ronan left, a plane ticket arrived in his inbox a week later.
The destination? Wherever Ronan was.
Epilogue: Chasing and Finding
Months later, they stood under a different sky, in a different country, watching the stars together.
Elias sighed. “Still not as bright as I expected.”
Ronan chuckled. “Give it time.”
Elias glanced at him, eyes soft. “Yeah. I guess I will.”
Because sometimes, the best things—the brightest things—aren’t the ones you chase.
They’re the ones you find.
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