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Dominguez's Carlos finally dragged himself out to meet Edurne's Hwayeon after what felt like an embarrassingly long time, weeks that had been filled with nothing but phone calls. There was no itinerary, no plan; she simply said, "Come," and somehow that was enough for him to show up.

She arrived with a camera and a brown leather jacket, as if she were ready to document the whole world except for herself. He pointed that out, but she ignored him and took another photo. They walked until the afternoon became lazy and the light turned a specific shade of gold that made everything look a little more forgiving.

At some point, they found themselves in a café, discussing everything and nothing, their conversation drifting from mice stealing cheese to Power Rangers, without either of them questioning how they had arrived at such topics. Somewhere along the way, it became clear: this is just how it is with them. They always poke fun at each other, insufferable at times, but that's exactly what makes it so easy.
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It had been a while since our family last had something to celebrate, and now—here we were, celebrating Aneira’s birthday. Nothing too fancy. Just a quiet evening at the lovelock tower, a small cake, and a few candles glowing softly in the night. Simple, but warm in a way that felt just right. Aneiea looked around with sparkling eyes, her smile growing wider by the second. “Ibun… Ayah, this is really for me?” she asked. I smiled gently. “Of course, sayang. This is your night.” My husband added softly, “Go on, make a wish.” She closed her eyes, then blew out the candles. We watched her—so happy, so full of light. I leaned closer to my hubby. “Look at her…” He nodded, a soft smile on his face. “Yeah… that’s enough.” And in that quiet little moment, beneath the soft glow of the night, we realized—sometimes, happiness doesn’t need to be grand. It just needs to be shared. 🤍