Under that tree, Anna Bennett once made a promise.
A promise written not in words, but in ink — sealed inside a letter and buried beneath its roots.
Chapter 1: The Letters
Fifteen years earlier, Anna was sixteen — quiet, shy, and always carrying a book. Every morning, she walked past the same tree where a boy named Liam Carter waited for the school bus. He had a camera slung around his neck, always capturing moments instead of living them.
One afternoon, as autumn leaves fluttered down like confetti, Liam called out, “Hey, book girl! What are you reading today?”
She blushed. “Something you probably wouldn’t like.”
“Try me.”
That was how it began — with a challenge, a laugh, and the comfort of shared silence. They started leaving letters for each other beneath the maple tree: folded pages filled with jokes, dreams, secrets, and the kind of words that are easier written than spoken.
“Dear Liam,
If you could take a photo of happiness, what would it look like?
– Anna.”
He wrote back:
“Dear Anna,
It would look like this — you reading under the maple tree, pretending not to notice I’m taking your picture.
– Liam.”
Chapter 2: The Promise
Before graduation, Liam told her he was leaving town for college. The world was waiting for him, full of light and places to capture. Anna smiled, even as her heart trembled.
“Promise me you’ll come back,” she said softly.
“Promise me you’ll keep writing,” he replied.
That night, they buried one last envelope beneath the maple tree — two letters sealed together, never to be opened until they met again.
Chapter 3: The Years Between
Time moved like falling leaves — silently, beautifully, without pause. Anna stayed in Alderwood, becoming a teacher at the same school. Every autumn, she walked up the hill, watching the tree change color, waiting for a familiar figure with a camera.
But he never came.
She heard rumors — Liam had become a travel photographer, his work published in magazines. Sometimes she saw his name under breathtaking landscapes and smiled through tears. He was everywhere, except home.
Chapter 4: The Return
Fifteen years later, on a cold October afternoon, Anna walked up the hill again. The wind carried a strange feeling — a whisper, almost a memory.
She stopped when she saw a man kneeling by the tree, brushing away leaves. His hair was darker than she remembered, his shoulders broader, but his eyes — still the same deep brown.
“Liam?” she breathed.
He turned, smiling softly. “You kept the promise.”
“You came back.”
“I had to. I left something unfinished.”
He held out a small box. Inside were the letters — old, fragile, bound together with a faded red ribbon.
“I came back every year,” he said, “but never had the courage to see you. I thought you’d moved on. Then I realized… the only thing that never changed was this tree — and what it meant to us.”
Chapter 5: The Reading
They sat beneath the tree, opening one letter at a time — laughing, crying, remembering who they were. The last one was unopened, sealed with both their names.
“Dear Us,
If we ever read this together, it means we kept our promise.
The world may change, but love that’s written down can never fade.
– Anna & Liam.”
As the sun dipped behind the hills, golden leaves fell around them like blessings. He reached for her hand, warm and trembling.
“I’ve seen the world,” he said, “but this… this is home.”
Chapter 6: The New Beginning
Months later, the maple tree became part of their new life — the place where they married, where children played, where autumn would always mean returning.
Sometimes, Anna found Liam sitting under its branches, writing. When she asked what he was working on, he’d smile and say, “Our next chapter.”
“True love,” she once told her students, “isn’t about waiting. It’s about believing that somewhere, somehow, your story still has pages left to turn.”