The House on the linden street

The town hadn’t changed.

Noah stared out the cracked window of the old bus as it rolled past the familiar landmarks of his childhood — the rusted swing set behind St. Mary’s Church, the boarded-up bakery where he and Elijah used to sneak pastries, and the crooked stop sign at the corner of Linden Street that no one ever bothered to fix.

It was like time had stood still. Except for him. He had changed — taller, leaner, more guarded. Ten years of silence had reshaped him into someone unrecognizable to the place he once called home.

He stepped off the bus with a duffel slung over his shoulder, the summer heat thick and clinging. The air smelled like dried grass and old secrets. He paused on the sidewalk, staring down the street toward the house at the end of the block — *Elijah’s house*.

They used to race down this very road barefoot, laughing and shouting, with scraped knees and wild hearts. Back when love hadn’t yet been named, and therefore, couldn’t yet be forbidden.

Noah hadn’t planned to come back. But the letter — the one that arrived two weeks ago, unsigned, written in shaky handwriting — changed everything.*“He’s gone. You should know.”*

He didn’t believe it at first. He refused. Elijah couldn’t be dead. Not him. Not the boy who used to tuck wildflowers behind Noah’s ear and whisper that the stars would understand them even if no one else did.

But now, standing here, heart hammering like he was seventeen again, Noah knew.

This wasn’t a visit. It was a return to a grave — even if he didn’t yet know where it was.

The house looked smaller than he remembered. The paint had faded, the porch sagged, and the front yard had surrendered to weeds. He walked slowly toward it, like the ground might open beneath him if he moved too fast.

He reached the steps. His hand trembled as he raised it to knock, but the door creaked open before he touched it.

A woman stood there. Older. Gray streaking through her black hair. Eyes swollen but sharp.

“Mrs. Reed,” Noah said, his voice barely more than a breath.

She looked at him like she was seeing a ghost. “You came,” she whispered.

“Is it true?” he asked. “Is Elijah really…?”

She nodded. “He waited. A long time.” Her eyes filled. “But you never came.”

Noah felt the world tilt under his feet. Everything inside him collapsed into silence.

The kind of silence that once kept their love hidden.

And now had buried it forever.

All he could do was just stare at the walls remincing on how they were happy back then before the entire world turned against them because of the love they shared which was considered something really sinful.

The homophobia in the society had made their love really bitter instead of bringing joy and happiness to them,they couldn't do anything in the community without being looked down upon or being judged.

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