Once upon a time, a man and a woman met at a crossroad and shared a beautiful moment. Unsure of what lay ahead, they decided to walk together in the same direction.

Together, they reached a busy junction called Junction 33. There were a lot of things happening in that junction. It was very similar to Las Vegas. Every direction promised endless possibilities.

At this point, the man turned to the woman with excitement in his eyes and said, “Our journey together has been wonderful, and you’ve been a great companion. But look around—this is Junction 33. There’s so much ahead, so many possibilities waiting for me. I have to see what’s out there, and I must go alone. You should go your own way and find your own path.”

Tears rolled down the woman’s cheeks.

Seeing this, the man reassured her, “Don’t be scared; you’ll be okay.”

She wiped her tears and whispered, “I’m not scared; I’m grieving.”

The man frowned. “Ah, don’t be silly. This is Junction 33. This is not a place for grief; this is a happy place where dreams are born.”

The man gave the woman one last hug and went on his way. His path took him to many places, but wherever he went, her memory stayed with him. She was indeed a great companion, and he sorely missed walking with her. If he could only turn back time, he would have taken her with him.

He decided to go back to Junction 33, hoping that she was also visiting and that she missed him as much as he missed her. As he looked around, to his surprise, he saw a familiar face. It was the face of the woman he had been missing all these years—the woman he had left at that junction.

She was almost exactly as he remembered, only slightly different. Whatever path she had taken, it must have been a great one because she seemed happy and more confident now.

He approached her excitedly and said, “Hey, remember me? We met at a crossroad, walked together, and then parted here at Junction 33.”

But before she could respond, the man could no longer contain his happiness, and all the longing he had felt over the years exploded. He hugged her tightly and said, “I have missed you so much! Look at you—you look great! Didn’t I tell you you’d be okay? I was right!”

The woman gently pushed him so she could look at his face. She smiled and said, “I remember you. You look exactly like how she described you.”

The man hesitated. “She?”

The woman nodded and said, “Yes, the woman you left here many years ago.”

“On that day, she was not scared. On the contrary, it was the bravest she had ever been in her entire life. It was the day she had to make a choice between me and her. Only one of us could live, and she chose me. That was the day I was born. She wept for you and her. She wept because she was grieving her own death and the future—which is today—where she would not be present to stand here when you came back.”

“I visit this place a lot so that I will not forget her bravery—the reason I exist today.”

Tears rolled down the man’s cheeks.

The woman gave him a hug and whispered, “Do not weep. If you hadn’t left, I would not be here today. I am grateful. Thank you. You were right; Junction 33 is where dreams are born.”

But the man was inconsolable.

Legend has it that he had built a shrine at the exact place in Junction 33 where he left the woman—the same place where she died.

Every year, he would go back to the shrine on the anniversary of the day he left her—the day she died. There, he would immerse himself in memories, reliving the moments he had shared with her.

The End.