For Elisia.
For the days we share,
the days we wait,
and the love that stays close the whole time.
Princess Elisia knew the Wandering Knight would come back.
She knew that.
But sometimes, she wondered when.
When the Wandering Knight left, Princess Elisia stood by the window with her doll.
He knelt down in front of her.
He always knelt.
“No road is longer than my love,” he said softly,
“and I always find my way back to you.”
Princess Elisia nodded.
“I’ll wait,” she said.
The Wandering Knight smiled.
“I know you will.”
Then he walked onto the road.
The first day felt normal.
Princess Elisia ate breakfast.
She played with her doll.
She watched the road.
The second day felt a little longer.
Princess Elisia ran through the halls.
She laughed.
She watched the road again.
The third day felt longer still.
Princess Elisia sat on the castle steps and hugged her doll.
The days between felt funny.
Not bad.
Just slow.
Princess Elisia decided to count the days.
On the first day, she found a small stone.
“One,” she said.
On the next day, she found a flower petal.
“Two,” she said.
Each day, she found one small thing.
A leaf.
A button.
A ribbon.
She put them all together in a little line.
“These are my days,” she told her doll.
Some days were busy.
Princess Elisia ran and played.
She built towers.
She knocked them down.
Some days were quiet.
She sat by the window.
She watched the clouds.
She watched the road.
The road stayed right where it was.
That helped.
One day, Princess Elisia felt the funny feeling in her chest again.
She hugged her doll tight.
“Why do days take so long?” she asked.
The old gardener smiled.
“Because days are full,” the gardener said.
“They just don’t hurry.”
Princess Elisia thought about that.
She liked days that didn’t hurry.
That night, Princess Elisia lined up all the things she had found.
Stone.
Petal.
Leaf.
Button.
She counted them slowly.
“He’s still coming,” she whispered.
She felt calm.
The next morning, Princess Elisia woke up early.
She felt something different.
The quiet didn’t feel quiet anymore.
She ran to the window.
At first, she saw nothing.
Then—
A small shape.
She didn’t count.
She didn’t wait.
She smiled.
The Wandering Knight walked toward the castle.
When he reached the gate, he stopped.
He took off his helmet.
Then he knelt.
Princess Elisia ran to him.
“You came back!” she said.
“I always do,” the Wandering Knight replied.
She showed him her line of things.
“These are the days,” she said.
The Wandering Knight nodded.
“They look very full,” he said.
That evening, they sat together and watched the sky turn pink.
“The days were long,” Princess Elisia said.
“And?” the Wandering Knight asked.
“And I waited,” she said proudly.
The Wandering Knight smiled and leaned close.
“No road is longer than my love,” he said,
“and I always find my way back to you.”
Princess Elisia smiled too.
Because now she knew something new.
Waiting wasn’t empty.
It was just love being patient.
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