Lucas stood at the gate, his heart heavy as the final boarding call echoed through the airport. He glanced back at Clara, her warm hazel eyes glistening with unshed tears. The fluorescent lights blurred the edges of the scene, the bustle of travelers feeling distant and muted, as if the world around them was fading away. He was only heading across the country for work, yet it felt as if he was leaving a part of himself behind.

"If I forget to say goodbye," he said, his voice breaking slightly, "would you know the way that I feel when I'm away?" Clara nodded, though her expression betrayed the worry that accompanied every departure. It was always the same routine: the heartfelt goodbyes that left them both reeling, the distance that stretched like an elastic band between them, only to snap back together whenever they reunited.

As he took a step back towards the gates, he couldn’t help but think of the stars they both cherished. "We’ll see the same sky tonight," he had told her in their youthful days, "but the stars are out of place." It was a promise of their connection, a gentle reminder of their love that transcended miles. Yet, each time he left, the weight of separation settled heavily on his heart.

Lucas reached for his phone, scrolling through the pictures of Clara laughing at some inside joke, her hair catching the sunlight, her smile radiant and true. "You’ll never know the weight of my heart," he thought, recalling how difficult it was every time they parted. Each goodbye was wrapped in layers of unspoken words, the burden of his decisions looming large on his chest.

"It's hard to break the landing," he murmured to himself, wishing he could capture her essence, bottle it up to take with him. But he knew the truth: no matter how far he traveled, a part of him would always remain rooted in her smile. "I’ll see you again," he promised, whispering to the winds swirling around the terminal, believing in the power of destiny.

As he stepped through the threshold separating them, confidence surged in his heart. "I’m never gonna leave your life," he reassured himself. Even at times when he was miles away, Clara would always be on his mind. Days would change, seasons would shift, but their love would illuminate even the darkest moments. "Forever and now, I will be by your side," he thought, knowing that love can endure, binding them together across the expanse of time and distance.

The plane lifted off the ground, the world shrinking away beneath him. Lucas gazed out at the fluttering clouds below, already counting the days until he would return to her. The stars might have seemed out of alignment, but the constellations of their love would guide him home. Clara would always be waiting, her presence carving paths in his heart just as easily as his thoughts wandered back to hers.

If only he had remembered to say goodbye properly, to reassure her one last time of the love that would never falter. But he held that certainty within him: no matter how far they drifted apart, he would always carry her with him, a piece of her forever nestled in his heart. Their story was far from over, and soon enough, he would weave their paths together once more.