Laura Israel By Laura Israel
“Found it!”
Eugenios held a puzzle piece up in the air. The pattern was nothing special—it only showed a small section of a rooftop. But it was exactly the piece Eurus had been looking for.
“Thank you.”
Eurus held out their hand and, grinning, Eugenios dropped it in. They ran their fingers over the half-finished idyllic image before them, feeling for the small gap where it belonged. They brought the piece down slow, pressing it in with the tips of their fingers, a satisfied smile overcoming them as it snapped into place.
They searched around on the old cedar table for the next piece, a bit of grass missing from a hillside.
“So,” Eurus said, “you were saying? About Leon?”
“I broke it off yesterday.”
“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that,” they said, heart racing.
It was always like this when he talked about moving on from his latest partner. Eurus reasoned that they must be a bit of a gossip at heart— enthralled by the stories of his escapades as they were. But then, why did it only happen with him?
“Nothing to be sorry over,” he said, reaching for another piece, his eyes still on Eurus. “It didn’t mean anything to either of us. No hurt feelings. It started because we were bored, and that’s why it ended.”
Eurus desperately wanted the conversation to continue, but in spite of their efforts, they found nothing to add.
“This one next?” he asked.
“Yes please, thank you.”
Eurus looked for a bird painted against a clear, cloudless sky. They found it almost immediately.
“So, now that it’s over, what’s next?”
Eugenios put a hand to his chin and closed his eyes. “Hm. Dunno. I’m getting a little tired of running around, you know?”
“You? Settling down?” Eurus side-eyed him as they felt around for the gap in the sky, holding the piece over it. “Hell must be freezing over.”
He chuckled. “That’d suit you nicely, wouldn’t it?”
Eurus’s hands froze, the piece falling with a light plink as it hit the puzzle below, bouncing off the gap where it belonged. “Sorry, what?”
He smiled and reached out to take the fallen piece, putting it neatly into place right under their nose. “You always liked the cold.”
“Right, yes, that’s what you meant,” they said without a hint of sincerity.
He laughed again and held up another piece. “Okay, tell me where this one goes.”
“It’s the one on the left in the school of fish.”
As they filled in the last few gaps, their work sped up more and more. The holes in the image faded away, and the scenic vista came into view, mostly complete.
“So, yeah,” he said, “I’m kind of done screwing around. I wanna, well—”
Their inner thoughts reaching a fever pitch, Eurus finally broke the question while reaching for the final piece, pure yellow in the center of the sun. “So, who’s the lucky one going to be?”
As their fingers brushed against the tiny wooden form, so too were they met with the warmth of his touch. Despite themself, they didn’t pull away, and neither did he. And as they looked into his eyes, he smiled and ran his fingers along theirs, taking their hand in his.
“Alright. Which one of us is gonna say it?”
Laura Israel is a Computer Scientist and writer. In her spare time, she loves playing TTRPGs and competitive games with friends. She has a loving husband Elliot and a very talkative cat named Socks. When she isn’t programming, writing, or gaming, she’s volunteering in schools in various capacities.
Why we chose this piece: This is the literary romance I’ve (Nathalie) been looking for!!! I love how quiet the story is as Eurus and Eugenios work on the puzzle together, and the subtle tension yanked me through to the end. It’s just delightful. A perfect read when you need a bit of a lift.
