“I mean, if things hadn’t turned out the way they did, then we wouldn’t be standing here. If I hadn’t fallen off that cliff, we never would have met. You and I were never going to cross paths. We were never part of fate’s grand plan.” He held Amy’s gaze, a wistful look in his eyes. “Or maybe we were, and maybe one day was all we were ever meant to get.”

Amy stepped toward him and fumbled for his hand, threading her fingers between his. “Whatever the universe had in store for us, I’m thankful we got this chance at all. Getting to meet you and seeing your beautiful ranch, riding the trails . . . you holding me in your arms. I’m going to remember the day we spent together forever.”

“Me too, Amy.”

He shifted even closer and lifted her chin, bringing her face closer to his. As they stared into each other’s eyes, a warm breeze blew in from out of nowhere and began to swirl around them. Though gentle at first, it steadily built up speed, becoming so strong that it soon turned into a whirlpool of wind.

Alarm spread across Amy’s face as she turned her gaze to the ground and saw a circular wall forming around their feet. Made up of sand, the wall was only an inch high, but it was shifting in a clockwise direction with the wind and gathering mass fast, like a miniature twister rising out of the ground. Using the beach as its fuel, it was sucking in the surrounding sand and growing in height, swirling with ferocious intensity. Within seconds, it had doubled in size and climbed above their ankles, right up to their knees.

“I’m scared, Ryan.” Amy stepped in and pressed herself against him, hoping to get as far away as she could from the spinning vortex.

“It’s going to be all right,” he said as he put both arms around her and pulled her in close. “Just hold on to me. Everything will be all right.”

They clung to each other as the wall of sand, which was now so dense they couldn’t see out, shot up over their heads and straight into the sky. The inside of the wall was sparkling, and so was their skin, which was taking on the same shimmery translucency that Amy recognized from before. And just like before, she could feel an emptiness spreading through her body, a surreal disconnect between her mind and her limbs, a sign that her spirit was being pulled from this world. Only this time there would be no stopping it.

“Our time’s nearly up,” Ryan said. “I can feel it. I can feel this place inside me—it’s disappearing. I want to kiss you, but I’m afraid of what will happen if I do.”