"Wright Anything Agency, this is Wright speaking."
Her breath caught at the sound of his voice, and to steady herself, she leaned against the glass of the phone booth. "…hello? Nick?"
"M-maya?! Is that you?"
"Yup, I managed to find a landline in Khura'in." It had taken her an unbelievable amount of time, but there was no way she would admit that. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"
"Yeah, it has. Um, how are you?"
She told him about her training and studies in the origin of the Kurain channeling technique. He recounted stories about Trucy, Apollo, and Athena, ones he hadn't shared by letter. It was better this way, to hear the inflections and punch lines, and her mouth ached from laughing. In fact, she lost track of how long they talked, until she noticed the impatient queue that had formed behind her.
"Sorry, Nick, I have to go."
"Yeah, so do I. Everyone else is glaring at me right now, since we have to be at the courthouse soon."
She snickered. "Good luck."
"Thanks, Maya." It seemed he was about to hang up, but she interjected.
"I can try calling again tomorrow. I haven't told you about my infamous burger run yet."
"That should be interesting." He snorted. "But I look forward to hearing about it."
"Mm, it's a good one. Oh, and Nick? One more thing. I missed you. I still miss you."
"…I miss you too." There was so much emotion in those four words, and she closed her eyes, trying not to tear up. She wanted to soar to the other side of the world, to be with him again.
In Khura'in, she lived by one motto and that was to stay strong. But that didn't mean she couldn't miss him, and it was reassuring to know that he felt the same.
"Maya?"
"Huh? Oh, right. I'll call you, so don't turn off your phone, okay?"
"I won't." She imagined him smiling, and the line went dead. As she walked away, she blew a kiss into the sky.
Sorry, Nick, I'm greedy. I want to see you soon.