They Buried A Promise For Ten Years, They Broke It In Ten Minutes Chapter 01
Ten years ago, on a fall night during high school, my boyfriend Ethan, my childhood friend Owen, and I buried a bottle of homemade wine under the old oak tree on campus.
We promised that no matter what, we’d all come back in ten years to dig it up and open it.
There was a sudden downpour tonight, and I got stuck in traffic. I messaged the group chat, telling them to please wait for me.
But when I finally got to the old campus, full of anticipation, I saw the wax seal around the bottle’s neck had already been broken.
Ethan and Owen were playing a drinking game with Lily, a younger friend of ours.
Lily’s cheeks were flushed from the wine.
“Ethan, this wine is amazing. Thank you both for sharing something so special with me.”
Ethan handed her a napkin, his voice soft. “If you like it, I’ll make you a batch every year.”
When Owen saw me, he casually pointed at the empty bottle on the table. “Lily tagged along and thought the wine smelled good. She ended up drinking all of it. Didn’t save you any. I’ll buy you a coffee next time to make it up.”
A ten-year promise, and they didn’t even leave me a drop.
Ethan walked over and tried to put his arm around me. “Don’t be like that. Lily’s younger than us. What’s wrong with looking out for her a little?”
I stepped away and stared at the shattered wax seal scattered on the ground—pieces of our ten years together. I was strangely calm.
Ten years of friendship and companionship, and it all meant less than a stranger’s casual “she tagged along” and “she drank too much.”
If that was how it was, then some people weren’t worth holding onto.
***
“Ava, you’re being way too petty. It’s just a bottle of wine. Is it really worth acting like this?”
Owen leaned against the stone table, holding a plastic cup, his tone as casual as if he were talking about the weather.
I stood under the oak tree, water still dripping from my umbrella. My skirt was half soaked, and my shoes were full of water.
I’d been stuck in traffic for two hours in the downpour, hitting the steering wheel over and over, just to make it to this ten-year reunion.
The last message in the group chat was from me.
Ava: [Stuck on the highway. Please wait for me. I’ll be there in half an hour.]
No one replied.
Lily peeked out from behind Ethan, her eyes red, looking like she was about to cry.
“Ava, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know the wine was that important. I thought you guys just made it for fun…”
Her voice was so soft it nearly dissolved in the air, and when she finished, she tugged gently at Ethan’s sleeve.
Ethan immediately turned and whispered, “It’s fine. Don’t blame yourself.”
Then he looked at me, frowning. “Ava, Lily already apologized. What more do you want?”
I looked at the broken wax on the ground.
Ten years ago, the three of us had pressed the wax seal on by hand, layer by layer. My fingerprints were still in it. Now it was shattered, mixed with rainwater, and trampled underfoot.
“What do I want?” My voice was calmer than I expected.
“I told you in the group chat to wait. Did you see it?”
Owen glanced at his phone. “Yeah, we saw it. But Lily said she had to leave by ten thirty. She couldn’t wait that long.”
“So you let someone else open our ten-year promise?”
“She’s not ‘someone else.’“ Owen frowned. “Lily’s been around for three years. Don’t act so territorial.”
Lily’s eyes welled up again right on cue. “Ava, how about… I’ll buy you a new bottle?”
Ethan patted her shoulder. “Don’t worry about her. Ava’s just moody. She’ll get over it in a couple of days.”
She’ll get over it in a couple of days.
I’d been hearing that for five years.
Every time I was upset about anything, Ethan’s answer was always the same—Ava would get over it in a couple of days.
I looked at the empty bottle on the table. Even the wine stains had dried. Not a single drop left for me.
Three cups sat beside it.
Ethan’s. Owen’s. Lily’s.
Three.
I picked up the empty bottle and turned it over.
The words scratched into the bottom were still there: See you in ten years. No matter what. Ethan, Owen, Ava.
Lily’s name wasn’t there.
“Ethan.” I looked up at him.
He had his back to me, pouring her some water. “Hmm?”
“Do you remember what’s carved on the bottom?”
He didn’t turn around. “Yeah. Why?”
“When you gave Lily a drink, did you ever think this bottle was supposed to have a share for me?”
He finally turned, annoyed. “Ava, can you stop being so small about everything? Lily only had a couple of sips. It’s not like she did it on purpose.”
“A couple of sips?” I pointed at the empty bottle. “There’s not a drop left.”
Lily suddenly stood, tears actually falling.
“Ava, it’s my fault. I shouldn’t have come…”
She was crying hard now, tears streaming down her face. Owen handed her a tissue, and Ethan moved in front of her, staring at me like I was the bully.
“Okay, Ava. You made Lily cry. Happy now?” Ethan’s voice went cold.
I looked at the three of them and almost laughed.
Ten years.
A bottle of wine I’d waited ten years for. Two hours stuck in a downpour to keep a promise.
And the final image was my boyfriend and my childhood friend, protecting another girl and asking why I couldn’t be more generous.
“Ethan,” I said quietly as I set the bottle back on the table. “You think I’m being petty?”
“I think you’re not yourself right now,” he said. “Go home and get some sleep. I’ll buy you a coffee tomorrow to make it up to you.”
Coffee.
Ten years for a coffee.
I didn’t say anything else.
I turned, opened my umbrella, and walked into the rain.
Behind me, I heard Lily still crying and Owen saying, “That’s just how she is. Don’t take it personally.”