Three Years Earlier with Joel.

 Inside the abandoned theatre, Ellie found solace in a guitar and a song that stirred memories of Joel. Her music sparked a flashback, three years earlier, when Joel led her to a surprise by the water. What began with playful pushes and laughter revealed a deeper bond, showing how Joel guided Ellie through trust, growth, and discovery.  After getting into the theatre, Ellie was guessing Joel would love to watch a movie in that place. And I was just staring at the empty gallery, standing on the stage, right in front of the screen.   Then I went backstage, where Ellie found a functional guitar that made her happy. She took the guitar and sat on the gallery, and started tuning it up.   I had to help her choose the right chords, and then she started playing a verse and was singing a song, a beautiful song. It was, "If I ever were to lose you, I'd surely lose myself". Then she became sad after singing the line.   She went 3 years earlier in flashback, where she was playing a guitar in the forest, and Joel was there with her. Joel said he found something for her, so he asked her to follow him.   When I was following Joel, Ellie kept guessing what Joel was going to show her, and she was not guessing anything correctly. Then we reached this edge, where Joel let me go first like a gentleman.   But Joel had something else in mind; he pushed Ellie towards the water. Wait, as far as I know, Ellie didn't know how to swim, but still, Joel pushed her there.   Ellie drowned a little, but then I could ascend, and it looks like Ellie now knows how to swim. Maybe Joel taught her later.  And look at that face. I wonder how she transformed into a fine lady in only three years.   After ascending, I found Joel laughing. Ellie asked what'd happen if she'd drown, but Joel said he knew she wouldn't drown.   This was not the surprise; Joel said it was that way, so I swam forward and followed him more, and suddenly he stopped me to show a deer from afar.   Ellie had a chance to push Joel into the water now, and she didn't miss the chance. The way Joel was falling, it was cool.   Ellie asked Joel how it feels to get wet, and then Joel said they'd have to jump into the water anyway to get to the place they were going. Damn, Ellie didn't win after all.   I had to jump into the water again, and Ellie drowned again. I ascended and started swimming after Joel.  There was a tree blocking our way, so we had to dive under it. Joel suggested Ellie take a deep breath, and I was now diving faster than Joel. We'll check what happens next in another post. --- Image Source: In-game screenshots. End of the post. Peace.