Some people drift back like the tide and some don’t. Either way, the shore stays where it is.

You cannot control who returns, and arranging your life around the possibility leaves you waiting for an indefinite length of time. What you can do is stay consistent enough that anyone coming back finds something recognizable. Steadiness is the only part of this that belongs to you.

Stop checking whether they have looked, reached out or noticed. Put the attention into your own life so it carries on either way. If somebody does come back, they meet a person with a life rather than somebody who paused.