If you told me that this day would come, I wouldn’t have believed you. I woke up to an empty room. Your bags are gone. The closet, half-empty. Didn’t we say no goodbyes? I suppose I should’ve been more specific. I should’ve made sure you’d let me know if there was a need for goodbyes.
She had the worst day ever—from the bad coffee, to her less-than-stellar lunch in Styrofoam, and canceled dinner plans. All she wanted to do was hide under her covers and wake up to a better day. But as she made her way home, the most beautiful sky seemed to tell her, “it’ll be okay.”
When you tell me you love me, I don’t see you walking away from me, shutting the door behind you. When you kiss me good night, I don’t hear you telling me you think you deserve better. When we sit here and now, everything is perfect and it never occurs to me that you’d leave.
She smiles at the kids who splash around and run towards the middle of the sea (low tide). She likes to dig her toes deep into the wet sand until it feels weird and she has to wash it off. Afternoons like this makes her happy she made that decision to live on the beach.
When she skips down the stairs from her bedroom, her first instinct is to greet her father who is always, always waiting. Before her big breakfast of oatmeal and honey, a hug and a cheery “I love you” is the perfect start to her morning. She doesn’t know it, but it completes his entire day.
It was the last few days of summer and we weren’t sure when we’d see each other again after today. He was leaving tomorrow. I didn’t want to talk about it. We walked to our favorite spot at the park, shared a peanut butter and banana sandwich, and talked about the movie from last night.
If you took each necklace and looked at it very carefully, you couldn’t tell what they mean. When I take them out, wear them around my neck, I feel something different. I cry, I smile, I remember things. For some reason, I’ve stopped wearing the one you gave me. Because when I do, it hurts.
Every year, exactly the same three dates for the past three years, I go on a trip. I go to the same place, do the same things, and hope to see the same people. I haven’t found who I’ve been looking for yet but I believe he’ll find me soon enough. Only time can tell.
