The weight of it all was just too much, too much that it made her fall to her knees with a long sigh as she looked helplessly at the shining full moon above her. Everything had gone wrong that day: disappointment, discussions, stress, everything that could ever possibly go wrong.

Tears ran down her cheeks, which she didn't even bother to wipe off. The hell with it; she was in a crying mood and she had every right to cry, enough with pretending to be tough, enough to pretend to have control over anything at all.

The sound of nearby footsteps made her eyes widen. She turned around, now looking at the floor to see whose feet were producing the sound. She groaned as she recognized his shoes and continued looking up at the moon. Those shoes were unrecognizable. Who the hell would wear shoes like that if not him?

She heard the footsteps stopping just behind her.

"I don't want to talk right now," she said sternly, trying to hide any trace of weakness in her voice.

"Fine by me," he replied, sitting down next to where she was kneeling.

At first she turned her head away from him. She didn't wanted him to see her like this, and she was way too angry to see the look on his face, but the silence became too long and far too uncomfortable for her to keep on like that.

"What do you want, Clopin?"

He looked at her with his penetrating dark eyes. She couldn't stop herself from staring at them. What was it what he did to always make her listen to whatever the hell he had to say?

"I wanted to see if you were all right," he said.

"Well, I'm fine, are you done?"

But he raised one of his hands and brushed his fingers against her cold cheek, wiping her tears in the process.

"No, you're not," he said in the same uncharacteristically serious tone that he had been using since he had arrived.

"What is it to you, anyway?" she said, starting to cry again.

He lifted her chin up with his hand and placed himself in front of her.

"Everyone has bad days, sweetheart. It's nothing to be ashamed of. You don't have to be alone in this."

"What do you know about a bad day?" she said angrily. "What do you know of having your heart broken, turned into shreds and being forced to pick up the pieces yourself? What the hell could you possibly know about that, Clopin?"

He seemed taken aback at first, and for a moment he lowered his head in shame.

"I know what he did to you," he said in a very quiet voice. "I know how he hurt you, I know how he looked at you every single day, knowing how you loved him and still collecting the hearts of others. Do you honestly think I didn't notice that? That I didn't notice how much longer it took for you to realize?"

His words made her unable to stop herself from sobbing on his shoulder. He stood completely still for the fraction of a second, but then held her tightly in his arms.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have said that."

"No," she said. "It's true, all of it is true. This is my fault. I´ve caused my own suffering, and for what?"

"No, you didn't," he said in a soothing voice. "He's the one to blame, not you. Not ever."

"I just feel so alone," she sighed.

He held her face to his, both of their foreheads touched.

"You've suffered for too long," he said, "much too long."

"I know," she said. "But it's just too hard… I loved him, Clopin."

"I know," he said. "It's all right; it's going to be okay."

They stood like that for a few moments, looking and holding on to each other. For the first time in weeks she felt like if every piece of her broken heart was regenerating inside her. For the first time in a long time, she believed him when he said that it was all right.

"Clopin?"

"Yes?" he answered

"Thank you."

And without thinking of anything else, without meditating about the consequences, without even asking herself if this would be all right, she kissed him. And without expecting it, she felt how he kissed her back, as if he had been wishing for it to happen… as if he had been waiting for an eternity for it to happen.

She didn't feel alone anymore. Now she knew that after everything that had happened to her, she had finally found the one she belonged with, and would stay with forever.

The last thing she heard was him whispering "I love you" into her ear.