Remember When?

by Chynalee

You never realize how much you cherish something until it's too late. Doesn't have anything to do with a book, they just didn't have a Misc. in the Misc. category.

Remember When…?

We used to play a game, you and I, me and you
Or rather you used to play
Remember When. That's what we called it.
What you called it. I didn't call it anything, except, perhaps, annoying.

"Remember when," you'd say to me, as we walked home in the summer rain,
"we used to splash through the puddles?"
I'd grunt in return and walk faster.

"Remember when," you'd say, watching the leaves fall,
"we used to spin around in circles,
until we fell onto each other, breathless?"
I'd stay silent and hope no one had heard.

"Remember when," you said, holding me against you after a bad break-up in the spring,
"I told you I'd always be there for you?"
I'd pull away, leaving your arms empty.

"Remember when," you'd tell me, after a bad day in winter,
"You promised me you'd never give up?"
I'd glare belligerently at the wall until you left.

"Remember when," you smiled sadly,
"I told you I loved you?"
That time, I ran away.

I didn't know it'd be the last time we'd play the game, you and I, me and you.
I didn't know it'd be the last time I'd see you again.
I didn't know it'd be my last chance to tell you that I loved you too.
I didn't know that the only thing that would keep me sane after you disappeared,
Would be clutching that old photo of you, the only one I had because it fell beneath my bed and escaped being tossed in the trash, like every other photo you'd given me, and whispering to it,
"Remember when…?"