Title: It's okay...
Chapter 3: 3rd Year
The weather on this year's Valentines' Day was near-perfect. It was sunny yet cool; Breezy yet warm; after all, Love was in the air - it was everywhere, especially in people's hearts. And on that day a year ago, two seemingly lost souls had finally met. They were from two very different walks of life, but through the days they had grown close to each other; they had fallen in love. Love had bonded them so tightly together, people saw that they would never let go of the special relationship they shared. They would never let go.
And there he was, standing absolutely still. The grass around him had not been cut for months, and now they grew as tall as up to his knee. Although the weather was beautiful, the atmosphere was not - at least that was how it was like to him, where he stood. It was stale and humid, and he was prespiring profusely. The weather was not hot, and a soft breeze was blowing, but it was not strong enough to lift his heavy heart. No, it would never be enough.
Standing there with a bouquet of fresh flowers in his hand, he began to reminisce. When he had first met her, it was entirely unintentional. She had accidentally bumped into him, but when he looked at her eyes, searching for any apologetic expression, he only found tears. Immediately feeling sorry for her, he led her away from the crowd, and offered her his handkerchief. He had comforted her, and tried to make her feel better about being alone on Valentines' Day. After all, he was alone as well, and had been aimlessly wandering the streets before she bumped into him.
Yes...that was how he had been spending his Valentines' Day...no, that was how he had been spending every day. Alone. Solitary. It wasn't that he was unfriendly, or that he lacked social skills, or that he didn't want company, or that he was of horrible character, or anything - he didn't even know why he was always by himself. Most of the time, when he stopped day-dreaming and realised that he was in fact alone, he didn't really mind. After all, he wasn't one to take pity on himself and feel that his whole life was a mess because he didn't have anyone to talk to. But at times, especially on one of those cold, winter nights, he felt nothing but lonely.
That was until he met her, of course. After he met her, everything changed. He became much happier; he felt blessed. Who could have ever imagined that a girl who would accidentally bump into him would turn out to be the love of his life? Their love wasn't even rushed or forced. And it didn't just happen at first sight. Their love was built on friendship that developed further. Since that day, they had both knowingly and unknowingly found ways to meet up again and simply talk. Gradually, they knew everything about each other, and by then, they had already fallen into the abyss of love.
Still standing there, he recalls when they had a minor quarrel. After both parties walked off separate ways in the heat of the argument, they began to regret it. They felt so terrible for having been insensitive to each other, and they wanted to make it up right away. That was one of the times when they realised time and again that they were so in love. It almost seemed as if they were in love forever, and would continue being in love for eternity, never to be separated...
His thoughts were abruptly interrupted by the screeching of a car trying to brake. The car had been going way off the speed limit, and had swerved recklessly to the road shoulder and was speeding off...only to find that at the pedestrian crossing was a young couple. Desperately trying to brake, he only merely retarded the entire motion of smashing the girl, causing her already broken body to be flung a few metres away. The blood that flowed endlessly from her wounds was as red as the car's exterior and as excessive as the blood in the Nile.
People say it was a miracle the boy was not seriously injured. It turns out he had missed death by just a few inches, as the girl was right in front of the car...and he was not. Yes, he was not dead, then, at least; he was there, standing silently still as he was for the past hour. Only this time, it wasn't beads of sweat that flowed from down his cheeks and dripped from his chin. Trying to regain his composure, he wiped his eyes with his palms and took a deep breath.
Kneeling down, he places the flowers by her tombstone. As he does so, he sees her beautiful name etched into the stone, never to be erased. He reaches out to the letters and feels every depression it makes into the stone. Flashbacks keep appearing in his mind, and he can't control himself anymore. He gives in and the tears fall rapidly...before he knows it, he has collapsed to the grass, crying and crying and crying... ...
"I tried to join you!" His voice is hoarse and exasperated. "I wanted so much to be with you again...even if we were dead! But...why am I still here! WHY! Somebody, anybody, tell me!"
He hears the grass rustling. A woman in her mid-fifties approahes. She doesn't see him but instead stops before another grave. Tears are already in her tired eyes, and she laments, "My son... I... I just don't know what to say... I...I only pray you are...happy. That you have found her... And that you are finally happy... You were so disturbed after the accident... We all thought you would get over it after a while... But... But...you ran right in front of the other car! You ran right to it! My son...how... I can't... I don't know... I don't know anything anymore..."
Now, he cries again, but this time, he does not cry because of his lost love.
"I don't know anything anymore either... Mom."
-end-