A Very Long Time

It had been a very long time since he'd been here last.

It seemed as though he were walking the plank on a pirate's ship, preparing to dive off the end of the pier into the sea.

With each step, he could see her face more clearly, he could hear her voice grow louder, he could smell her hair more deeply.

And then he saw her leaning on the railing, awaiting his arrival at the end of the pier. He walked quickly, racing to meet her, but found that she was gone; his beloved existed only in his alcohol-addled mind.