Miss Me When I'm Gone

And just like that she was gone.

The tears he'd been holding back flowed free. 

The tears she'd been holding back flowed free. 

Her head hung low standing right where the auto had dropped her. She stared into space till lightning lashed across the sky and the sunset disappeared behind the grey clouds and the rain drops kissed the tears on her cheeks.

The tarp flaps hung limp on the side of the auto, in the back of which he now sat alone. He held his head in his hands, sobbing quietly. His arms and neck tingled from the reminiscent of her last hug. 

After a week of crying herself to sleep every day, it was time for her to leave for the airport. She never told him how she felt; not because she didn't love him but because she didn't want to lose her best friend and because she always knew he was so much more than she ever deserved. To her, he looked like a Disney prince with a beautiful face, curly hair, gentle eyes and the sweetest voice in the world. She promised herself that if he ever asked her for one wish to come true, she'd ask him to sing for her one day. Little did she know he would happily oblige. He would sing for her day and night and he did, everyday, only she was never there to listen. His heart wanted to stop her, to hold her close forever and never let go but he cared too much about her. He smiled down at their last picture together and promised himself that he would never come in the way of her career or hold her back.

"I want to see you fly princess," he whispered sadly to the polaroid and clutching it to his chest, fell asleep on the couch.

Resting uncomfortably in the crammed-up economy seat of the plane, she closed her eyes and replayed her entire last day with him, finding solace in the mere memory. They were hugging. She'd never hugged a guy before, not even a friend let alone one she loved. Just before stepping out of the auto, she looked into his eyes and gathering all the boldness from heavens, hesitantly raised one arm towards him. He smiled and immediately put his arms around her. She rested his chin on his shoulder and he dropped his head into the crook of her nook. Neither said a word. She softly rubbed circles on his back, her mind blissfully blank in the moment. They wanted to stay like that forever but they gently pulled apart. 

She stared into his eyes with a sad smile and whispered, "I'll come back for vacations in a few months, ok?"

He gently nodded, "I'll be right here"

Carrying the last breath of his scent, she stepped out and left with too weary a heart to turn behind. She sniffed her sleeve, breathing a sigh of relief and comfort at the lingering scent.

"Achoo," she woke up with a start on her plane seat. She sat and looked around; lost in a sea of strangers. She was moving abroad for her higher studies. She took a deep breath and realized the scent was gone.

And just like that he was gone.