See You Soon

The worst feeling isn't being lonely, but being forgotten by someone you can't forget.

"Hey, bro," a man in his early twenties said, as he crouched on the ground before placing the bouquet of flowers that he brought along with him.

Sunflowers and daisies, his best friend's favorites.

He went there almost every day, and he would tell him almost everything that happened that day. So that he wouldn't miss anything, he reasoned.

"How are you doing? You okay there? Just tell me if something's wrong. I'll just be here to listen."

The said man then dusted the stone, in which his best friend's name was engraved into. He stayed there for a moment, cried a little and left when it had started to rain.

…

Six days has passed since he last visited. It rained almost every day, he told him, which was why he didn't even think of coming here. But then again, he had so much to tell him.

"I proposed to her last night," he whispered, before crouching on the ground beside the cold gravestone. "See this black-eye? Yeah, she punched me on the face before saying yes." He then laughed, as he stared at the cold stone in front of him. He then crouched beside it, dusted it before placing another bouquet of flowers on it. "I wish you were there, man. I wish you were there."

…

Days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months.

It has been four months since he last visited and he had so much to tell his best friend.

"Sorry, I wasn't able to come here so very often now. The wedding's just around the corner and she wants me to help her in preparing. You know how she is, right?" he then laughed, not bothering if there were some people walking past him, giving him awkward looks. He then sat beside the gravestone, dusted it before placing the bouquet of flowers he had brought along with him.

A moment passed, and the silence seemed to comfort him.

The man then smiled before continuing. "She chose Lucy as her maid of honor. I chose Cyrus as best man. Hah! He thought that I didn't know about his petty little crush on my Emily when he was still in junior high. Meh, you know that the guy is some sort of a mind-reader or something. It's kinda creepy when you think of it... but I think he already saw this coming. "

He then stopped talking and looked at the cold stone in front of him. He could almost hear his complaints. He then smirked. "Don't worry, bro. You were the first one that I thought of when they asked me who I want my best man to be. I'd choose you over that squirt any other day. If only you were here."

And for the first time in four months, he let the tears in his eyes flow freely.

…

He couldn't understand why nobody could understand him. Nobody seemed to understand why he still went there, why he still bothered to tell him everything.

But being the carefree person that he was, he shut his ears and didn't listen to the other people around him and continued to visit his grave.

He must be getting lonely there. I bet he needs someone to talk to, he told Emily when she asked him one time. His fiancée just shook her head and silently cried in his arms as she answered, I'll go with you next time.

But she didn't. There was still the wedding to take care of.

…

It has been a year since he last visited. Sure, he went there after their wedding, but he was so busy now that he has a job to look after to. And a wife. He then smiled.

"It's been a while, huh, bro?" he said, standing in front of the gravestone. It looked well-kept, and no dried leaves from an oak nearby could be seen around it. The man smiled, before kneeling. He then placed a single flower on top of it.

Sunflower, one of his favorites.

"Emily's pregnant. We're going to be parents." He could almost see his best friend smiling at him, telling him congratulations.

Once again, he stayed for a while, telling him all the things that happened to him since he last visited. And once again, he decided to leave once the rain started pouring.

…

He came back seven months later. He was beaming with happiness. He sat down beside his gravestone and immediately placed a single flower beside it.

"She's beautiful, man. She's got my eyes, and Emily's hair," he said as he continued to smile. He then felt tears threatening to fall from his eyes as he said, "We named her Angela. Remember, the time when you told us that we're going to get married and have a daughter? Yes, when we were still in the academy. You told us that we should name her Angela. And we did."

He stayed for a while, enjoying the silence that surrounded him. He stayed, until it turned dark and until he heard his phone ringing. "That was Lucy. She said that Emily is already looking for me." The man then turned around and started to walk away, but he stopped at the middle of the pathway, and turned to look at the gravestone in which his best friend's name was engraved into.

He then whispered, "I really wish that you could see her, man," before leaving.

…

After two weeks, he came back, with no flowers to put on his gravestone and with no stories to tell him. He realized, his best friend would never reply to all of his questions. He would never tell him if he was okay, or if something bothered him.

And it was then that he realized, he needed to let him go. His best friend would want him to be happy.

Everybody asked him why he hadn't moved on when his best friend died. He could still remember his answer back then. He clearly told people that he had already moved on, and his best friend wouldn't want him to cry over him for so long. He clearly remembered how the people gave him looks, as he smiled all throughout the funeral service… and how he cried when he was alone inside his dormitory after.

But now, he would move on and set his best friend free. "I don't want you worrying about me, no?" He smiled. "Someday, we're going to see each other again. You're going to tell me things that you saw from up there, and I'm going to tell you things that I experienced down here. Until then, bro. I hope to see you soon." He then stopped and blinked and frowned. "But not sooner I hope."

He then let out a laugh and a sigh afterwards. The man turned and started to walk away, but then, he stopped in the middle of the pathway and turned to look at the gravestone. He smiled when he realized… he could almost see him waving at him… even smiling at him. But then he blinked, and he was gone. Shaking his head, the man continued to walk away with a smile on his face.

…

The blonde looked at his best friend's back through his kind eyes and waved at him. He smiled, as his best friend turned around to look at him one last time. He chuckled as he saw Kenneth shaking his head.

"Good bye, man. See you soon, but not sooner I hope." He then smiled to himself as he remembered his exact words a while ago.

Oh well.

Looks like I'm going to be alone for a while from now on.