Shorts

Gone

A field filled with beautiful red flowers and green grasses was where she went when her mind was swirling with things she did not want to think about. She would plug her earphones in her ear and draw, or read, or just look at the magnificent sight that was her surrounding. It was her happy place, a place to go and be completely herself.

She was there today, but instead of reading or drawing, tears streamed down her face as she sobbed to herself. All she could think about was the way he had told her he would never leave. He promised. She hugged her legs to herself as she thought about the boy she had come to love. Beautiful green eyes, a head full of brown hair, and a heart so big. She had never met anybody so loyal and so caring. He would give the world to anybody who needed it. He would drop the most important task to stop the tears of a total stranger. His eyes twinkled like stars and his smile was always the brightest, even on a bad day.

She had given her heart to him, fully. Days filled with laughter had made her fall head over heels for the boy with the sparkling eyes. He promised he would never leave her. He promised. But, right now, as her mascara streamed down her face and her sobs sounded in the empty field that she called her second home, she had realized that he lied. He had broken his promise and left. But, it wasn't his choice.

As they walked through town, hand in hand, smiling lovingly at each other, they had not seen the man with the gun. They had not seen the way his eyes were bloodshot and they had not seen the marks that littered his arms. And when this man walked out from his hiding spot and targeted the gun at her head, demanding they hand over anything that they thought held any value and any money that they had, she hadn't thought for one minute that he would leave her.

But, when the bullet ripped through his chest and his hand fell limp in hers as he fell to the ground, she had still thought the same thing. He would never leave. He would always be here. He would always be hers. She thought this even when blood started to seep through his shirt. She sobbed as she begged him to hold on, that help was on the way. But, when a shaky hand raised up to hold her face, she knew he was leaving, and he wasn't coming back.

"I love you," he said in a weak voice. Her eyes swelled as she squeezed them shut, tears spilling out. Her hand traveled to her face as she laid hers onto his.

"I love you," she breathed. Her head dipped down to give him one final kiss. His breathing slowed, and his hand fell from her face. His once sparkling eyes had glazed over, making them look dull. She choked out a sob as she sat back, pulling her hands to her face, crying into them.

As she sat in her world of red and green, thinking of him now, she could only resort to one thing. She had loved him with as much as she could, and he had loved her with as much as he could. He wasn't actually gone. He will always be in her heart and her mind. His love for her will be eternal, as will her love for him.