Not So Great Short Stories and others

Colourless Blossoms.

"I met him on the stairs back in 2016...." My friend Nathan starts talking out of the blue. I look at him and patiently wait for him to continue. The cool autumn breeze brush against my skin, causing small bumps to appear on my flesh. He sighs. "Both of us have been living in the same building for almost a year yet we didn't know one another's name" He finishes his sentence, letting out a small laugh which would have gone unnoticed by me if our immediate vicinity wasn't so silent. "I was about to pass by him, like every other day but he stopped me and went on "Hey! You're from flat 1A right? What's your name?" I turned around to look at him and that was the first time I got to notice his features properly and I was instantly mesmerized by it. Dark brown hair, a pair of amber eyes and black pupils within them, who's gaze didn't deviate at all and were very calmly fixated upon my own pair of vision. A number of long lashes sat gracefully on his eyelids, looking so splendid, adorning his warm complexion. He had a mole on the right side of his face. It was situated exactly in the middle of the crease his face made when he shot his goofy smile. His eyes, even though dark in shade, had such a comforting feeling upon me. His face contradicted what his eyes said. His face showed visible calm and cool while his eyes were excited. His excitement soon turned to joy when I shared my name with him and he did the same. Honestly, it was crazy how even our names sounded similar. He was Ethan. I was Nathan and also, either of our names are of Hebrew origin" He finishes speaking and looks up towards the sky. I notice a drop of tear roll down his face. He sniffs quietly and wipes away the drop of tear that rolled down his eyes. Before I could say anything, he adds on. "I miss him so much-" his voice breaks before he could end his sentence properly. He buries his face in his hands, sniffing every now and then, his entire body trembling and breathing very deep but what he said and how he said it makes me want to know the entire story. "Does he not live here anymore? Has he moved to some other place else, Nate?" I ask him, putting my hand on his knee. He rubs his palms on his eyes and looks at me. His eyes appeared swollen and red, which made me furthermore curious. "Yes! He has moved to a very far away land and I can't visit him no matter how much I want to. It will be impossible" he says smiling. "That's not true! Nothing is impossible. I have friends in the travelling department. Tell me where he is, I will make arrangements for you" I tell him because I wanted to help him meet his friend he adores so much because it hurts me to see him cry. "Come with me" he says, standing up and start walking ahead of me. "Where?" I ask him but do what he tells me to. "You'll know" His voice sounded hoarse and grief-stricken. He stops by a florist shop and buys a bouquet of white roses. "Is someone of yours in the hospital?" I ask him again to which he replied, "You talk a lot, Olivia."

After walking for a few minutes, Nathan's steps come to a halt. I furrow my brows at the sight of a cemetery in front of me. I wanted to ask if someone of his died recently but I kept myself zipped. Nathan quietly walks inside the burial area. "I've never liked cemetery because of how thick the air is in here" I tell him as the silence was creeping me out. He replies with a small 'oh' and stops walking again. He turns right to face a tombstone, me standing behind him. "Hey buddy! I brought a friend. I'm sorry I didn't get to visit you for two weeks. Work has had me in a choke hold for the past few days. I missed you so much. I bought you your favourite flowers" Nathan says, keeping down the bouquet of roses at the foot of the tombstone which had the name 'Ethan Prelutsky' carved on it.

"And perhaps it is the greater grief, after all, to be left on earth when another is gone." - The Song Of Achilles