December 16th, a night to cherish. Krisha and Matt sat together on their special bench, nestled under a mountain tree. Six years of love and memories intertwined.
"Isn't it chilly tonight?" Krisha asked, snuggling closer.
"Let me warm you up," Matt whispered, wrapping his arms around her.
As they hugged, memory after memory of their six-year journey began unfolding. It was time to go home. Matt's gentle kiss on Krisha's forehead spoke volumes: "I'll always be by your side."
The night ride was pretty silent and warm as Matt's hand rested in hers. His soft touch ran shivers down her spine. She looked up into his eyes, as much as she was desperate to tell him the words, crying out of her heart.
"Matt?" she whispered, starting.
"Yeah?" He turned toward her briefly, warm eyes.
She looked away, before pausing for a while. "I just want to say… I really love you, you know?"
He smiled back at her as he gently squeezed her hand. "I know Krisha. I love you too. More than everything." Matt said smiling softly at her.
The road was clear and calm in front of me; suddenly, a loud horn was honked, bright headlights flashed, and the sound of breaking glass could be heard. The world spun out of control and then everything went black.
When Krisha opened her eyes, she was in a hospital room. The sharp scent of antiseptic filled the air. She blinked. Her head pounded and ached as if it had been broken apart. Her first thought was Matt.
"Where's Matt?" she whispered her raw voice, as a nurse appeared beside her.
The nurse's face softened, but a flicker of something leapt into the nurse's eyes that Krisha couldn't help but miss out on. "You need to rest, Krisha. You have been through much."
But Krisha turned her head. "No. Matt. He was with me. Where is he? Krisha breathed as she started panicking.
The nurse looked at her with concern. "Krisha, you really need to rest. I'll tell you later where Matt is." The nurse said and left the room.
Krisha's mind is filled with thoughts of Matt. "Maybe he's okay. I shouldn't overthink this too much." Krisha said to herself as she doze off.
After an hour, Krisha woke up with her mom by her side and the nurse talking with her father.
"Mom? Where's Matt?" asked Krisha as she looks at her with concern.
The room fell silent, her parents' and the nurse's face mirrored each other with clear look of worry.
"Krisha… you were alone in the car when it happened." the nurse said.
Krisha froze. The words did not make sense. "What? but that's impossible. Matt was right next to me. We were together."
Her father took a deep breath. "Krisha, Matt passed away last year. You were in the accident alone."
Krisha froze as she realized what's happening. She was all alone tonight's accident.
Matt passed away last year before their 5th anniversary. They got into a fight and Krisha went to the bench. Matt followed her but got into an accident on his way there.
As memories invaded her, she felt a shiver down the spine. The funeral, the heart-wrenching grief, the numbness, it all rushed her mind once again. Matt's fatal crash, one year ago, had yet to heal. Though she'd walked through the motions, the pain seemed eerily distant, refusing to settle in.
Those memories of driving that night come flooding back, poignant and vivid. She could recall Matt's gentle touch on her hand, his soothing voice, their joyful laughter, and the warmth he had in his eyes. It all felt so intensely real back then.
Now, as she lay her hand on the one that had felt him draw hers close, a hollow ache reverberated inside her, capable of filling no void.
The nurse spread out her hand, light and soft in voice, as she continued. "It's not uncommon to see loved ones during traumatic events. They stay with us, in their own ways."
Over the hospital bed, she surrendered to the memories, letting them come in waves, bittersweet. His warmth, his words of reassurance, and her own heart's capacity for love, all echoed through her mind.
And in this quiet moment, she came to understand her lacuna: the hollowed-out place within her, where his presence once dwelled, now a testament to the love that continued to live on.
