𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬

Chapter nine

April 2014, Brisbane -7 pm-

*You have a message from niki*

"Rae can you come to the address I'm going to send you? It's urgent!"

Without hesitation, I grabbed the keys and headed for my car. Worry knotted my stomach, fearing that something serious had happened to him. Just the memory of the accident had the power to weaken him, just as he was about to get on with his life. I couldn't help thinking of all sorts of scenarios in my head.

The sun had begun to set, intensifying my anxiety. Once there, the scene was remarkably beautiful, almost magnificent. The atmosphere was imbued with the soothing sound of the sea, the waves gently breaking and the wind caressing the deserted beach. However, despite the beauty of the place, no one was there and I couldn't see Niki.

- "Niki?" I shouted, hoping he would hear me.

My cry echoed through the landscape. Panic rises within me, my eyes frantically scanning every corner of this magnificent place in the hope of finding him.

- Rae ?

I turned around abruptly, and there, just a few steps away from me, stood Niki. The strands of his hair danced gently in the wind, which seemed to be telling a silent story. He was wearing a white shirt, a garment that floated lightly around him, accentuating the dramatic effect of the scene. In his hands were tulips, my favorite flowers.

I didn't know how to react. Should I let the tears fall or rejoice at the news that nothing had happened to him? My eyes were fixed on him, searching for answers in every detail of his face. Guided by an indefinable mixture of anguish and relief, I slowly approached him. When I reached his height, I placed my hand gently on his cheek, searching his face for answers.

He handed me the deep blue tulips. Just as he was about to say something, the rain, fine and soft, began to fall. I don't know why, but every time we were together, it started to rain, maybe it was a sign of fate.

- Rae, I like you..

Suddenly, he grabbed my hand and we started running despite the heavy rain, which didn't really bother us, our shoes were sinking into the wet sand and our clothes were all soaked, but it didn't matter.

I hold him back abruptly, my trembling hands revealing the urgency of my long-held words. A veil of expectation shrouds his eyes, imbued with a gleam of expectation, as I prepare to unveil the enigma I've kept carefully buried.

"you're the someone I needed all my life, I don't want to lose you Nikiya..you mean everything to me"

he embraces me and we find ourselves at the heart of an improvised dance. I was enveloped by the fear that it was all a dream, a fleeting illusion rather than the tangible reality that seemed too good to be true. In the hollow of this uncertainty, I silently murmured the hope of not being awakened.

2023, Brisbane

The memory of how you used to pronounce my name is slowly fading, and I realize how empty my life is without you. Your absence weighs heavily on me, and each passing day reminds me how much I miss you. I need to feel the warmth of your embrace again.

For the first time in a long time, I listened to our favorite music. The first notes awakened in me a wave of emotions I hadn't felt in a while. The first notes enveloped me, and without even thinking about it, I let myself be carried away by the dance, guided by the spellbinding music that echoed through the room.

The tears, long held back, finally traced their way down my cheeks. The music, once a joyful canvas, turned into a bitter melody, echoing through the room like an unspoken farewell. Memories, once vivid and colorful, became fragments of a picture now in black and white. My legs, exhausted by the weight of lack, gave way, causing me to collapse on the cold floor. My hands, desperately seeking a presence, found only the tangible emptiness that had become my daily routine.

It's so hard these days Nikiya..I'm trying so hard but I'm never happy, I want to see you, I want to feel your hugs. Who will wipe my tears ? I'm afraid of losing myself, I can't afford to lose myself, I can't waste your efforts and sacrifice.

The room is plunged into darkness, lit only by the dim glow of the bedside lamp. I lie down, imagining the familiar sensation of your body beside me. Tonight, I'm gonna hold you thight so that you don't disappear into my dreams.

The dream begins in the living room, where the subdued glow of the lamps envelops the room in a familiar atmosphere. You're standing there as if you'd never left. My eyes stare at you, and my heart races in a desperate attempt to grasp this temporary illusion.I slowly approach you, as if touching you would confirm that this moment is not an illusion.The scene shifts to the kitchen, where the sweet aroma of a meal we loved to prepare together perfumes the air. We sit at the table, but this time, silence hangs heavy between us. Words, which were once a dance between us, now seem imbued with the unspeakable, with this irreversible absence.