If I could say goodbye to you

Chapter 7

Once I was inside the room, I locked the bedroom door. I reached out to the window to close the shutters too. Finally, my eyes then landed on the box that had been waiting for me beside the closet.

Box in front of me, and it's heavier than it seems.

The amount of effort Claire has put into packing the contents inside is evident from its appearance.

Without any further delay, I sat on the floor with a paper cutter in my hand. I am going it open it.

After removing the last tape, the box lid flew open and revealed items covered in a brown sheet. As I carefully picked up each item and placed it on the floor, a feeling of sadness washed over me. For some reason, she left so many things for me. But why?

The room was filled with cherished memories. Scattered on the floor were Polaroid snapshots of our precious moments half of a locket that I gave to my dearest, my cozy jackets she wore during autumn, and a dainty wooden box filled with trinkets and jewelry we picked out together.

As I sifted through the collection of her cherished possessions, my gaze fell upon a few special items. Her treasured journal and beloved drawing pad were there, but my attention was drawn to a diary that I didn't seem to recall.

It was one of those diaries with locks. It was a black leather-covered dairy with a heart-shaped, gold colour lock. But what about the key?

I scanned the cardboard box once more, but alas, it was empty.

Determined, I reached for the wooden box and carefully emptied its contents. And there it was - a beautiful golden key! My heart was pounding with excitement, though my hands were shaking with anticipation. But I managed to steady myself long enough to unlock the diary and discover its secrets.

The first page was empty. Turning to the second page, it says in her writing:

This diary belongs to Claire Miller. The only person who has my permission to read this is Aster Hill. So, if you are not Aster, please don't read. And, if it is you, Aster, then I hope you read whatever I wrote because I know you hate reading books, but you are my boyfriend, and I want you to know how much I care about you.

That was it. There wasn't anything else to read, so I flipped to the next page.

Aster,

I know that if you are reading this, it only means that I – the future me – am dead. Today is , October 25, 2020, and the time is 9:35 pm. I'm writing this from my room. The reason why I am writing this journal is because we started dating last week. And, as you know about my condition, I don't know how many days I have left. So from now on, I will start writing about every single day you made me feel special. I'm not very good with words, but it is what it is.

We spend a lot of time together, maybe 4-5 years? I don't know.

But I hope we can spend more time together and attend the same college too.

I have no idea how I came up with this idea to write something for future Aster, for you. But I think like this you will understand how I feel whenever I spend time with you. It's like recording yourself for the future, but I don't like being on camera, and you know that. That's why I will write as long as I can. And I will also make sure to burn this diary if I'm still alive. So you can't find it.

I really like you, Aster, even when we were just friends.

Skylar knows it, and Dad does too. But you are an idiot.

I still remember the first time I saw you in the school library-