The last goodbye

It had been years, but Dia couldn't shake the feeling of emptiness that followed her like a shadow. Samar 's absence was more than just a void-it was a wound that never healed, a part of her soul that seemed to have left with him the day he died on that fateful battlefield.

Sitting by the window, she stared at the pouring rain. It had been like this the day she found out, the same relentless downpour, as if the heavens themselves were mourning with her. The sky roared with thunder, and in the midst of the storm, her heart ached with memories of him.

"You left... just like that," she whispered to the emptiness around her. "You didn't even say goodbye, Samar. How could you?" Tears welled up in her eyes. "You didn't even tell me. You promised me, Vikram. You promised we would face everything together. And then, you just left... like a coward. Not even a word."

Her voice cracked, grief turning into a wave of anger and hurt. "You owe me a goodbye. You owe me that, Samar."

Suddenly, a deafening crack of thunder shook the room. The lights flickered, and for a brief moment, the world seemed to stand still. Dia's breath hitched as she felt something... someone... behind her. The air grew cold, and she slowly turned around.

Her heart stopped.

There he was, standing in the dim light, looking just as he had the last time she saw him, in his army uniform, his eyes soft but filled with the weight of all they had left unsaid.

"Samar?" Her voice trembled, barely more than a whisper.

He smiled, that same lopsided, mischievous grin that had always made her heart skip a beat. "Here I am, Dia"

She blinked, unable to comprehend what was happening. "This can't be real... You're... you're gone."

"I know," he said softly, stepping closer. "But I couldn't leave without saying goodbye."

Her tears flowed freely now. "You left me, Samar. You just... left. You didn't tell me. You didn't say anything. How could you do that to me?"

His face grew serious, the playful grin fading. "I didn't want to leave you, Dia. But I had to go, for the country, for everything I stood for. I never meant to hurt you."

"You did," she whispered, her voice breaking. "You broke my heart."

He reached out, his hand brushing against her cheek. She could feel him-his warmth, his presence, as real as the storm outside. "I know I hurt you. I never wanted it to end this way. But I came back, just for this moment... to say the goodbye I couldn't before."

She closed her eyes, leaning into his touch, afraid that if she opened them, he would vanish. "It's not fair, Samar. It wasn't supposed to be like this. We were supposed to have a life together... not just memories."

"I know," he whispered. "But some things are beyond us. I did what I had to, and now I've come to say the goodbye you deserve."

She opened her eyes, searching his face, hoping to find some way to hold onto him, to make him stay. "Can't you stay? Even just for a little longer?"

He smiled sadly, his hand slipping from her cheek. "I'm always with you, Dia. I'm in every memory, every thought. But I can't stay. You have to live your life. For both of us."

Her chest tightened, the pain almost unbearable. "I don't know how to do that without you."

"You're stronger than you think," he said softly, his eyes filled with a love that time and death couldn't diminish. "You've always been stronger."

Tears streamed down her face as she realized this was it-the moment she'd dreaded and longed for. The goodbye she never got, and the closure she needed.

"I love you, Samar," she whispered, her voice cracking under the weight of the words.

"I love you too, Dia," he replied, his voice soft and steady. "I always will."

As the thunder rumbled once more, his figure began to fade, slowly dissolving into the storm, like a whisper carried away by the wind.

"Goodbye," she whispered to the empty room, her heart heavy but at peace for the first time in years.

And as the storm raged outside, Dia knew that though Samar was gone, his love would stay with her forever