In the Summer.

It was a nice place to die that day.

The trees were fragrant and green, not yet corrupted by autumn's decay or the steely touch of time. Dew droplets were still left over from a light summer rain. The sky was pale blue, and clear as glass.

Down the block a cat stalked something in the grass, Its tail stuck straight up and it's ears tightly hugged the base of its head. It spared a quick glance back at me, as if sensing I was watching it, and trotted away.

A bee clung to a grouping of flowers. Flitting around to explore them for pollen, and then moving on to the next.

A few feet away, a sticky pink puddle had crystalized on the pavement, from an ice cream cone I'd abandoned to melt under the sun.

How long had it been since I'd trusted someone?

How long since I had laughed at the carnival down the road? Or sat legs touching, by the pier? How long had it been since I'd interlocked hands with another, as I walked in the park? How long had it been since I'd rolled around in the grass? And figured that my search was over?

"We could be together, babe.

As long as skies are blue".

A song that had played on the radio incessantly at first— and then not enough.

I looked up at the sky—

A sky that was still big, still blue...

The phone in my hand felt like a ton of bricks. My shoulders were tight, yet they wanted to drop.

"You act so innocent now, but you lied so soon".

How long had it been since I learned that all of it was a lie? Since I saw the caress on another's cheek, the arms that had held me through the storm, wrapped around another's shoulders? Heard the whispered promises that were once told to me, whispered to another?

The phone clutched within my hand so tight, I feel like It'll break apart.

I want to scream, to shout into it... but I remain silent.

How could I let those words tear my heart to pieces?

Just how long had it been since I'd trusted someone?

And how long would it be, till I did again?