Memory Lane (Short Story)

Dusk was already creeping into the sky. I was on my way home- well at least I WAS, but here I am standing, at the intersection of two divided paths: home and the unknown. Honestly I would rather go home. It was familiar and comforting, but today comfort isn't enough for me, I needed closure. It was time...I think I'm finally ready. I threw caution to the wind, jumped over the fallen branches and for the first time in a long time, I set foot on memory lane.

I walked a bit until the forest fell away and the dirt path became a road that led uphill. As I continued on, the silhouette of the church came into view followed by a sign that read 'warning'. This was where I met you. This was the beginning of the end.

When i met you, it was your charm that caught my eye. Then again, there were countless beautiful jerks in this world. I wasn't convinced. However, the moment you spoke, I saw something no other guy has ever shown me, the truth. The things u said seem to come from the unspoken corner of my mind. We were so similar yet so different . We complemented each other like two interlocking puzzle pieces.

I turned away and continued on, uphill . The memories tugged at me but I refused to turn. If I do, I would not be able to complete this journey. Shops appeared. Rows upon rows of them, lining either side of the road. They came in all shapes and sizes but they had one thing in common. They contained our memories, the moments we stole from time -The blue cafe (do you remember it was our favourite ), the museum (do you remember the day where we had our first kiss) your dad's little barber shop (do you remember all the times we spent there after school? Sometimes I still visit him to talk about you). Do you even remember him? Do you remember all the moments we shared? Of course not, you left it all behind the moment you walked out my life.

I was so lost in our memories, so overwhelmed by nostalgia I didn't realise that the seeming endless row of shops had ended and I had reached the top of the hill . It was the top of our world. This was the highest point of our relationship. Full of passion, hopes and dreams. Even though this high felt like it could last forever, I knew it wouldn't. It was the calm before the storm. Across the horizon, the last rays of sun light stretched across the sky. Streaking it in bright, brilliant hues.

Next came the fall. In our deluded dreams we were blind. We failed to realise we were walking off the edge of a cliff. I remember the helpless terror of my face mirrored in your eyes when I heard the news. The quarrels were the first to come. You couldn't handle it and cracked. Harsh words were thrown. They made me realise how flawed our relationship really was, how fragile love is. I'm not going to give up, you were pillar, now it's time to return the favour. I thought by holding you up, I would be strong enough to support you until you were ready to stand on your own. It hit me then, how helpless I was. U kept reassuring me that you would fight on, to stay with me. You were brave, so full of encouraging words, but even love could not stop the inevitable. You left anyway. Eventually I came to a stop at the bottom of the hill. You took a piece of my heart when u left me. Wounds heal with time, scars don't. You said your goodbyes but I couldn't bring myself to say mine. Oh how much I regret it.

This is the end of OUR journey, but not mine. Having come this far, I may as well go all out. Pushing past the outgrown braches, I continued on, into the ever narrowing dirt path. As I passed a series of red signs that warned 'dead end', the trees thinned out, revealing an abandon playground. The days we spent here were my most precious memories. As I took my seat on the rusty swing, I was suddenly overwhelmed by the reality that I was in love with a place long forgotten by time , nostalgic for memories with no longer mine and yearning for a person who no longer exist. This place used to be so alive, so full of the laughter of children but now it has been reduced to a ghost town. The sky was now pitch black and as I got up, I looked back for one last time. Memory lane started to fade into ashes. The shadow of your ghost stood on the edge of darkness. A mirage of happiness and the joyous times I've longed so badly for . I wanted to run back into your arms , but instead I held my ground, my lips whispered goodbye as you disappeared along with memory lane. Everything we've ever shared and experienced was gone. Forever.

Even though we were flawed, our love was perfect . You showed me forever in the little time that we had and I wouldn't change it for the world. I'm calm now as I reached for the gate, my house came into view, waiting quietly for me on the other side. As I took my first steps to a new tomorrow, I realize that the way we parted wasn't as tragic as I had made it out to be. Even if death didn't steal you away ,our love would eventually be tarnished by time . Nothing gold can ever last in this world.