One

Affliction

I see a woman sitting on a rock by the ocean as I look through the balcony. Her golden brown hair glistened as the sun began to rise.

I tip-toed closer.

Almost touching her, she looks back and I see her again. I can't believe my eyes! It was really her. That beautiful creature I longed for.

I ached for her presence, her touch, her smell, her everything.. I hugged her. I couldn't help myself, I started sobbing as I got a hold of her.

"Andrew, I know you're probably ready to give up, but you can't."

These were the very first words she had said to me after a long time.

"You deserve to be happy."

She hugs back and I hug her tighter.

"Don't let yourself drown in this ice water. Don't let your sadness freeze you in this arctic."

I look her in the eyes and tears fall down. I finally had the guts to say something back to her. "It's hard to be the one always waiting."

I carried her on my back and noticed that she had lost a lot of weight.. Or maybe it's because it had been a long time since I had done that to anyone or this is the very first time after a long long wait.

She sat down the chair as I placed her down. Her tail hasn't changed to human legs.

I remember that moment when I had found her lying on the beach and her tail had changed into legs. It was shocking and unbelievable.

The day that our eyes had first met,  was the most enchanting moment of my life. She was my serendipity. I wasn't looking for her. I wasn't expecting her. But I am really, REALLY lucky to have met her.

I go into the kitchen to look for something to eat and found some canned beans. I guess this will do. I open them and serve it to her. I watch her eat it carefully.

"How are you?" I ask.

"It's been a few days in the kingdom with my father yet I already get a beating from him."

"A few days? What do you mean?" I ask curiously.

"You know, three days ago after I left, I returned right? Then my father starts -"

"Wait, so you think only three days have passed?"

"Yes, it has only been three days!"

"Three days?! I'm already 26 years old! I've waited for you for four years and one month, almost close to proposing to my girlfriend yet here you are, coming back like nothing has happened and saying you've only been gone for three days?!"

She looks at me with a puzzled look, trying to stop her tears from falling.

"I-I'm s-sorry... I didn't know." She stutters and sulks on her seat.

I try to calm myself. I was startled to even yell at her like that.

"I'm sorry for yelling, I'm really stressed and I just missed you a lot. I thought you were never coming back, so I decided to move on..."

Her tears roll down her face. "Bring me back." She whispers.

I carry her on my back and place her by the shore. I give her a kiss on the cheek and she holds my hand.

"You are the strongest person I have ever known. You can hold on for a while longer, I know you can."

I hold her close to me. I never want to let go of her ever. She was my first true love.

"Don't go. I love you. So much, it hurts. I can never deny the way I feel about you and especially the way you make me feel. When I'm around you, it's as if the whole world melts away and what is left is just the two of us. I feel like we are two souls who are lost in the feelings that they experience for each other, and the desire that they share to be together. I never knew what true love felt like until the time I met you and now that I know you, I will never ever let you go away from me. I spent almost a day without you before and it always drives me crazy. I just love you so much that I can't afford to lose you again. I'm usually an independent guy but when I met you, I easily attached myself to you. I want you to know that no amount of words can perfectly describe what I feel for you. I love you so much that I'm risking my life just to talk to you right now. It doesn't matter anymore because I know you're really worth it. You're worth everything. You are terrifying and strange and beautiful, something not everyone knows how to love."

I burst into tears as I said these words to her.

"So that's my truth. It doesn't matter what you think of me. I have always loved you, and only that is the truth." I inhaled and exhaled heavily. I felt her breathe as I held her closer.

She kissed me goodbye and plunged into the ocean. The worst goodbyes are the ones that are never said. I watched her leave once again and disappear from the horizon. This might be the last time I'll ever see her. Ever.