Tidefall's Song

Part IX | Glad Tidings

"Never meant to break your heart
Sometimes things just fall apart
So here's one night to make it right."

-'One Last Dance', R5.

• • •

Sarah was nearly thirty minutes late.

She looked at me, apology evident in her eyes. "Have you been here for a long time already?"

I shook my head. "Not really," I lied.

She took her seat beside me on one of the benches in the park. Somehow, she looked pale. Was she sick?

"Are you sick?" I asked, voicing out my thoughts.

She let out a laugh, looking away from me towards the sky. "No, I'm not. I've always been pale."

I nodded slowly. "Okay. Anyway, I need to ask you something."

She smirked. "Wow, so straightforward."

My lips curled up into a smile. "I really need to ask you about it."

She turned her gaze back at me. "Go on."

I watched her carefully as I carefully arranged the words I wanted to use.

"Why did you leave Ivan?" There it went.

Sarah quirked an eyebrow at me before a small smile crept on her face. "He told you, huh?" she asked, to which I nodded.

A sigh came from her. "You can't choose who you fall in love with because before you know it, you just do. Ever heard of Pink?"

"The singer? What about her?" I asked.

"There are these words in one of her song: 'Where there is desire, there is gonna be a flame. Where there is a flame, someone's bound to get burned.' Ivan's a great guy, but like I said, you can't choose who you fall in love with. In the midst of our relationship, I met this amazing guy named Ryan and along the way, I fell in love with him."

"I knew I was walking on dangerous territory at that moment, but what can I do? I knew it's unfair for Ivan, but he'll find a better person than I am one day. I hope he has moved on."

She gave me a bittersweet smile. How am I supposed to respond to that now?

"So that's why you left him? Do you even take his feelings into account?" I asked.

"Yes, and yes, I did. You know, my sense of guilt is still there, even until today." she said.

"You can't choose who you fall in love with, huh?" I said.

She nodded. "You can't. Don't get me wrong, Ivan made me happy but Ryan made me happier and he understood me in far too many ways."

"Ryan is that amazing, huh?" I asked.

"Yes, he was," she said slowly.

"Was?" I asked.

"He died a year ago," she said.

"I'm sorry," I apologized.

"It's okay," she said, lifting her gaze up into the sky with a sad smile on her face. "At least, he died peacefully, surrounded by the people he loved."

• • •

'Twas raining outside, and I've just finished scrolling through my feeds. Setting my phone aside on the table, I stared at the ceiling. My mind wasn't empty - in fact, there was a war going on in my head as my mind drifted towards the conversations I had yesterday and today.