Winter, was it?

S E V E N T E E N

The last time I saw Winter was on a particularly rainy day at a cafe.

We were talking—well I guess it was more like me talking at her. It felt like she wasn't even there.

At some point during our 'conversation,' recognition flashed in her eyes and she backed out of her chair so abruptly it thudded onto the floor. She left the cafe chasing after something or someone.

She was about to run into the oncoming traffic she failed to notice when I pulled her back to the sidewalk in the nick of time.

"Winter, what the hell are you doing!"

"No, what are you doing! Let go of me! I—I saw her, Autumn!"

"Stop it, Winter. You didn't see her. What you saw was an illusion you made yourself. Can't you see? She's never coming back!"

"No, you don't know that. She wouldn't do that to me. She's coming back! I know she will!"

I really pitied her then.

"Winter...She left without leaving you any way to contact her and no hint as to where she was going."

"I know!" Then in a softer voice—a voice barely audible—she said, "But I saw it in her eyes...they told me she wanted to come back."

We were silent for a while, until I asked her,

"That's it? How long has it been, Winter? Even if she did want to come back to you, she couldn't have expected you to keep waiting for her."

"I would've." Her eyes glossed over and I watched her resolve diminish from them.

She looked at me one last time with a blank expression that I couldn't decipher.

A letter had arrived for me the following day. It read:

           Autumn, I'm sorry for scaring you yesterday, but you don't need to worry about me anymore. I couldn't wait for her any longer. I have decided to leave this place and go look for her. I'm going to miss you. Thank you for being such a loving and caring friend. I hope you know that you're irreplaceable.

Love,______
Winter