Two dead roses.

The Departure.

"Hey, are you up? We have to be at the station in another one and a half hour", my sister Stacy called out.

"Yep. Will be down there in 15" I tell her. 

I hear her retreating downstairs towards the living room and sigh. It was today. All this while I had been preparing myself for the emotional wreck I was not supposed to be, but it will be safe to say, I failed. I already had tears in my eyes and a lump in my throat.

I got up to go and look out the window. There stood the red mansion half of my life had been spent playing in. I noticed two cars parked right outside the door with people loading their luggage in them. A small, lean frame walked outside and I immediately recognized her.

Rose.

Even from this distance, I could clearly see her auburn wavy locks hanging down her shoulders and past her waist. She was holding a bag and was patiently waiting for her turn to put her baggage in the car. One could almost tell she was exhausted already. 

I turned around with a heavy heart to get dressed. Walking down the stairs, all I could think about was what I will say to her. If you knew the person you love the most was leaving, what would you say to make them stay? But she couldn't stay. She had no choice. And I felt helpless.

I sat down at the dinner table. Ate in silence while my mom and sister rambled on about how unfortunate it was that Rose was leaving today. I didn't have anything to add so I just finished my breakfast and went up back to my room to get ready for the day.

-----------------------------------------

About an hour after I went up to my room to get ready, I heard the doorbell. I could distantly hear my mom walking up to the door and opening it.

 " We're leaving in about 5 minutes. Are you coming, Mrs Brown?" I heard a familiar voice. How could I ever forget a voice that different? Rose's voice had become hoarse day by day after she almost lost it singing a high note for her solo performance at the school annual programme. She had strained her vocal cords rehearsing and at the time of her performance, her voice almost gave out. The doctors said it will only get worse with time. A voice once so sweet now broke and sounded harsh even from a distance. 

"Oh, darling! We'll be right behind your car. I'm sure Rosamund will be down here any second. Then we're all set", replied my mother. 

And then, I heard her leave as the door closed behind her.  

I sat down on the side on my bed looking at the all the pictures that covered my board. Pictures of me and Rose. Pictures of me. Pictures of Rose. Pictures of Rose and my sister, Stacy. And for the first time ever, I noticed that almost all of them had Rose. 

I took one last look in the mirror. My eyes looked very tired. My hair was just wildly falling over my shoulders. Turning around, I start walking towards my door. I locked my door and walked down towards my family. Dad was standing in the stairway, and he looked as though he was about to call out to me. Walking past him, I went straight towards the entrance door and waited in the driveway. Dad, Mom and Stacy emerged a minute later as dad unlocked the car. I got in with my family. The familiar black Volkswagen was waiting a few metres ahead, with the engine already running.

Most of the drive towards the train station was absolute silence. No one tried to make conversation with me. No one tried to comfort me. And I was glad they didn't.

 The walk towards the platform was rather slow. I remember it in blur and pieces. But what I do remember clearly was that Rose wasn't near me. Instead, she was walking many steps ahead, as if trying to avoid the wreck that we carried in our hearts. 

The next thing I remember was the train chugging to a halt. Both the families gathered near the train doors to say our last goodbyes. My mom and Mrs Smith hugged each other. Stacy was hugging Rose. 

"I'll miss you", Stace said. In return, Rose just managed to force a weak smile on her face. All these years I had been with her,  and not once had I seen her smile this way. The smile was too sad to be called a smile. But of course, no one noticed. No one except me.

Mrs Smith climbed onto the train. Rose was following her lead. I had to do something. I had to say something. She couldn't just leave without speaking a single word to me. I knew we were both hurting but this wasn't supposed to be the end of our friendship. I rushed towards her.

"Rose!" I yelled over the noises on the platform. She slowly turned towards me. 

"Will you be back soon?" 

"I promise", Rose said as she climbed on the train and waved her last goodbye.

With a heavy heart, I waved back. Tears forced themselves out of my eyes now. I couldn't hold back anymore. This was just a best friend leaving another. This was way beyond any relationship that words could define.

The train started to move away from the platform, towards the destination. I could no longer see Rose. I could no longer remember what it felt like to hug her. I could no longer remember the thrill we felt when we sneaked out. I could no longer remember her smiling as we ran in the garden as little girls. I could no longer remember what her hair felt like when I braided it. I could no longer remember anything happy from my life.

And just like that, I saw her leave. For the second time in a day.