The Love She Lost

How Memories Burn

  Stepping over the faded caution tape, Nina crossed the threshold of her once lively home. To her, everything had changed, yet little things remained the same. The little dent in the, now charred, wooden floor near the entrance remained from when she dropped an old bowling ball.

  "Are you sure you want to buy that?" Jackson asked. It was sitting outside at a garage sale, a sticky note with three dollars scrawled on it, was hanging on loosely. Nina had bought it swiftly, insisting to her boyfriend that it would look cool in their already cluttered living room. "As long as you're paying, it's fine with me."

  She traced her fingers along the dent, smiling sadly, remembering the long-lost memory. Her eyes drifted towards the living room, admiring how everything was in the same spot from the night she left. Resting her hand on the once white couch, now burned black, Nina sighed.

  "Hey Nina, what about this one?" Jackson called out, pointing at a brand new white, four-seat couch. Nina strolled over and examined the furniture like it were a work of art. After a moment, she nodded her approval and high-fived Jackson. "Knew you'd like it!"

  Continuing through the house, Nina experienced similar long forgotten, yet unforgettable memories that her old home still held. The memories she made dancing at 2:00 am, singing in the shower while Jackson complained, and snuggling on the couch, sharing a blanket. So much emotion at one time brought the young women to tears, but she let them fall, knowing they were long overdue.

  "Happy anniversary, Nina, I'm happy to say that five years ago marked out fateful meeting and one year after I started dating the most beautiful girl in the world. I love you so much." Jackson kissed Nina on the cheek before producing a small, wooden heart-shaped box. "This is for you, open it tomorrow morning, okay?"

  Nina opened her eyes, trying to leave that tragic memory before her emotions became unstoppable. She wiped away the warm tears on her sleeves and continued upstairs. They creaked under her boots, worn from age, as the smell of burned wood followed her as she emerged on the second floor. When she still lived here, not a day that went by that regretted getting two floors. Until now, when the idea of stairs being in her house made her skin crawl.

  "So you're sure it absolutely has to have stairs, right?" Jackson took a long sip of his luke-warm coffee, reviewing the different housing options him and Nina picked out. She rolled her eyes and confirmed for the sixth time that day that yes, she absolutely wanted stairs. "Alrighty, guess I'll remove all the one-story houses from the list."

  Anyone looking at the house now would never have guessed that walls were once a soft blue, hand-painted by the couple when they first moved in. They might guess gray, dark green, or black, but Nina could see the blue walls in her mind. She brought her hand up to the wall and slid it along as she walked. Her palm was instantly covered in black ash, staining her skin.

  "Hey babe, look at me for a second." Nina removed her blue-dyed paintbrush off the wall and looked at Jackson, who immediately flicked his own paintbrush at her. She gasped as her perfectly clean apron became polka dotted with blue streaks. In retaliation, she fired a paint attack against him, creating a paint war. "I'm sorry, I surrender, just don't get the hair or face!"

  Barely hanging on its hinges, the bedroom door creaked open, as Nina pushed her way through. This was the last room she had been in before everything went up in smoke, the last room she had seen Jackson in. Many thoughts she had that night flooded back into her mind, pounding her with guilt and sorrow.

  "Guess what? I'm finally using that candle you got me for Christmas, isn't that cool?" Jackson placed the candle on his nightstand and lit it with the lighter they kept in the kitchen for emergencies. The room was instantly flooded with the warm scent of spiced apples and pure cinnamon. "Isn't this the perfect way to end our anniversary? Well, I suppose it won't officially end until you open up your box."

  Nina shook her thoughts away, refusing to let herself remember them, at least she didn't want a reminder of what happened only several months ago. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted something resting on her nightstand. While both the object and the small table was burned and blackened, she already knew what it was. She grabbed the object in her hands, attempting to dust off as much ash as she could, hoping to see even a glimpse of the once beautiful box.

  "I know we've been going out for about a year now, and I believe it's time I ask you if you want to move in with me." Jackson's words struck Nina like a lightning bolt, sending a shiver of excitement down her spine. She had longed for these words for a while now, and couldn't think of anything to say other than yes. "Nina Lye, thank you for letting me live with the most beautiful girl in the world."

  Carefully Nina lifted the burnt lid, revealing a slightly burned piece of paper and a ring. Her eyes threatened to water at seeing the ring, then she started to open the paper, which was titled, For the love of My Life. While the edges were burned, taking a few words with it, the paper contained a letter to Nina, asking her if she would marry him. The letter itself was cheesy in some parts, yet it was the thought that went into the writing that made Nina's heartache.

"Nina, you need to leave the house now!" Jackson called out, he was trapped underneath some fallen debris from the stairs. Nina didn't move, her tears felt cool in comparison to the flames around her, she didn't want to leave him alone. He yelled at her again, begging her to leave him behind, insisting that the fire department would rescue him. She didn't believe him for a moment but reluctantly did what he asked. "I will always love, remember that."

After slipping on the ring, Nina clutched the paper close to her heart, trying anything to be close with Jackson once more. She composed herself after a moment, taking the box with her and leaving the house for the final time. It felt bittersweet, too many memories came back for this to be happy. Yet, seeing the box, even if it wasn't filled with chocolate and loving thoughts, Nina felt closer than ever to the love she lost in the fire.

~{Word Count:1130}~

Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed reading my story, or at least it wasn't that bad :p If you wanted to know exactly what the letter said, and haven't noticed the picture look up at the top, then you should take a look  :) Bye!