It hurt. It hurt to even think about it. They say that if a story doesn't have a happy ending, it isn't the end. I refuse to believe that. The fates forced me to not believe it.
Promises; what are they really? In dictionaries, a promise is a declaration by someone to do or to not do something. But I believe that promises are mere words, just waiting to be broken. Be it a promise to keep a secret or to love someone forever; they are all not meant to be withheld. After all, the Almighty God couldn't stop himself from breaking a promise either. We were all promised soulmates, weren't we? Some of them live with us, some of them get stumped by life itself, and some of them don't live with us inspite of being in the same planet as us.
The stars above me reminded me of her. The air around me smelled of her. The flowers around me when blown by the wind looked just as alive as her when she smiled. My hands; how they once used to grasp every inch of her body are now struggling to hold on to life.
*
Flashback:
"Do you love me?" I asked, laying my hand on her face and tracing my thumb along her cheekbone.
She sighed. "My older sister loved a man once. Fought with my family and got them to agree to marrying him. And she did. Only to have him start abusing her a month after their marriage. She left and came back. Ever since then, my dad has been against love."
I kissed her nose and smiled. "You talk so much. I only asked you a simple question and you gave me a huge lecture. Do you love me?"
She turned away from me and tucked the blanket under her chin. "Let's sleep."
Wrapping my arm around her, I kissed her neck. "I love you, Krystal."
*
Krystal. That was her name. It suited her so god damn perfectly. She always shone light in places that were in need of it, dark, and void within. Places like my heart, my soul, my whole self. She was like that ray of sunlight that pierced through dark stormy clouds, and made one wonder if there was a sight more beautiful than that. She was... she was like a bird: a bird that soared higher and higher into the sky, not fearing what the huge blue pool of clouds had in store for her.
I dragged another puff of my ciggerate as I waited. It's all I seemed to be doing lately; waiting. Waiting for her to come back, waiting for her to realise what she is about to get herself into and come running back to me. Waiting waiting waiting.
I crushed the ciggerate with my foot and looked at the card in my hand.
'Krystal Guirrero weds Michael Waters.'
Pulling out the lighter from my back pocket, I set the card ablaze. I watched it burn as tears made their way down my cheeks, one by one.
