Imperfect Pieces

15. little blue boxes

It was raining that day too.

Not the light kind that tickled you pleasantly as it left little crystal droplets of water in the palm of your hand. No, it was the pouring, thundering kind. The kind that left you feeling soaked from head to toe and that left a chill in your bones that only a mug of hot cocoa could cure. Today, it was pouring once again. While most people would be curled up at home watching movies on a day like this, a determined old man wheezed as he trudged down the street, his black umbrella not doing much to protect his feeble body.

He slowly made his way to the house at the end of the street, pausing to rest when he was out of breath. At last he arrived at the foot of the mansion- or at least what was left of it. The rusty gates screeched as he pushed through, gazing at what was once the most beautiful house in all of Venecia. Not much was left. It had suffered quite badly from a terrible fire a couple years back. The police had tried to convince the old man to tear down the house and build a new one or sell it, but he was adamant about keeping it the way it is.

He stepped carefully into the house, coughing as some leftover debris flew up to greet him. At once he was hit by the memories, threatening to choke him. If he closed his eyes tightly enough he could see a warm fire over there on the side of the wall. It crackled invitingly on rainy days like this, licking the edges of bricks. There was a long leather sofa over there, right in the center of the room. A table. Some paintings along the wall. A beautiful window, through which the city seemed to be washed away by the rain.

And laughter. It filled the room with warmth, warmer than the fire. Brown eyes, with flecks of gold. Her voice, like a song of some sort, so sweet and comforting. She was sitting on the sofa daintily, smiling that beautiful smile of hers.

She didn't notice that he was preparing to get down on his knee, clutching a little box wrapped in blue. All she did was stare at the door in anticipation with those shining eyes. Just as he finally mustered up the courage and faced his fears, the door opened only to reveal his best friend. She squealed and catapulted herself into his arms. He smiled back at her, kissing those pink lips. Turning to him in anticipation, she shifted on her feet nervously but was still unable to stop the smile from breaking across her face.

"Ned, we're engaged. He asked me last night, can you believe it? It was so romantic. Flowers, chocolate, all that good stuff you know. Anyways, we haven't set a date yet but-"

He couldn't hear what she was saying. The blood was pounding in his ears and he could feel the pain. It was a thousand times worse than when he fell off his bike and had to get 20 stitches. He couldn't think, he couldn't speak. All he could do was focus on breathing and hide the box behind his trembling back.

"-hoping you could be the best man. There's no one else we love more, and we really want you to be up there with us. What do you say? Ned?"

He was stupid back then. Didn't even notice that his two best friends were in love and that one of them had a gleaming stone on her finger. So he did the only thing he could do at the time. Smile weakly and nod in agreement, despite the pain that was still attacking every inch of his body.

Years later, now, that same foolish man searched the charred floor for the loose board. He pried it open with some difficulty and found it. That little box wrapped in blue. The whole house was black and crumbling down. But on that rainy day, an old man stood in an empty house with a ring in his hand. He sighed and slowly walked out of the house, closing the door behind him, with broken promises and empty wishes trapped in the little blue box.

The rain continued to pour.

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a/n: this still needs editing but i just wanted to get it out.

school is starting on monday for me, high school. and i just got home today, so i still have jetlag. basically i hope i won't die hahahaha wish me luck guys