As Long as We're Together

Prologue

Have you ever experienced that unimaginable pain of losing a loved one? If you have, then I can truly understand how you must have felt then. How could that terrible incident happen? My life changed in the blink of an eye. One moment we were so close, having finally created a new chapter borne out of a young love, about to begin a new life. Together. It had been nothing but bliss and peace. Now she's gone. Gone from my life. Forever. I still remember that fateful day. It was all my fault. Why did we have that stupid argument? Why did I let her go out on her own in the middle of the night? How could those heartless creeps do that to her?
Right now, lying on my empty bed, my mind ponders over these unanswered questions. Maybe it was all a dream; a bad nightmare. I would wake up to find her sleeping peacefully at her side of the bed. However, I knew that it wasn't a dream. I had pinched myself many times to corroborate that fact.

My heart craves for her to come back, and to stay here by my side. It also craves vengeance. Vengeance against those barbaric fools that dared lay their hands on her. But in that moment of hopelessness and despair, sorrow trumped revenge.
I can still picture her by my side. That straight shoulder-length hair and those striking jet-black eyes, that slender body that would fit perfectly into my arms, and those soft lips that would perfectly lock against mine. Everything about her was an epitome of perfection. And I had never felt any luckier to have her in my life. Every single day. With these countless emotions and thoughts flowing in my mind, I drifted off to sleep.

The sunlight was pouring in through the windows when I woke up. I checked my phone. It was a Saturday. I got up, brushed my teeth, and started walking out of my house to welcome the cool air and warmth of the sun. I craved warmth. Only this time something was missing. As I got out the front door, I caught sight of someone watering my garden. It was a woman. She had her back facing towards me. As I walked forward to check on her, I recognized that she looked vaguely familiar. I recognized the hair that swept across her shoulders. She turned around to face me, and I caught sight of her face. And those stark black eyes.
My heart jumped up to my mouth. No way, I thought. It can't be.
My eyes beheld the girl I had lost. I stood transfixed, utterly stupefied at this sudden scene before me.
She smiled and started to walk closer to me, until we stood merely inches apart.
"H-how?" I stammered.
"Hey!" she exclaimed casually, flashing me that familiar brilliance of a smile, cupping my cheek with her hand.
"You were gone," I said, stunned. "That night-"
"I was always here, dear", she replied. "It's alright. I was here all this while."

I couldn't comprehend what had just transpired. I couldn't think clearly at this point. Then, something broke inside me.
The next moment, I was bawling like a baby. I hugged her tight, burying my face in her neck, tears streaming endlessly from my eyes.
"I'm sorry!" I sobbed. "I'm sorry about everything I said!"
"Shh," she said soothingly, as she held me firm, locking her arms around my back, caressing my hair. "It's alright. I'm fine. We're both fine."
She continued, "I could never leave you. As long as we're together."
"As long as we're together," I repeated the line I had said the first time we had confessed our feelings for each other. And then I continued to sob, holding her tight, never letting her go, while she continued to soothe my sorry soul. 

After several moments, I calmed down, and the guilt slowly vanished, giving way to a sudden feeling of extreme euphoria.
I felt as if I had rediscovered something inside of me that had long been lost. I was on cloud nine. We spent the entire day together doing everything we loved. I took her out on a long drive. We watched movies, played the silliest video games, and gorged onto our favorite foods as if there were no tomorrows.

It was 11 p.m. in the night. We were taking a romantic walk back home, holding hands as we ambled along. Today was truly an extraordinary day. It was just then I realized how fortunate I was to have a girl like her in my life. It was as if destiny had given me a second chance. I promised myself never to lose her again. And to fulfill that promise, I decided to finally ask her the million-dollar question.
"Hey," I said to her.
"Yeah?" she asked.
I got down on one knee. She gasped in exultation, covering her mouth with both hands, her eyes getting teary. I took out a little box from my pocket and presented before her. Time had come to a standstill.
I smiled, "What do you say?"
Her face was streaming with tears.
"I can't", she replied sadly.
My eyes suddenly opened and I sat up on my bed.
It was 4 a.m. in the morning. And that was the most beautiful dream, yet the most horrible nightmare I had ever had.

It took me a while before I realized everything. And I suddenly felt emotionless. A cold feeling of desolation washed over my soul, one that I had never encountered before, looming over with such incredible severity as it colonized my entire spirit. I realized that I had to accept the fact that she was gone. She can never return. Because even though you have the capability to change the future, you can never change the past. The fundamentals of science would never allow that. I could have quite easily altered the chain of events at that moment. I could have prevented her death. But I had failed. Miserably. My punishment was to live the rest of my life without her. The problem was that I didn't want to live my life without her. My entire life had once meant nothing until she had arrived and changed everything. I owed her that. She was the one who'd stayed by my side when everybody else had turned their backs on me. With her gone forever, I just couldn't step back into my old life. She had taken a chunk of me with her. I started thinking of a solution.

Finally, I knew what I had to do.

Dawn was slowly breaking out. I had never been to this place before. The view from up here was great. Spectacular. I got up, walked to the edge of the top of the fifteen-storeyed building, and marveled at the landscape. It was so beautiful. Just like her. I looked down.
"As long as we're together," I said.
Then, I jumped.