Hard To Say Goodbye

                I stared down at the gold-framed picture in my hands, barely remembering where I was, oblivious to my surroundings. It was a black and white picture taken a long time ago of two people, a man and a woman sitting on a green couch with their arms tightly wrapped around each other. I slowly realized that this sensual picture was the one my friend had taken of my boyfriend and I the day of our one-year anniversary. He was holding a cupcake with one lit candle in his hand and staring back at me with loving eyes.

                How I longed to feel his tender arms around me once again, his sweet kisses penetrating my lips. But he was gone now, and I had to face the reality of it. My eyelids closed as a single tear fell from my eye, down my cheek, and hit the floor making a tiny splash.

                I imagined myself in another place at another time, a time when we were together at the beach. The sun was slowly setting for the night making the sky a beautiful shade of pink while the waves rolled quietly onto shore. He held my hand in his delicate fingers as his ice blue eyes stared into mine peering deep down into my soul, making it burn like a blazing fire. His other hand came up to the side of my face and gently brushed against my cheek. I let go of his hand and wrapped my arms around his neck, breathing in the scent of his cologne. I could still remember to this day how it smelled. It was sweet with the hint of strawberry.

                More tears dripped down my face as I set the picture back on the mantle above the fireplace in my apartment. I was completely alone without him to hold me close and whisper sweet nothings into my ear. I wished I could hear his soft, sweet voice once more, and see his eyes stare into mine with a burning passion. But he was gone, taken by the hands of God and into the heavens where he now sleeps with the angels.

                “I wish you were here with me,” I softly whispered, shifting my gaze out the window into the dark night. Millions of tiny stars dotted the sky, shimmering endlessly. It lessened my pain, making it easier for me to sleep at night.

                I knew he was looking down upon me, making sure that I was all right. I knew he’d always be there, his eyes peering through the heavens, waiting for the day that I’d join his once again. I yearned for that day to come quickly so I could feel his sweet embrace once more, and have his sweet lips kissing my cheeks, easing my pain.

                “Come back to me!” I suddenly screamed as if I thought he’d somehow hear me and grant my wish. My head dropped into my hands as a stream of endless tears poured from my eyes. “Please come back to me,” I softly said again.