A Forced Farewell

I watched as tears gently streamed from her deep blue eyes; they glistened as they rose to meet mine. They shined in the glow of the jewelry store. I softly reached out to hold her delicate body. My hand on her curved waist pulled her closer to me. My love waited for me to comfort her inner wound but mine was just as gashed. I leaned forward and laid my head against her face. Her tears ran down from her eyes onto my cheeks and gave the impression I was crying together with her. I couldn't make those salty drops of emotion stop their flow. She pulled away from me and looked up with hope. A whisper drew from her perfectly pink lips, "Why is this happening to me?" I looked down at the dark carpet in shame, my hands shaking, I could only reply back, "I'll always love you."

She was about to leave my life unwillingly. A boarding school in a foreign place was now inscribed in her destiny. Her flight was leaving that evening and there was nowhere to run. Destiny was tugging my lover and best friend away from me and I was unable to tug back. I had only moments to savor and short lasting memories to preserve. I had to give her a gift from my soul, a present that she could care for and cherish even when I am gone from her life.

A ring is supposed to unite two lovers; a bond forever remembered in diamonds, but this was a ring that would only remind her of the pain and suffering of our last few hours together. We walked together in darkened silence as each magnificent ring tried to outshine our sorrows through it's glass casing. Hand in hand in a cold sweat, we felt like we were marching to our early deaths. My heart pounded as I desperately paced my eyes back and forth to find a ring that would express what I didn't have left inside myself to articulate. A low shimmer struck the corner of my eye. My heart steadied to a constant thump and I turned my head with a placid, half conceived grin and matched my eyes with hers. "I found the perfect ring." She smiled only to release a heavier flow of tears.

It was a gorgeous gold band that shined even when the light didn't reach it. The top formed a heart, linked together in tiny glistening diamonds. She had stopped her tears after an eternity of misery and let go a pure, untouched smile. I tapped on the glass, "This is it, and it was made to be on your finger."

An older gentleman in a black suit and tie shadowed us around the jewelry store. He approached us with a white smile full of money and pleasantly asked, "Do you two need any help?" I peeked at my girlfriend, who was now in awe at the discovery of this ring and then looked back at the aged man and thought thoroughly about what he had just asked me. His standard question only had one answer I could think of, "If only you could help us." Unaware of the ingrained hidden message, he continued towards our decision. Bright eyed, he explained to us the details and materials in this ring. After his selling points, he asked casually, "Would you care to know how much this costs?" A smile appeared from deep within my soul that grasped onto others around me. "No, the price doesn't matter to me right now." The withered salesman gulped confusingly at this response and walked me over to the register. Arms leaped around my neck. My girlfriend kissed me with her now swollen lips and I prayed that this was all a dream, some horrible excuse for a prank. She backed away with her soft arms still around me. I felt that if she let go, she might fly away at that very moment. In a cracked, gentle voice, "What will I ever do without you? How will I live without you holding me?" I kissed those thick, swollen from crying lips, unable to generate an answer. This wasn't a dream; it was the horrible pain of reality.

The drive back to her house was filled with music, there was a CD playing an assortment of all of the songs that meant something dear to us over our two years together. With each lyric she would cry harder, Her head buried in my chest. I crept along the grey cement of Glades Road as cars honked on either side of me. I remained in shock, unable to conceive what was about to happen to my life. I held her and prayed that I would see her again. Her tears out played the music and I sat there in a half-conscious state. She cried out, "Don't leave me! Please! I love you!" Destiny had finally caught up to us. The ring glimmered on her finger with a saddened core. "I wish I could keep you with me forever," I told her that, but what I didn't know was that I was going to keep her with me and I was going to be with her. She would be kept in a warm, caring section of my heart and I would stay with her in her ring and deep within her soul.

We parked In front of her gloomy home. The sun showed only darkness in our eyes. With the music off, we studied each other for the last time. "I love you, and I promise you baby, I will never forget you." She could no longer speak. I cradled her in my arms until destiny tapped her and told her it was her time. She could barely make out the words, "I'll… al..ways… lo..ve… you." She opened the door with nervous fingers. I watched her walking up her driveway. When she was long gone from my car I drove down the road.

Something inside of me died. The car stopped on the side of the road. My eyes only focused on the empty seat next to me. I was alone. No tears could form in my eyes because all that was inside of me was emptiness. Day turned to night and I started my car again. I drove down the familiar streets of her neighborhood knowing these would seem foreign in days to come. Life is cruel to those that love it. Life is unsympathetic and it will trample you if you take too much time to move forward. The bond we once shared will die with the strands of time, but that ring that united us together for our last few hours will live forever on her beautiful finger.