FINAL GOODBYE

 “No! No cheese!” Anna exclaimed when Indie was about to giver her the veggie and cheese burger. It seems weird watching Anna be so health conscious , the girl who used to be a complete food fanatic, is now going gaga only over veggies since she has started dating that gym trainer of her’s.

Indie took a bite of her pizza and exaggerated it by stretching the cheese as far as she could to taunt Anna.

My phone buzzed:

                               1 New Message

It was from Xander:

                                                   Red Garden. At 6.

   

   Christina dropped me there on her way to her mom’s office, as the garden was just a block away from it. We had thought of going window shopping, but all of us were already booked with one or more other plans.

The park seemed different today, as if the trees were trying to stop me from going further in… or maybe it was just me.

I saw him sitting there beneath the pink tree, that stood by the lake, that had turned into an orange color of dusk. He wore the same black jacket that he had worn when I first fell in love with him. That was the most magical day. I used to meet him at the same park where he had been coming with his friends- who were also my friends. I didn’t talk to him much before, but since we started to , I felt like he gave me the happiness that no one else ever could; when I looked into his eyes, they seemed almost transparent- black at the darkest night , grey in the snow, blue like the ocean , as if they were never a stable color. Every time I saw him, my heart skipped a beat- that’s when I realized that I had fallen for him, just like autumn leaves. But, unlike the leaves, my love for him was never going to fade away- it was evergreen.

As I approached him, Xander got up and hugged me. Too tight. “Missed me that much?” I asked him with a mischievous grin and he shrugged giving out a sigh. He did that every time he had something to tell. “What is it?” I asked. “Remember I told you about my dad’s promotion?” he asked and I nodded excitedly. “Well, he’s the Vice President of the company now.”  “ Oh my god! That’s wonderful! “ I said hugging him. But his face didn’t look like it was supposed to. “What? Aren’t you happy?” I asked.

“He – we are going to Indianapolis. They gave him a transfer” he said grasping my hand. I couldn’t breath; all my memories with him flashed in front of my eyes. There were tears collecting at the corners of my eyes.  “When are you leaving?” I asked him breathlessly. He tightened his grip on my hand and said, ”the flight departs in a couple hours. There is a cab waiting outside for me. Mom told me about it this morning and you are the first person I am telling it to.” I wiped a tear that ran down my cheek and said, “ so, I guess keeping up with each other might be getting a tad bit difficult.” “No it won’t, because no matter what, my love for you would never get less”, Xander replied. “So you are going to stay single your entire life?” I asked mischievously trying my best to change the atmosphere. “Not if I find someone prettier than you! And that means yes- perhaps stay single my entire life”, he grinned and pulled me closer. We kissed- perhaps our last one. Ever. He placed his hands on my waist as I put my arms around his neck. We touched our foreheads and stayed like that for minutes; too less to saviour the moment.

I decided to stay at the park for some more time. I saw him in the cab as it drove past me. I didn’t want to go with him all the way to the airport making it much harder for the both of us.

I went back to the same spot under the pink tree and laid down on grass, staring at the clear night sky.

I know that even if I didn’t exist, my love for him is always going to last for an infinite years

-Always and Forever

-Amisha Nakhwa