The Worst Goodbye

    Some writing from a while back that I ran across today...hopefully it will find its way into a book eventually...

    The day finally came. The day that every other one seemed to revolve around, to be tinted by, as if it were the centerpiece of a watercolor painting. The rain tumbled over my umbrella, hitting the ground in a soft, gentle pattern, like the heartbeat of the earth. 

     Even with the downpour, the air seemed much too warm; the leaves on the trees too bright. His shadow walked among us, the wind whispered his laughter in the distance. He was gone, but he was there. I could still feel him beside me. I felt the raindrops covering my hair, my eyes, my lips. I savored their bittersweet taste. 

     “What if,” the past whispered, the words going off like a gunshot in my mind. The tombstone sat like a shadowed angel; the thunder rolled just beyond me. I shivered at its power. I closed my eyes and felt the familiar ache, one closer to me than my own breath.

'The worst goodbye is the one that’s never said,' I thought, as the twilight turned to black.