Good-Bye (Prose)

There once existed two lovers in the world, whose happiness was mutually shared. They not only did everything together because they could, but also because they wanted to. If there was a definition of true love, or if the existence of absolute purity in a relationship existed, then these two had obtained it. All throughout their lives they had depended on one another, and it seems as if the years passed by like water down a gentle stream. But one day, Change overcame them, as it does all things in the universe. This is the day that neither of the two will ever forget. This is the day, that they were forced to say Good-Bye.

At the beginning of their journey, the two examined their surroundings. Ahead of them lay two paths. At first they appear parellel, but upon careful examination they realize that they are indeed - ever so slightly - sloped away from each other. They turn around, and suspended in mid-air, like majestic clouds, are any and every action done together, every loving moment that they shared, and every possible living aspect of joy that the two shared in each other's company. Seemingly from nowhere, the two stare at one another, and their feet begin to move, on their own will, down the path, away from their loving memories.

At first the two are unaware of the purpose of the path's construction. They walk slightly frightened, holding on to each other with both arms, taking comfort in clutching arms, and the closeness of beating hearts pressed against each other. Soon it becomes a chore to remain clutched so closely, so they instead opt to hold hands. The hands pressed tightly together generate a warmth, and it is at this time that they realize their bodies are extremely cold. Reality begins to bite at their minds and their hearts. This path is going to lead them apart, one agonizing and painful step at a time.

Tears begin to fall like snow on the North Pole. A torrential downpour soaks the land beneath them, but they are always crying on dry land, for they never cease to stop moving. The force that moves them is unknown, and why it is forcing them apart is a mystery. Oh!, such despair is now sinking in on their poor hearts. Their only love - their only life - their only REASON for being alive, is being slowly pried from their reach. They remain silent, aware that even the sound of the other's voice at this point could cause a soul to shatter, knowing that it would be the last time they could ever hear it. Still, they march on, towards forever.

Onward their autonomic legs carry them, until soon the only part of their bodies that they are able to touch together is their fingertips. The force here grants them a slight reprieve, and allows them both to for one final time, cherish the touch that they have for so long given to one another. They stand gazing in to each other's eyes, a wild mixture of love, despair, regret, and most of all loss. With an almost imperceptible push, the force begins its unrelenting plow once again, and their fingertips part ever so slightly, yet enough to separate them. The heartbreak reaches its zenith, and neither of them, to this day, can quite remember how they refused from dieing at that very moment. Still, they continued to walk, gazing at each other for as long as they could.

Soon they became no bigger than a thumb placed against a landscape. Shortly thereafter, they existed as nothing but small dark specks on the horizon. Slowly their shapes became distorted, and eventually were - in a way - almost painted in to the blue sky as it met the ground. At the moment where neither of the two could distinguish the moving figure from the shimmering waves of heat, they both spoke for the first time in what had seemed to them an eternity. I am not quite sure exactly what higher power, or greater force, could allow for such a miracle, but at the exact same time, they both parted their lips, and almost whispering, uttered the words "Good-Bye" to one another. They both knew that they would never again feel the touch, hear the words, or see the body and heart of the other. Where this strange path led, neither was quite sure. Perhaps no one is quite sure, where the path leads.