End

They stand stunned for a second until the reality of the moment becomes apparently clear; he's speechless and frozen, she's holding back a tear.

She grabs onto her boy, squeezes him hard so his chest presses against her face, anxiously awaiting his strong arms to hold tightly around her waist. On the verge of tears, elated and babbling incoherently, she gives her nose a sniff and looks up at him when she realises he isn't hugging back, but standing there stiff. She takes a step back and gives him a quizzical look, he's staring down at the ground and fidgeting with his book. Gathering her thoughts she knows exactly what she wants to say, she's confident that fate has brought them together again today.

-- I'm sorry for how I acted before and how I treated you. I was confused by my feelings and didn't know what to do. I've spent a long time thinking and I know how I feel and it's exactly like you do. Everything will be better, it'll all be okay, we can be happy and we can be together now, just me and you. Nothing will stop us or get in our way, nothing can bring us down or ever tear us apart. It took me a while to realise what you had already known from the start. We can begin again, right here and now and forget about the past. I have all of my heart to offer and the love I have for you is a love that will forever last.

He stands for a minute, absorbing this emotional speech. Words he could never imagine coming from her mouth had suddenly touched his ears in a teary torrent of true romanticism, of everything he thought he'd ever wanted to hear. His face is still blank, emotionless and empty, much like his heart is at this moment. There is nothing left to give, nothing left to feel and nothing at all he can think of to say. He begins to stare off a little when he feels someone shaking him furiously.

After getting no response and seeing him stare into space, she starts shaking his coat and lightly slaps his face. Finally she manages to gain his attention as she's becoming more flustered and upset, never had she imagined things would turn out this way when they first met.

-- What's the matter, aren't you listening to me? I love you too! We can be together now, just me and you! It's what you've always wanted this whole time. It's what we were dreaming of and now the dream can finally be yours and mine!

He looks into her eyes. Her red tear-soaked eyes. They wildly search his own, looking for something, an answer, a response, anything. He notices her shaking hands, her wet cheeks, the way she's half laughing in disbelief but mostly crying out of confusion and pain. He always knew they would share something unique and special but never expected it to be a misery such as this. A misery so deep and so utterly torturous and tormenting that it could only be rivalled in magnitude by the beauty and power of the love they would have shared. But that love is gone, never to return and touch his soul again, never to light up his days, bring smiles to his face or make him feel limitless and that anything is possible.

-- No. We can't be together. I don't love you. It's too late. My feelings were there laid out on the table once before, and ignored and my heart was broken. Sometimes when that happens and it's so powerful, your heart gets damaged so badly, a piece of it just dies off, stops working and fades away forever. I can't give you my heart anymore, but you did take a piece of it with you, and I'll never be able to get that back.


He walks by, not waiting for her response, not looking behind, with no regrets and a clear mind.