She's Not Here

It's been a few years since her death. I placed the picture on the mantle once more and turned my back on it. Her bright smiling face became too much for me to bear these days. I knew she should have been smiling for me, but now she smiled for no one.

My home seemed so much emptier. I've always lived here, in this mansion of a house, but now… Now it was obvious I needed someone to help me fill it. And the one woman I wanted to help me with that lay dead in the ground.

I sighed heavily, walking toward the door. A quick stroll would help clear my head. I needed to stop thinking about her…

~:o:~

"Do you remember…"

"Remember what?"

"This place. This place is where we met. You remember, don't you?"

"Of course I remember."

She latched herself onto my arm, leaning her head on my shoulder. "That makes me glad."

I smiled softly down at her. Her bright eyes lit up with adoration. Hardly without realizing it, I leaned down to gently kiss her lips.

She gazed up into my eyes, happily, but I sensed a sort of sadness in her. "Is something wrong?"

"No, not really. It's just that it gets lonely sometimes."

"What does?"

"Life." With that, she sighed and leaned against me more. "Promise me that you'll never be lonely."

I chuckled slightly. "It's very hard to promise something like that."

"Please…"

Her pleading eyes won me over, and I nodded. "I promise."

~:o:~

As I walked through the park, I shivered with the autumn breeze. My promise… I don't have to be alone. Not now, and not ever.