4:30 PM
For some strange reason, she always showed up at this time.
I could tell by the position of the sun over our heads,
and the smile on the faces of the shadows it had forged of us.
For the first time in a long time, only one shadow was present,
at 4:40 PM,
and he wasn't smiling.
I knew outright that something was off.
All the conversations from the last few days began playing back in my head.
4:50 PM,
That was when it hit me; she was saying goodbye.
The many times she kept asking how my life will be without her.
How she'd randomly whisper "I'll miss you"
And how she'd ask that I repeat the same silly joke so she doesn't forget it.
How dumb I was to have not seen the signs.
I had plans for her,
But a part of me always knew she was smarter.
The plans she had for herself, far outweighed what anyone else could give her.
And from the way she smiled when I spoke of my plans,
I could loudly hear her silence say "Ha! you naive little man".
Lo, I was not sad; I wasn't even scared for her
As a matter of fact, I was elated.
She deserved more than life out here could ever give her.
I spent that evening rearranging my dreams,
Hoping I'll someday have the courage to run away too,
While I imagined how great our lives will turn out,
With or without each other
And I whispered in the direction of the wind,
Trusting the possibility of her hearing this message;
"Wherever you are Eaglet, keep flying!"
5:00 PM!
Photo by Diana Simumpande on Unsplash
