I wander through the overgrown garden. With you gone there's no one willing to take care of it. I've tried, I promise, but gardening really just isn't my strong suit. Balancing on the stepstones, I listen to the swans. At least they haven't left. When I close my eyes I can almost imagine you're still here, walking behind me, laughing and telling me to move faster. But then my eyes open and there's no one there but the swans. I shiver and draw my jacket closer around me as the wind howls through the semi-abandoned garden. It’s a cold autumn day, and the plants are beginning to turn brown. When you were here, they never did that. Your endless optimism was always enough light to keep them warm. It kept me warm too. Now there’s nothing but barren coldness, and everything is struggling to survive. Not for the first time, and definitely not for the last, I wish you were here. You always managed to find the good in everything, even when your own life was going downhill. Reaching the pond, I take off my shoes and roll my pant legs up and step into what’s now little more than a puddle. You kept the pond beautiful too. It all would have become ruin much sooner if not for you. The little cygnets are waddling around in the pond-puddle, squawking and hitting water at each other, yet nothing touches the lotus. I stare at the lone lotus flower. Those are—no, were your favorites. I put more effort into them than anything else. But my thumb’s far from green; the more effort I put into them the quicker they seemed to wither away. Now there’s just this one. As the sun sets, the cygnets leave, leaving the water pristine and still. Then it ripples. Again and again and again it ripples as tears slide down my face and into the water. All the memories they’ve tried to lock away come flooding back, good and bad ones alike. Right then and there, I decide something: I’ll never forget you again. No matter how hard they try or what they use, I will remember you. And since you can’t fight anymore, I’ll fight for you. I’ll make sure no one has to go through what you did. And I’ll make sure no one has to go through what I did.
Bg by canva Everything else by me Cygnets are baby swans btw(I had to look that up—)
