Welcome to Gaia! ::

A day in the summer was one wasted without you. The warm breeze guided me to your side like the waves hold the shore in place. Your hair wavers slowly in the gentle wind as we lay near the water's edge. I reach out to pet your long, curly lengths as you giggle and playfully shy away from my hand. Never in one hundred years could I ask for more in life than you being with me. Days like these we wished would never end.

But like all dreams they fade away once you open your eyes to the morning light. Her tanned skin which reflected with such brilliance turned pale. The curls in her hair were stolen from her in sickness. Those bright, shiny eyes, those blue orbs of water that captivated me like the ocean itself, were now dark like the lonely moon. I still stayed by her side as the days of summer crept closer to the end. Those memories are how I want to see her, not like this. Photos can not compare to the moment in which they were taken, just sick reminders on how cruel time can truly be. I cannot caress a photo and it cannot respond with a reaction, there's no love or chemistry. The echoes of her laughter haunt my nights as I sit waiting for her to revive in this white room. Even the wind bangs on the window inviting us back outside to enjoy the lives we once were given. But I can't leave her, she who is a shell of a human now.

That was the last day of summer, the last day her heart beat. The last breath that fogged the mask lasted the longest. It was longest second of my life, the clock's ticking slammed into the air so loudly that it almost stood still to respect her passage. There's was nothing I could do but to be with her everyday up until now, just like in the photos. A smile that could never reside again was locked away in the pages of an album hidden away from my weeping eyes. How could I forget her? How can I go about another day without her? They weren't the same. A hollow man is just a shell of a human, like her laying lifeless on the bed.

My hands can no longer reach out to her anymore now that she's become one with the earth. The flower in my hand was her favorite one to pick in the fields by the shore, now it's a relic. The flower I can barely hold on to makes me sick, how could something so beautiful torment me so? The snow was going to fall soon, perhaps the coldness of my heart was enough to freeze the air around me too. I can still see her face even though my eyes are shut and the photos are locked away. One summer changed my life, who would have thought it would come to this? A mask covers my heart, since I myself can't even face the day I am presented with. There's a storm coming tonight, I might as well leave her grave, who knows how long I've been standing here. The snow drifts lightly in the wind as I walk away, finally able to place the flower.

My mind billows wildly like the wind and snow outside in the dark of night. My thoughts building up so much pressure that no amount of pain relief can soften the blow. Her face, the memories, all of them come back so abruptly, mixing in with her sick days, as I page through the photo album. I slam my hand on the table in aggravation, there had to be more I could do, rather than sit by her side. Her health fell as fast as gravity pulls me to the floor. Tears burst from my eyes and I finally cave in. I loved her, the words so kind compared to the emotions I feel now. Those blue eyes and tanned skin cannot comfort me now as I grovel on the floor. The photos cover the table I left behind in my emotional fit. The window even unlatched as the wind violently joined my screaming symphony. Her voice continues to howl in my ears. A tap on the shoulder, a familiar touch is enough to mute the rage inside me enough to open my eyes for a moment. The photos were spiraling around my body along with the snow that came in through the window. Just like the ocean that had once over taken me with a single glance, a faint silhouette appeared before me. The body and form made real by the photos themselves, entwining themselves together as if to offer me the gift of seeing her once more. A hand reached out to me as the storm outside intensified. The snow came in more frequently and if I wasn't mistaken, the rumble of thunder. What else was I supposed to do, of course, I reached out to grab her.

An overdrive hit me, all the good things came rushing back to me. The sensation of her skin was cocooned around my hand, those brilliant blue eyes pierced through the darkness and enlightened me. I was swimming once again in that field with my love. Such euphoria, it lasted only a moment but the emotional bliss I was gifted will last another lifetime. And just like that, she vanished with the final gust of wind, stealing away all traces of her existence. The photos were left with only me in their frames, my memories of her face now covered in the glare of the sun, even my heartache was healed. The warmth I feel in this storm will never bow to the cold, blustering winds or snow. She is watching me, that I know, whomever she is....