Before I knew it, I could feel wet droplets silently cascading from those iridescent wells that I had grown to love. She started crying as the sadness finally consumed her and there was nothing I could do to stop the tears from rolling down her beautiful face. We had tried to fight these melancholy feelings for some time now, and they finally won. She wept for over an hour and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I felt horrid as I held her close, trying desperately to reassure and comfort her.

We sat there on the couch huddled together in the early morning sunshine that peeked through the bay window. She had stopped crying by then, her legs laying on top of mine, with her head against my chest and arms wrapped around my neck. I held her, arms wrapped around her lithe waist, never wishing to let her go, but knew that it was time.

With one last thorough check of the house, her family filed outside and readied the car for travel. We stood there, quiet and anxious. She turned toward me and started to sniffle again. Gathering her up in my arms, I hugged her tight, as if my physical strength could somehow carry her emotional burden for the rest of eternity.

“I’ll never say good-bye. This is simply a ’see you later’, ok? We’ll talk and write each other letters. Things will be ok, I promise.”

She looked up at me and nodded silently, tears streaming down her face once more. Grabbing a handkerchief out of my pocket, I dabbed her eyes and slowly wiped up the tears glistening on her cheeks. I went to put the handkerchief back into my pocket, but she stopped me by holding my hand in hers.

“May I keep it, please? I have lots of things of our time together, but I’d like to keep something from our last day together. And here, keep this to remember me too.”

She let go of me and unhooked a thin silver necklace from around her neck and slipped it around my own. Hanging from the thin silver chain was a small silver heart. It was the same necklace that I saw around her neck the very first time I laid eyes on her. She stepped back and tilted her head to critique how it looked. She giggled and shook her head.

“No, that doesn’t look like you at all.”

I stuck out my tongue at her and smirked.

“Yeah, I suppose it doesn’t. You were always the much prettier one.”

I walked her to the car, opened her door and helped her get seated. I checked to see if her arm and leg were in the way, then closed the door. I bid her parents and sister farewell and stepped back out of the car’s path. It started up and the gears engaged, slowly rolling the car back out of the driveway. Turning left, the car seemed to glide down the street; from this life and into the next.

Before she could get out of earshot, she looked out of the window back at me, waving and shouted, “I’ll call you! I promise I will!” I smiled, shouting back, “And I’ll call you too!” I waved to the retreating car that was slowly putting more and more distance between my heart and my other half.

A light early-fall breeze blew through my hair, sending a shiver down my spine and a wistful longing through my heart. A single tear slid out of the corner of my right eye and rolled down the contours of my cheek. Sniffling loudly and wiping it away, I turned and walked slowly home; all the while lightly tugging at the chain around my neck.

For some reason, I had a sinking feeling that this chapter of my life was effectively over.

Part: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.

Her eyes pleaded with me to stay for just a bit longer. I turned to gaze into her face and saw the beginnings of tears threatening to break through the dams holding them back, and spill from those liquid pools filled with sorrow. In all the time we had been together, I still couldn’t refuse any request she made with those eyes.

“Alright, I’ll stay for just a little while longer, Sinky.”

It was a private joke between the two of us. It was a nickname that I had given her when she first started learning how to swim; a slight variation on “Pinky*” which she called me from time to time. During the first week of lessons, she sank like a rock every single time. She just couldn’t figure out how to consistently float.

A small smile cracked through her sad visage and she punched me in the arm. “I don’t sink anymore”, she declared. “Yes, I know,” and I kissed her forehead. We sat up all night talking about our plans and what we would try to keep in touch. We were kids and we thought that anything was possible. I sat there, holding and talking to her for most of the night, till she fell asleep. For the next few hours, I simply watched the rise and fall of her steady breathing, no stress or sadness creased her face any longer. She looked beautiful.

When morning arrived, I woke up and looked around. I was still half-sitting there, on the couch with her nestled in my arms. I had fallen asleep sometime during the night while still holding her, so I never left her side. It was what she wanted. Being careful not to disturb her, I tried to stretch my arm, since it had fallen asleep. My movement must have not gone unnoticed cause I heard her murmur something in her sleep. I stopped and leaned back to simply enjoy the comforting feeling that I wished would never leave.

Slowly the house awoke and I gently shook her awake. I didn’t want to wake such an angelic face, but I didn’t have much choice.

“I don’t wanna wake up. Pwwease can I sleep a lil bit more?,” she whined.

“You sleep too much, hun. So much that my arm and leg are asleep too. You’re contagious,” I chided playfully.

“But you’re not asleep. Why?”

“I don’t know. I’ve slept enough already. I’d rather be awake, knowing you are here with me.”

She looked up at my face and sighed; settling back down into my arms, squeezing my body tighter as she did so. “I don’t wanna go…”

“I know, I know, sweetie…neither do I.”

Part: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.

*Pinky. It was the nickname she gave me due to the fact that I always told her not to mess with me because I had a pinky and I wasn’t afraid to use it.

It had to be one of the most difficult summers of my young life. There we were, just having finished the 7th grade and we knew that in just a short amount of time, she’d be moving elsewhere. After what we believed to be an eternity of learning and growing as a couple, we would be torn asunder due to circumstances beyond our control. It was not the way we wanted to start our summer.

She was going to be moving during the last month of summer, before school resumed in the fall. Knowing that, we spent as much as we could with each other. It was a fight that we knew we couldn’t win, but we tried our best, seeing if our efforts would somehow extend the time we had with each other. It was a joyous time, but deep in our hearts we knew that day would eventually come.

The warm days wrapped us in a comforting blanket of togetherness, as we watched the clouds float lazily by. During that time, we watched movies, hung out at the park and spent time together only the way couples could. She often came to my waterpolo games to watch me play. It was a summer filled with tender moments, as well as many moments of levity.

I remember teaching her how to swim and windsurf, since she didn’t know how to do either. My patience and understanding was sorely tested while I taught her to swim, but it was well worth the trouble. It would be something that she would always carry with her; a little something that would remind her of me. Plus, she wouldn’t drown if she ever ended up falling into a deep body of water. It took a month of half-drowning, water-swallowing and spluttering expressions before she could swim. It was probably the most memorable time I had with her that summer.

On her last day, we had dinner and went back to the house to rest up and pack the very last of their things. She and I spent most of the night talking and laughing, keeping the sadness at bay. As the clock struck two, I figured that it was time to go. I got up and gathered my things, when I felt her hand on my arm.

“Please. Please, don’t go…”

Part: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.

We were both extremely young. This situation was new to the both of us and there were many awkward and confusing moments during that time. After all, this was our first relationship. There was no handbook or manual that outlined the steps to take, nor did it warn us about the bumps and scratches that we would encounter along the way. Over that first year, we learned.

That year opened my eyes wide to the wonders, complexities and sheer mental stress that girls and guys put each other through. Through personality clashes, differing thoughts and disagreements, we persevered. It was a learning process that would take us through the trials of fire and brimstone. At least that’s what I thought at that age.

As 12 year olds, I know now that we were never meant to last. There was such a steep learning curve that one could not possibly understand or cope at such a young age. Our breadth of knowledge only extended so far. Only time and experience would teach us the follies of our mistakes. It was then that we would be able to grow and gain a greater depth of understanding.

It was a long year filled with ups and downs and many compromises. Many moments of joy and an even number of frustrations as well. Why couldn’t she understand what I was trying to say? Why couldn’t I do what she wanted me to do? There were many times where I thought that girls were put on this earth to drive guys mad. I know that I learned more about myself that year than all of the previous years combined. Girls will do that to you. They’ll drive you to the brink of insanity and somehow bring you back.

Toward the end of the year, our arguments slowly subsided and our relationship improved. We had done the impossible. Our relationship had lasted almost the entirety of the school year. That was totally unheard of and even more so, envied. Somehow, our unstable and often confusing relationship gave others hope, when in reality we knew the real truth. We were simply 2 crazy little kids who cared about each other far too much.

That’s why it was something of a shock when she found out that she had to move away.

Part: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.