Of Broken Pieces

• Apoorva Madhusudhan, Grade 12
• Short Story
• 2014

I say this with a heavy heart. I tried and I failed, and of all the broken pieces – I guess this one was the most significant. But it certainly didn't feel that way. In fact, I thought you had been my saviour – my light at the end of the tunnel, so to speak.

If only I knew that the light was a rushing train.

Flowers were never my thing – the blooms so short lasting and fragile. They were beautiful, yes – quite like you, I must say – but they never had the substance I was always looking for. You gave me the most exotic flowers – I never did thank you for them, for which I do regret – and they hold a special place in my heart.

They’re all dead now of course.

I wish sometimes, that maybe I might be able to open my eyes again - to breathe that fresh air and giggle at the sound of a tinkle. I can almost feel your hair running through my dainty fingers like it was just yesterday. I have to admit, I’m getting a little ahead of myself because after all, we’re still young, still impressionable.

Or at least, we used to be.

And I guess that’s all I've ever wanted – to live. But only if you looked into my eyes could you tell how I was the furthest thing from it. Until you walked through that café door on the ice chill morning, my days were a haze, an unwanted illness. I was on the brink of the end, and you have no idea how important that very day was in my life.

You might be wondering what the point to all this is, but don’t make haste, love – I’ll get there.

As more days went by, as the evenings grew a little warmer, so did my smile. The cracked and pale one I used to wear disappeared and it was replaced with one of energy and sunshine. I felt alive again and the funny thing was – we hadn't even spoken a word to each other. To this day, I will believe you had an aura surrounding you – one that made even the most miserable beings happy and I’m ever so grateful that I was one of them.

You know the rest of it – how we finally started talking, laughing and dare I say loving.

So I guess what I wanted to say was thank you. For all the things you did or didn't do, and for all the words you said or didn't say. I wish I could live again – because I know you want that. How can I though? My life was a bitter pill before you walked into it, and now that you've gone it’s turned into a toxic one.

I’m scared that I won’t be able to move on. I’m scared that that’s the one thing I’m sure of.

I tried and I failed, and of all the broken pieces – I guess you were the most significant.