We'll Meet Again

• Monira Abubakar, Grade 11
• Short Story
• 2022

“No matter how far we part…you’ll be close in my heart.”
The echo of the lyrics lingered, spinning around her mind endlessly like a portal leading to a world of emptiness. The song reminded her of him. The harmonious nature of the tune that twirled around her mind like a satin ribbon in the wind, suddenly snipped in half, descending to the floor of her mind. Her body had become still and the world around her began to cool. The news she received this morning would change everything. Her body was shutting down and soon her mind.

She knew how mortified he’d be, his pain lingered on her mind. Their whirlwind passion pranced through fields of daffodils but it would change now. Their love would dim; the daffodils would transform to poppies, a reminder that their love had died.

The news would rip out his heart, leaving it on the floor, gasping for oxygen. It would change him.
His wit.
His kind heartedness.
His smile surrounded by the stubble on his face. She loved that he kept his facial hair short so she would never have to search for his gorgeous smile. They were reasons why he had won her heart.

Somehow her feet made their way back to the little cottage they both called home. 6 years of laughter and love were about to be annihilated.

She spoke to him softly but still his heart shattered and she couldn’t pick up the pieces. She believed that leaving him would be best. She couldn't put him through months of prolonged agony. A jolt of guilt struck her like ferocious lightning hitting a weeping willow in a thunderstorm. She left him with 3 words and left their home for two to become a home for one,
“We’ll meet again.”

……

He was getting antsy, scratching at his overgrown beard which masked his frown. His heart was together again but fragile, pieces held with sticky tape. For 6 months he had been avoiding his fear but not today.

He took a deep breath, hoping to release his nerves. It didn’t work but he continued on to meet the doors ahead. Hospitals made him nervous. The disgusting jelly cups, the smell of death, all made him queasy.

Room 201.

He ripped open the door and noticed a picture of poppies hung above her hospital bed.
She laid there still with her eyes meeting his.
“Why are you leaving me?'', shouting harshly, waiting for her impending answer.
There was none.
“Why are you leaving me?,” he repeated ragingly.
There was no answer.
“Why..why did you leave me?,” his voice trembling after watching her eyes fall shut.

She had left him. Again.

The machine screeched, making ears ring. Then it fell silent.
The clock ticked.
The chatter hustled in the background.
The silence broke when the radio played a tune.
“I’m sorry I left you but we’ll meet again”
The shatter could be heard from the waiting room. His heart had been broken again.