The sun dipped below the horizon, casting a warm glow over the city. Asa knelt beside the tombstone, on which he had written in rough handwriting: ‘With you, forever’. The words though simple, held the weight of a lifetime, his love for the one buried within.

He traced the letters with his fingers, lost in the quiet solitude of the cemetery. The soft rustling of the leaves and the mellow wind carded through the strands of his hair, caressing him with ease.

“You know, love?” Asa started, his voice low and wistful. “I started my new job yesterday. Not that great, but it pays well. I think I'll stay there for a while.”

His thoughts drifted as he tried to piece together the shards of his broken past. But his reverie was abruptly interrupted by a tap on his shoulder.

“Oh, a new face,” a voice chimed.

Asa turned to face the woman. The striking resemblance to the one he'd been mourning twisted something deep within him. He flashed an awkward smile at her, half-expecting her to walk away. “Yeah, I guess.”

She studied him for a moment, curiosity etched into her features. “Visiting someone special?”

“Yeah,” Asa said, his voice barely more than a whisper. He stood up, brushing off the grass on his jeans, saying, “My partner… She meant everything to me.”

“Oh, I'm so sorry,” the woman said, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “It’s never easy, is it?”

Asa’s lips stretched into a bitter smile, observing the woman’s eyes. It reminded him so much of his loved one. His everything. Despite his overwhelmingly low spirits, he replied, “Possibly not, I'm guessing. It's been a year, and it still hurts.”

She nodded, wringing her hands in front of her. “I can understand,” she started. The grey in her irises glinted with empathy, and a sheen covered them as she continued, “I got married to my husband at eighteen. So young, so naive. We thought we had all the time in the world.”

“Came here to see him?”

“Yeah. Lost him to cancer.” She took a deep breath, steadying herself. “Some days are harder than others.”

Asa replied, the strings of his heart aching in tandem with hers. “True. The world keeps moving on. But… I'm still stuck there.”

“I wish I could say it gets easier. But, for me, it never does.”

He felt a strange comfort in their shared grief. “It helps to talk, though. I didn’t expect to find someone who understands.”

The woman fidgeted with her fingers, her glossy nails glinting in the sunlight. Asa watched her intently, absorbing every detail as if trying to reshape the memory of his girlfriend. Each small movement, each flicker of expression, felt like a fragile thread connecting him to the past.

“Me neither,” she smiled. Her eyes seemed to hold the power of the calm before a storm. “I don't usually approach people like this. But I guess you could say, it was kind of a gut feeling with you.”

Asa sighed, offering a handshake. “I'm Asa. And you are?”

“Raelle. My name's Raelle Howe.”

Katopark | September 2024