for wallflower_r
Total words: 595

Nobody would have guessed Nora Wales to overdose on pills in her room one night. If someone were to tell them, they would've laughed in your face because Nora was perfect.

Or so it seemed.

It happened on a Monday morning, at the very peak of sunrise, a typical August day.

We were supposed to meet up on the hill that morning, to watch the sun come up over the horizon. We were supposed to nibble on granola bars and sip our juice boxes. We were supposed to show up.

So when an hour passed with no sign of Nora, I truffled my way to her house and knocked on her door. I met face to face with her mum, tears streaming down her blue eyes.

"She's gone."

She showed me her room and then I saw her. Nora. A sleeping beauty slumping in her chair, an empty bottle laying on the floor a few feet away.

That was the second to last time I saw Nora before she was buried six feet underground beside a patch of white and yellow roses.

The last time I saw her, she was lying in a casket so peacefully, her eyes shut and painted with a bit of makeup. I had stared at her for what seemed like hours, hoping that this was all a horrible prank, that she'll open those eyes and laugh in my face.

But no. The casket was soon closed and the covered in dirt.

Nora Wales was no longer Nora Wales, my best friend. Nora Wales was a lost soul, dancing somewhere in a field of lilies, someplace where sunsets never end.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and I glanced at Mrs Wales who's eyes glistened with more unshed tears.

"William dear, would you help me go through her things? I don't think I can do it alone."

I didn't want to help. I didn't want to go back in that room. Everything in there was a past I did not want to venture back in. But the look on her mum's face was so broken, I couldn't say no.

So here I was a few days later, emptying Nora's closet with trembling hands, when my fingers grazed a pink envelope hidden underneath her socks.

"Oh Nora..." I mumbled, sticking the envelope into my pocket. "Why did you do it? I thought I knew everything about you."

I wondered how different that August Monday morning would be if we weren't supposed to meet at the hill. What if I knew she would do it? Would I have convinced her otherwise?

"William, would you like some tea?"

I shook my head, allowing my curls to fall over my eyes as tears brimmed over. I could hear her mum shuffling through the room.

"I'll just take these boxes downstairs..."

I listened to her footsteps descending away until all I heard was silence. I took a deep breath focused on Nora's closet.

•••

Dear William,
You're blaming yourself. You're hating yourself. Stop. It's not your fault. It had nothing to do with you. Trust me, the only light in my life was you, my best friend. I'm sorry for missing out sunrise date. I'm sorry for leaving you to watch it rise alone. Please, don't worry about me. Don't cease your future because of me. In fact, forget I ever existed. It's all for the best. I love you William.

sincerely,
N.W

I set aside the letter with a deep breath. She was wrong about one thing. Nora Wales would never be forgotten.

•••