The bitter frostbite of winter could be felt by all of those who were migrating through the crowded streets of Town Square. Icy crystals slowly floated through the atmosphere, leaving just a light coat of snow on the still visible,rich, vibrant grass. Though it was a mild forty-six degrees, people still proceeded to dress in their finest winter attire as they hustled and bustled amongst the crowded sidewalks of the plaza. Looking around at all of the wondrous sights, the aura of this particular atmosphere seemed quite different than it was most of the times that I had visited before. For tonight was the night before Christmas and everyone was running last minute errands to prepare for their perfect holiday celebration.

Walking and weaving in between joyful couples, crying toddlers, and the occasional dog walker, I couldn't help but feel helplessly lost in this crowd. Tucking my hands in the warmth of my peacoat jacket, I was headed on my way to a nearby bench when suddenly an item in a shop window caught my attention. The most beautiful, glossy, black grand piano sat in the Christmas themed window display, and just as quickly as the sudden jolt of excitement I had received came the sorrowful aftershock. This was the first year I would have to bear through Christmas without her.

Quickly turning from the display, I continued to weave through other beings until I finally reached my destination: the bench. This bench wasn't just any ordinary bench though. It was the one where Valerie and I first made eye contact with each other. I, Alexander Leon, had been the foolish one to ever think that something as fragile as love could ever exist in the world I lived in. For I wish that I was able to call myself fully human, but I could not. I am a time traveler. I have existed in every era and could become part of the future ones at just at the snap of a finger. It may sound like an absolute luxury to have such an ability as mine, but I'm here to tell you that it is not all it seems. For I have not always been a good man and I knew that eventually one day my sins had to be paid for. I just never expected it to end as bittersweet as it did.

Throughout my adolescence, I was a crook, a thief, and a murderer. There are numerous times that I could recount playing around with other's timelines and having no remorse. Should I have had remorse for preventing others from being born? Yes, I should have but when you have the ability to push back time to benefit yourself, why not use it to your advantage? Yet, I knew that someday I would have to pay for all of the reckless activity I did, but I was too foolish to ever think the whole situation through.

About two years ago, I sat here in this exact place where I just happened to make eye contact with the most beautiful woman that I had ever seen in my entire lifetime. She had long, black, glossy hair that trailed all the way to her waist. Her rosy cheeks were full of life, and her smile was my sun. In this exact bench I sat, pondering on what to do next with my life. It's quite funny how even as a time-traveler I got taken aback by her abrupt entrance into my life. She was the one unexpected event in my life and she became my most prized possession.

I can recall the exact winter day when she came over and randomly sat next to me on this bench, with her bright red peacoat and her hat with the white pom-pom on top. She had a coffee carrier with two coffees in it, to which I took as a sign that I would eventually have to move from this bench to another. To my surprise, she tapped on my shoulder and happily held out a cup to me. I remember being taken aback by her kind gesture and even questioning if she had put something in the drink. To my surprise, she said that she had seen me sitting all alone from the coffee shop window and felt like she needed to give me this coffee. How I needed that one coffee so much right now.

Over the next year, I learned much about Valerie. How her nose crinkled up when she laughed, how she prefered vanilla over chocolate, how much she loved dogs. She moved around here after her mother and father decided to move to Italy with their retirement money. The only positive thing that she got out of their move was the item that they had given to her before they left: the grand piano. The giant, sleek piano had become her one and only prized possession. You could tell that she loved it deeply through the way her bright blue eyes twinkled when she would look at it in admiration. She said when she was little her father used to sit her on a bench and play songs to her, but she never really caught on. Luckily, I had learned how to play throughout my time-travels so everyday when she'd come home from work, I'd give her a piano lesson.

She'd sit next to me, and I'd start playing at Middle C. I taught her the basic keys on the instrument as she taught me the basic keys of love. She admired the sound of the piano when I would play for her, and well I, I just admired her. Our love for the piano was one of the factors that made our bond even stronger. Nothing would and nothing could ever separate Valerie and I. She was my missing puzzle piece, my soul mate. She was the light upon my life and in return, I was her protection.

One autumn day, I woke up at the crack of dawn and she was not beside me. I thought maybe she had picked up an extra shift at the hospital, so I didn't dare to question her motive. I spent my day cleaning her apartment, but was taken aback when I had seen the black wad of hair sitting in the bathroom garbage can. It wasn't just a little bit of hair like it would be if she had just washed it. It was a decent amount of hair, and suddenly I felt my body tense up. Why was this here? What did this mean? Where had she gone?

As I drove to the hospital, the worst possible scenarios filled my mind. I tried to push all of the negative thoughts away, but my mind was racing so much that I couldn't even focus on what was happening before me. Tears brimmed my eyes and while I tried to fight them back, I swiftly darted into the hospital. Just as I ran through the main hallway, my eyes ran over the most beautiful pair of blue eyes. I knew something was wrong when she looked up at me and the twinkle in her eyes had disappeared. We didn't have to say anything in that moment because we both knew that this wasn't a dream, this was reality. I pulled her over and held her the closest I have ever held her before and we both cried right there in the middle of the hallway. People stared at us and some just walked by, but we didn't care. Right now all I needed to be was there for her.

She followed me to my car, where we sat until we both calmed down. I had questioned her on why she didn't tell me when she had first thought something was wrong. I screamed at her because my mind could not comprehend what was going on in this moment. Anger towards her seeped out of my every word. She lied to me, she didn't tell me. I laid this all on her, and I was so unaware of how selfish I was being at the time. She had enough on her plate already and here I was worried about how I felt about the situation.

She cried into her hands and her small frame began to shake. Then was when the reality of the situation hit me. Valerie had cancer that was rapidly spreading to other parts of her body. This was lethal, this was deadly. She had explained to me that she had begun treatment without telling me because she was afraid of how I would react. The poor girl was going through all of this, and here she was thinking about selfish old me. This was sacrifice, this was the true meaning of love. Just because she had cancer didn't mean that I loved her any less than I did before. If anything, it made me love her a thousand times more.

The same night, I went out with her to the barber shop. She explained to the barber that she wanted to shave her head bald. The barber looked astonished until she explained the whole situation. As the barber took Valerie to her station, I motioned over to my barber and whispered to her that I wanted to try something new. That was the first and last night where I had ever told anyone to completely shave my head.

When we were both finished, she turned around, looked at me and bursted out crying. She wrapped her tiny arms around me and I held her fragile frame close as tears fell from both of our eyes. When she stepped back, I took a good look at her and smiled. Hair or not, she was glowing. She was absolutely, positively stunning and nothing, not even cancer, could take that away from her.

That night she fell asleep next to me and she began to sob in the middle of the night. I wrapped my arm around her waist, and she shielded her face from me. Her cries shook her and when I asked her what was wrong, she just laughed. She said that I should leave. I should go off and live a normal life with any other normal girl that God had placed on the planet. I told her no. She was the only one I wanted to live my life with and I promised to be with her forever and ever, to protect her, love her, and cherish her.

Nine months later and our forever was over. I was standing in the chapel with a handkerchief in my hand. Her parents stood beside me, continuously crying over the loss of their only child, but I couldn't hear their cries. I couldn't even hear my own cries. All I felt was this continuous numbing feeling from the depths of my soul and how it continued to seep into every crevice of my body. As I walked up to her coffin and placed the pin of the grand piano next to her, I knew it was over. My love story was done.

When she was buried, my whole purpose was buried along with her. Never have I ever felt such a burden on my life then losing the only person that I had ever truly loved. Sure, I could've went back in time and unraveled her timeline, but then that would've prevented her from ever being born. This is when I knew that karma had caught up to me. The one man who could unravel time had to watch the only thing he'd ever loved wither away before him.

As I looked up to the sky, little bits of snow fell on my tear covered face. I wanted to isolate myself, I wanted to sit in a dark room and cry, but it was Christmas Eve for crying out loud. Though she wasn't here with me now, I know that she wouldn't want me to waste the rest of my life feeling depressed about the whole situation. So today, on Christmas Eve, I stood up from the bench we first met on and I walked toward a small,brown, brick building across the street.

Opening the door, the aroma of sweet cookies and coffee beans filled my nostrils. Waiting in the line for about twenty minutes, I walked over and ordered two coffees. Looking out of the glass window, I noticed a small silhouette sitting on the bench I had just left. It was a little girl who looked like she was crying. I smiled as I walked out of the shop to give the little girl my extra coffee. You never knew who might be in need of a friendly gesture. As I approached closer to the bench, I smiled to myself. This cup of coffee might be magical, just as Valerie's was when she gave one to me. Tapping on the little girl's shoulder, she swiftly wiped her tears away. I held the cup of coffee out to her, to which she looked at with a confused expression written on her face. She hesitantly took the cup, to which I couldn't help but smile.

As I sat down beside the little girl, I couldn't help but notice the shiny, gold piano pendant that was dangling from a chain on her neck.

As a tear rolled down my cheek, I looked up and let the winter breeze hit my face. Here was to new beginnings.

© Lightning_Stryker 2015