I ran my cold, dry fingers along the engravings on his grave while holding a red rose between them. As my fingertips felt his name, my eyes began to become moist with tears. I didn't even bother to hold them back.
It's been a year since he was taken from my arms but it seems like one long never ending day. A day where the sun never shines and bitter winds bite my soul. I push though the piercing storm with a heavy heart hoping someday it will end.
I saw music notes traveling from behind me flowing in the wind. I turned around and saw a young woman with curly auburn hair singing while pressing the white and black keys of the piano a few feet away. She was so happy and her words hammered my heart into pieces. I glared at her, wishing I had what she had, wishing I could sing without thinking of him. Without hoping he wasn't really dead; that he was sitting next to me on the bench sing with his sweet baritone. I brushed newly forming tears away from my eyes as I turned my back to the woman. She sang the lyrics of her love song louder, mocking me, as I walked away.
The crunch of the snow beneath my feet numbed my pain for a moment as I walked farther away from his grave and the woman. The pain returned when I approached the pathway Derek and I used to walk together, hands intertwined. I walked into the pathway, memorizing every feature and every memory that was created here. I won't see it ever again.
Shining and glittery stars surrounded me once I walked into the pathway. Their heat hurt, but I didn't mind the pain as I hugged them closer to me. I looked up and found the big dipper floating above my head. I noticed the North Star. That was Derek's favorite. I reached up and grabbed the star, holding it gently in my hands.
The star glowed and I rubbed my hands all over, capturing every perfect aspect of the natural beauty. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see a darkened figure move. My heart started to beat fast in my chest, but came back into its natural pace when a voice inside of me called out, "Look." I turned and my eyes fell upon Derek's face.
He held his hand out, looking at me intently. I searched his face, looking for some sort of clue. His eyes talked with mine, comforting me. I smiled sadly and took his hand.
He pulled me close and kissed me softly.
"Why did you do it, Anna?" he whispered
I was stunned. Why did I? I thought once I saw him again he would be rejoicing with me, so glad that we are together again.
He didn't wait for me to reply. "Open up your eyes and you'll find the peace you have been searching for. It is waiting for you."
"What do you mean?"
"Welcome to the first day of your newly found life," he said, letting go of my hand. He then slowly drifted further and further away from my fragile grasp.
Author's Note: This piece was inspired by the song, "Open Up Your Eyes" by Daughtry. It is also meant to be short and a bit choppy; it is so the reader can wonder and decided what really happened. Who the woman was, where the star went. Was it all real? A figure of her imagination? You decide.
