Shadows

It always starts with a slight change in temperature, as if he's walked into cool breeze during mid day when the sun is at its highest. The little hairs on his neck dance, sending a cold shiver through his body. On occasion the sound of rustling leaves will send whispers of secrets she long kept from him to his ears. He can always sense her presence. She's never long gone, merely hiding in the shadows of familiar places they frequented together.

She left him on a perfect summer day. He never knew why and she couldn't give him a reason. Their ending was like a sudden microburst running through a dry gulley. It stirred up everything he kept still in his heart. He never knew he had that much to lose and while he scrambled to settle the dust he lost sight of her.

Days after they buried her he noticed he spent more time looking at her pictures than he ever spent looking into her eyes. They looked so empty there, frozen in time. She always had this questioning look on her face as if she blamed him. It was probably his guilt playing tricks on him.

She was innocent and beautiful and it was his influence that brought her to the time and place that would end her. He felt so alive, the chemicals racing through his blood awakened his mind in ways he never thought possible. He brought that to her, but she lacked self control and soon it controlled her. Or maybe it was him, maybe he held the control all this time.

The chemicals, the colors taking over her thoughts, the overwhelming physical sensations, and the false confidence; it all ruined her. It ruined him too, but in a way he couldn't see until his reason for living was taken. Her heartbeat stilled and that day his world stopped. He always felt so alone, but he wasn't. When she left, she left her shadow and it haunts him even now.