A Happy Yet Sad Night

'Forever, right?'

She asks me as I caress her hair, knowing that it is the last time I can smell the hair that has reminded me of my childhood home so many times.

'Yeah,' I say. 'I wouldn't know what to do with myself if u were not by my side.'

'Ugh u are such a poet' she laughs as she rests her head on my shoulder.

'For u. Only for u. And today of all days. I smile through the muffled sobs. She always manages to crack me up.

She turns her head and smiles at me. And I die a thousand deaths right then, right there.

'Do u really love me that much?'

She asks with a playful glitter in her eyes.

' love u everyday, like it's...

My voice breaks.

'Like what?' She insists.

"Like it's the last day I have with u' I wonder what that feels like,' she muses.

"I hope u never get to know that' I hold back my sobs. Thankful that she has her back turned to me again.

'Will you take me to the festival tomorrow?' She says after a pause. Her question and her voice both full of hopeful innocence.

'Let's leave that to tomorrow, okay?'

She nods as we sit in silence on the hill slope. She looks ahead at the river with her hands on her knees, already imagining a bright sky brightening with firecrackers.

One heart flutters with excitement for tomorrow and the other yearns for the day to never end.