I feel someone gently tugging at the end of my blanket
And it stirs memories
Stirs memories I tried so hard to bury.
The beautiful laughter that still rings through the hallways of my head,
Of a wickedly lively voice
Now echoing in dead.
Your warm touch,
That once left my spine tingling and tummy fluttering
As you traced a finger down my face and gently drew circles across my cheek
It was the Valentine week
And I’d bidden adieu to the ghosts of my past
Erased the old cast of black roses and broken hearts
And I, who didn’t believe in sidekicks
Embraced you, the whole of you.
It was all too good to be true,
I felt like I’d stepped into Cinderella’s shoe,
Only to realise that the magic was never meant to last
As good things disappear too fast.
Soon enough,
Your emotions shattered our window panes
The sunshine went on a long holiday and darkness came in stormy rains.
We slowly bid adieu to our coffee dates and pillow fights,
And 2 am calls and stargazing nights.
Between the endless arguments over emotions and paradoxes
We failed to understand,
That it didn’t help to constantly put each other’s actions,
On reprimand.
Shaken by your never-ending silence by the promises we thought we made,
I realised they were meant to be broken anyway
As you clung on to the rope that bridged either side,
You were forced to decide,
Between me, and her.
Nobody, neither you nor I
Knew how bad things were,
Until you finally decided to bid adieu
To everything that bridged us.
You let go of that rope,
Of possibilities and emotions and false hopes
And somewhere I failed to understand
That it didn’t help to constantly put each other’s actions,
On reprimand.
Amongst the broken wine glasses and dented walls
hands with scars and eyes swollen, from the excessive saline content,
You held onto her, looked her in the eye
And told her it was me, that you despised.
You bid adieu to the very thought of us,
And I couldn’t let go of the bottled up pain
So I put up a good show.
But as the gentle breeze blows across my face,
Someone then shuffles closer and tugs at my blanket again
I look into his eyes and instantly,
See something I’ve never seen before.
The most beautiful eyes
Whose eyelashes synchronise with the sea’s roar.
He reaches out
To gently tuck my messy hair behind an ear and plant a kiss on my trembling lips on a cold autumn morning
My tummy flutters and everything’s colourfully blurry
So when he gently draws hearts across my cheek,
I finally bid adieu to the thought of your
memories that shatter me,
I bid adieu to the gentle circles we kept going around in,
I bid adieu to the ghosts of my past and embrace my present.
With no false promises and no lies,
A soul I can despise.
And now when his grey eyes smile at my almond browns,
Instantly erasing the frowns that occupied my face,
He pulls out a red rose from under the pillow,
I gasp.
“Coffee?”, asks he,
And my stupid face breaks into a grin
Adieu to you, I whisper, as I burn down every evidence of our broken past.
I’ve found a new cast,
I’m the protagonist looking for happiness amongst goodbyes and broken wine glasses,
Only this time, there happens to be a sidekick.
Written by: Maanasa Manikandan
Image Courtesy: Pinterest
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