It was late June.
That day the rain was due.
The wind blew leaves into my face
And when I opened my eyes they were gone without a trace.
I trudged the familiar path.
Heading to the dorms with my school gear intact.
You came up to me.
A bit curious I listened to what you spat.
First you asked for my name.
I returned the favour just to be polite.
“I love the way you walk.
It's beautiful and filled with elegance.”
Your words made my day
And just like that we walked together.
Side by side under the light showers of the rain.
Soon we parted.
We bid our farewells,
but not before exchanging numbers.
Thus began the long nights of conversation.

It started with an awkward hello
But gradually our texts became longer and less sombre.
Hardly did we see
And never did we give calls.
Those long days were spent conversing through words alone.
It was… fresh.
Unique.
This new-found friendship was one I cherished greatly.
However, those serene times came to an end when you disappeared.
Suddenly our conversations stopped.
It saddened me, but I moved on.

Fast forward six months...
I stared in wonderment at my screen.
The familiar “hello” was there,
staring back at me,
waiting for a response.
At the time, I felt a certain glee in my chest.
But calmed my elation in a breath,
trying to feign annoyance at your disappearance.
Still, I responded,
and once again,
the long nights spent sending messages commenced.

This time, it was more natural,
and you didn't go Houdini on me.
We opened up, told our secrets and became even closer.
Or were we?

I was a little boat tossed around at sea.
I wanted to be saved even though I refused to admit.
Unconsciously, I became dependent.
I made you my anchor,
An anchor that would steady me whenever the seas turned turbulent.
That was a mistake.

Our chats grew shorter.
Even awkward.
Many at times I would be at a loss, wondering if I did wrong.
However, it was just that time.

Life likes to play cruel jokes on people
I found my anchor, but the chains were severing.
In no time it would snap,
and I would be left to wander the seas without support.
Our friendship grew dimmer and lost its initial passion.
Soon I could feel the bond breaking
and tried as I did,
I couldn't change the inevitable.
All good things come to an end.
It was over.
We had become…strangers.

The lonely boat travelled further into the ocean.
Isolated in the watery world.
It had faults, and signs of wear.
But it persevered.
The anchor was gone
So instead of dwelling in the loss,
The little boat eased and let itself be carried by the waves.
The uncharted territory,
it found,
was quite fascinating.
Thus as the boat became one with the sea,
it let go of the yearning that came from a brief but gentle time.
© Dieko