He heard the words. How could he not? She thought it best they be apart. That they weren't very good for each other right now. His mind ran with the thoughts. Why am I never good enough? Is there someone else that can offer more? Did it even matter? So many memories. They were perfect. Then things got really rough. He carried so much pain but every day with her had made it seem so light. They laughed and loved each other. It had been the greatest point of his life. But when things changed, he seemed to do everything wrong. And each slap in the face, each time he did something wrong, opened a rift in the trench of insecurities he had forgotten he even had. She had made him forget all the bad. Now the overwhelming flow of internal lava threatened to erupt from him. Threatened to overtake the carefully placed palaces that had been built in the sanctuary of his mind. While it all ran out of control though his mind, he realized he couldn't move. It had paralyzed him. Life's magic had slipped away. Everything has returned to the emptiness. Never again. If he made it through this intact, no one would ever see his heart again. Now he was alone. Closing his eyes to see himself holding on to the ghost of the love that made his soul sing. He couldn't express it all. No one seemed to get it. No one ever would. He rolled back over. There's no need to get up. The world would move on. Others said he was strong. Is anyone this strong? Only time will tell. He thought of her. Her voice. Her eyes. He loved her. As he slipped back into sleep, she was his last thought. In dreams, she still loved him. She'd never leave him. She'd see.....

© The Moonlight Bard