Eli laid back on the grass gently, his blue eyes rising to stare at the clouds that seemed to flaunt their freedom above him. His fingers clenched around the square sheet of paper in his hand as a lump formed in his throat. Hot tears pricked at his eyes, and he brushed them away roughly; intent on not letting anyone see through the façade he put on.

Wild strands of chocolate-coloured hair fell into his eyes and he scratched the growing stubble on his chin. Eli stretched his arms, and a strip of silver glinted on his left hand before he tucked it away out of sight and behind his head. She was sorely mistaken if she’d thought that he was strong enough to pick up the pieces of his shattered heart and fix them like a puzzle to become whole once again.

She had been his strength, Eli wanted to shout out, she was the glue that held the fragile pieces of his being together and now that she was gone; how could she expect him to ever be the same again?

Lying there on the grass, and staring into the sky took him back to the first time he’d met her; she’d been dancing like a dandelion in a breeze, her hair floating in a weightless cloud of crimson around her, and her smile ... He’d never forget her smile. Seeing her smile made him want to laugh at his troubles and tell himself that life was perfect once again.

Then Eli remembered the day she became his. She’d been crying, but still laughing, as tears of joy rolled down her cheeks. Tears were rolling down his cheeks now, his eyes wet and his cheeks and scarf damp. The years they’d spent together were undoubtedly the best he’d ever experienced with anyone, and even now, when he only chased after the dimming memory of her, he felt satisfied.

Eli turned his head to the side and caught sight of the marble headstone with scarlet roses, still dripping with morning dew, lying on it. They looked like velvet, he realised wistfully, as he reached out a pale hand to touch the smooth stone, his callused fingers sliding off it as he saw her picture.

She’d been his first, he realised, as he scrambled to his feet and dusted off his jeans. His first best friend, the first person he had opened up to and trusted so deeply. It was over, but the sparks that flew between them wouldn’t dim. They were at the end now, but they’d had a good time while it’d lasted.

Eli laid his hands one last time on the grey marble before turning away as the emotions he’d repressed for so long broke loose. “I’ll never forget you, Hana,” he whispered brokenly as he turned his back on the stone and left.