[CONTENTID1] The wind combs through my hair as soon as my hat disappears.

"Guess who?"

Has it been a year? Sometimes, when you have seen too many of them, all the seasons melt together, blending like colorful molten wax folding into each other. A beautiful, shapeless mess waiting to be cleaned up and cleared away. That is a year.

"Give it back." I swipe at him, but he dodges, dancing to the side as laughter pulses through his body.

"My, you catch on quickly. And I thought you were too meek to actually try and hit me. Good to know that I was wrong." He examines my hat seriously. "You've kept the ribbon in good condition too- how impressive. With the way things are, I assumed it would have vanished by now."

"Why is that?"

He shrugs. "You know how it goes. Life is one of those unpredicatable experiences, kind of like a slimy sea monster you can never properly grab ahold of. The more you struggle to control it, the more slippery it becomes. Soon, all you are is drenched, and you're not an inch closer to catching that something you have been searching for all along. A ribbon is here one day," he loosens the bow, "and gone the next."

Funny. I had once had the exact same thoughts about him. "But you kept your promise and came back."

I keep my hands outstretched even after he relinquishes my hat back into my hands. Without the ribbon, it now looks bare and pitiful. The areas that have been sheltered are just a shade darker; without the sun to fade the straw, there is a single unaged strip. How unattractive. Things that have grown accustomed to being beautiful can no longer accept going back.

He dangles the ribbon in front of me. "Ah-ah, this doesn't belong to you."

"You gave it to me."