The emptiness in his heart, the numbness pounding in his brain, the salty tears that flowed unchecked from his eyes- they all reflected the sheer nothingness that now took hold of his soul- threatening to engulf him entirely. His legs buckled, knees sinking into the sodden earth as he watched the casket lowered its final resting place.

  Grief felt like emptiness in his heart- a heavy feeling making it seem like the weight of the world is upon his shoulders. He did not know what to say, and in the absence of words- tears came.

  Donghae woke up with a start and found his vision clouded with tears. At first, he was confused at the thought of the crying, but as the memories surfaced, it released new tears. He pulled his knees up to his chest and curled up in a ball, thinking that he would escape the harshness of reality. The completeness of the circle he held himself in would somehow protect him from the truth.

  They keep telling me to forget… To let him go... How? It’s all part of him; he couldn’t let go of the pain without losing something precious... The fond memories that keeps him going, and the bad ones that urge me him to curl under the duvet and cry- they are both locked together like two sides of the same coin. Losing the bad memories would mean losing the good ones as well… and he didn’t want that to happen.

  The pain surged with every expelled breath, always reaching towards higher peaks. There was rawness to his cries- he would clasp onto something for support and then, his whole body would shake, The sobs were stifled at first, as he attempted to hide his grief… then, overcome by the new wave of emotions, he would break down entirely- all his defenses lost.

  Eunhyuk glanced at the man before him. At that moment, he saw nothing but a small boy.

  “Donghae-ah” he called to him softly, pain evident in his voice. He sat down beside hi