He had to go.

He wasn't one to shirk away from any of his duties and this was a major phase of his life that he needed to get through. Besides, he truly enjoyed thinking of himself as a responsible person. He relished at the sense of accomplishment that completing every task brings him... He wanted more experiences that would bring him closer to knowing himself and the world around him. Despite the obvious sacrifices, it was a good opportunity.

The only thing that bothered Jinki was leaving her.

The ten years they had been together had been the part of his life that he treasured the most. He had travelled the world and seen it all, but nothing could compare to everything that they had shared. Unlike most people, he had always been sure that a love this pure really did exist because he had seen it in her. There was something enduring about her love... No matter what life had thrown at him, and no matter how badly he had handled it--she had always been there. Through it all, she was the one constant. She was the light in the darkness that always guided him home.

Leaving her for a year and a half like this...He didn't really know how either of them were going to survive.

This was the day that they had both been dreading for a while. No matter how well either of them prepared for it, it came quicker than he had anticipated and there was no way to stop it. The only thing left for him to do was to bravely accept his fate.

Seeing her like this was tearing him apart inside. Her long brown hair flowing in the wind was soft and free. Her cheeks, pink from the winter cold, were glowing with warmth. But it was her eyes that brought him to his knees. They were usually filled with hope and b with possibities. Today, all it carried in them were sadness and longing. He could barely look at her this way.

He takes her hand and leads her out into the backyard of her small house.

"It's so cold, Jinki... What are we doing out here?"

She fastens her long white knit coat around her, burying her hands into its pockets. The snow had just started to lightly fall the night before and it covered the entire lawn in a thin layer of powder. She looks at him with those eyes, and he knew that he had to move quickly before his own tears could fall as he stood before her.

"It bloomed today..." he says.

"What?"

"The flowers I had been taking care of... It finally bloomed this morning... I'd been waiting for a long time," he says, looking around. 

There was a reason she never went out there, and it was because she never had the time to keep it the way it should be. But today it looked different. For the first time, she realizes that her lawn was trimmed and well-kept... The opposite of what it had been just a few months ago.

"You were taking care of the flowers?"

"I planted this entire garden for you," Jinki says, standing before her and holding her hand. 

"What? A garden? Jinki, I don't understand..."

"This is all for you. I've been working on it for a while," he says, a sheepishly proud smile forming on his face.

She finally allows herself to look at the details in the plant life around her. It was teeming with every kind of green that she had imagined, and despite the cold weather, it had an array of colors from bright red hollys to vividly violet pansies. It was a feast for the eyes, and she had never had such easy access to something so beautiful in all her life.

He did this. He did this all for her. 

Tears come to her eyes at the amazing gesture that he had prepared for this exact moment in time.

"Jinki..."

"Their purpose is often misunderstood, you know..." he says, making his way to one of the flower beds with the freshest blooms. "They're given as symbols of love, or given to add a color to a dark room... But their real purpose is to show us a beautiful truth..." He picks a flower and holds it carefully in his hand, coming back to her with a smile on his face. "Camellias like these only bloom in the winter, under the harshest conditions. Its life begins in the darkest times, but blooms warmly when it is ready." The young man takes her hand and gently places the bud in her palm, securing it with his. "No matter what happens, life goes on... It will always bloom. And it will always be beautiful..."

There was absolutely no stopping the tears from flowing now. She stares at the beautiful bloom in her hand and at all the wonderful colors that surrounded the two of them. She was in complete awe of the lengths he had probably gone through to prepare this gift.

"But we're always together... How did you do this?"

"It was easy..." he says, clutching her free hand in his. "You've always let me into your heart all these years... All I had to do was to continue to stay close to you."

He reaches up and wipes her tears with the back of his hand. "I just wanted you to have something to remember me by before I have to go. Throughout the year this garden will grow with every kind of flower that you love and enjoy... All you have to do is step outside and listen to the symphonies that nature brings during those times when you miss me. The flowers will always bloom... Just as I will always return to you."

She pulls him in for a warm embrace and the two of them stay that way in the midst of all this beauty. He holds her close with his strong arms as she lets herself be overwhelmed by the feeling of his embrace. Her sobs are muffled as she tearfully buries himself into his chest, savoring each second that they had together.

"Jinki, stay with me..." she pleads with all her might.

"I will..." he whispers softly in her ear.

He looks around at the beautiful blooms and holds her tighter to his chest, that she could hear the beating of his heart.

"Forever and always."