"Janus"

~ Heaven ~

I felt her delicate hand gingerly clutch my left forearm, smiling brightly beside me. I returned her smile with my own, enjoying the comfortable silence between us. I tried to keep the mood up by motioning her towards the artwork covering the walls. She nods her head, continuing to smile at me, every time I explain the history behind a certain painting before continuing on. As I was about to explain thy background of one of my personal favorites, the "Glacialem Lacrimae¹" , she looked away from me, and her smile faded. She started at her feet, covered by her long, ivory silk dress. I turned to face her as her hand slips from my arm, down to her side. I moved a couple of loose strands of hair away from her eyes, and she looks up at me. I try to reassure her, but since I am not aware of the issue, there is not much I can do. Her pretty smile returns, and I feel more content.

Suddenly, small frozen flakes of snow begin to fall. I felt the warm air of the room being overpowered by the numbing temperature flowing in. The snowflakes begin to shelter themselves in our hair, and her smile is lost, once again. This time, there is no hope of reassurance. She begins to walk away from me, leaving me to the cold. I reached out, and grasped her arm for only a second, but she pulls away. She doesn't even give me a second glance as she disappears, not even a shadow of a footprint left from her.

I fell to the ground, unable to think nor say anything. She was there and gone, just like that. I couldn't believe that she would just leave. I was freezing, but in too much shock to keep myself warm. I didn't even have the courage to chase after her. I'm such a coward.

"Just like this room, her heart became cold once the snow began to fall."

My eyes widened to the sound of someone's voice echoing between the lonely four walls of this room. I turn my head upwards, only to find my dear friend, Hyun Seong, resting his hand on my shoulder. Now, it was my turn to get reassured that everything would be okay. Now that she has left me, I need my friends around me so I don't go mad. I try to give him a smile back, but it's too hard. The aching pain in my heart is too much. I am almost in tears before another person appears.

I turned to my right, finding other dear friend of my mine, Dong Hyun. He's like the leader and father of our group of friends. He is kind, comforting, trustworthy, and always there for you when you need someone. Even if you try to handle something yourself, and keep things a secret, he knows when you're hiding something, and he will do any and everything in his power to help you fix it. That's why he is here, with me, on his knees, whispering sweet nothings of "It's going to be okay", "We are all here for you", "Please don't be angry at yourself", until I had enough strength to hold my tears back behind my crystal blue eyes.

After he saw me compose myself better, he took my hand in his, and smiling at me and not taking his eyes away from mine. He pulled he up to my feet, and didn't let go of my hand. He kept hold, and in that silent moment, with Hyun Seong's palm massaging my shoulder and Dong Hyun's hand interwined with mine, I felt happiness. I knew that life was going to get better, even without her. My heart felt the compassion from these two boys immediately, and the pain went away, just a little. The snow was barely falling at this point, and all memories I had with that woman began to fade, just like the snow.

"Just because your world was about to fall apart, doesn't mean you will never reach Heaven. Because, in moments like this, Heaven is just close enough to be in reach." 

¹ Glacialem Larcimae is Latin for "Frozen Tears"