K’s Story

The little brass bell rang out boldly as the door struck it. I had often wondered how something so small could produce such a sound; even at this moment it seemed louder than normal.  Wiping my hands on my apron, I looked up from the fresh links of chorizo I was laying out on the display. The bright afternoon sun shining through the windows offered but a silhouette, a lonely figure shroud in black amid a sea of wondrous light.

“Can I help you?”

As she approached her features cleared and life filled her face. The chiseled lines of her jaw shone like a beacon, reminding me of a face I once knew. Her hair remained shroud in the blackness but I began to make out more: the wide eyes and pointed nose from that familiar face from my past.

“John?” she replied as she drew ever closer. Her head turned to the side, eyeing the display of cheeses on the far wall.

That voice. I knew that voice. But who did it belong to?

As she entered the darker depths of my store I felt the pain and sadness fill me; the feelings that enveloped and tortured me when she left. Her eyes locking with mine, I froze.

The smile on her face faded to a mere glimpse of what it was when she saw my expression. I was dead inside and she sensed it.

“John?” I did not reply, staring in disbelief at the sight before me. I found myself paralyzed with emotion: I could not act, could not speak.

“I’m in town …” she began in a warm tone that quickly faded. “… and thought I’d stop by”, her look changing from happiness to puzzlement. “Are …” She paused. “Are you going to say anything?”

I remember jerking my head as I snapped out of that hypnotic state. “Leave.”

“What?” she replied, taken aback at my response.

At that, the memories flooded into my mind like a twisted, sick tsunami of emotion. I remembered why she had left: she had started acting strange when a new boyfriend came into her life. I would send texts; she would never answer. I would leave messages on Facebook; she would never answer. I would leave comments on her wall; they would get deleted. And it wasn’t just me. I noticed other people leaving comments that would end up being deleted as well.  Then one night she banned me from her page and quit talking to me altogether. Of all the friends that have come and gone throughout my life, not one has come close to hurting the way she hurt me that night. How someone I had grown to love over the years – someone I had built such a friendship with – could allow a man to come between us still plagues my mind.

“I love you, but you’re not welcome here. Please go” I said to her as tears filled my eyes.

I saw the color rush from her face; her lips pursed as if to say something more. Her eyes began to well as she bowed her head. She paused briefly as she turned away from me, indicating her desire to turn and face me again, but she continued on.

I watched as she slowly walked back into the light, her beauty fading into the dark silhouette once again. She placed her hand on the door and paused. Perhaps she looked back; I’ll never know. The smudged outline of her body gave no indication as to the position of her features.

The little brass bell rang out, its soothing report echoing through the store. Tears crept down my face as I stood and stared into the light, seeing her leave my life once again.

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