As I arrived in Rio, my mind took me back to us.
The twenty years I had known you.
The ten without you.
The last day we spent together.
You were headed off to serve our country and I was to stay behind and finish school when all we truly wanted to do was spend the remainder of our lives together.
You were too scared to admit it, but I wasn't.
It was evident with the tears that escaped my eyes every time I saw you the month you were set to leave.
Ten years with no love after being shown the beauty of it can drive anyone crazy.
My brother warned me. My mother guided me.
You gave me your necklace as we said goodbye.
The necklace I haven't taken off since. The last remembrance of you.
All I craved was the feel of your hair, the touch of your fingertips, your soft lips on mine, the scent of your back, and your brown eyes staring deep into the soul I chose to only expose to you and only you.
You were the reason I lived.
You are my home.
It's not an exaggeration when I say I haven't lived in ten years.
I've been stuck in a grave awaiting patiently for your return.
You said you loved me.
I told you to say it once more with feeling.
The anger flooding out of me through every possible escape my body had to offer as you began to let go of that tight grip you had on my hands since you were being called over to the bus to board it.
You repeated the words once more with all the passion you had in your body.
I know because it seemed to drain you.
I repeated the words to you and all the anger escaped after it turned into the meaning of the sentence.
We left one last kiss on each other's lips and you walked away and onto that bus.
I stood on that soil and it felt as if I had grown roots.
There was no chance of me moving as that bus drove away and you waved through the back window.
I wonder what you'll think or say when you spot me again.
I'll know soon.
