Creative Writing

'The Stranger'

What went wrong?

Perhaps it'd been the summer euphoria, the friendship carried by the blue skies and endless heat, that had started it. A beautiful paradise, serendipitous in nature, the joining of two hands and two hearts. Melodious lullabies of infinite love and support spilled out from their phones. Warmth from the sun, and warmth from their intertwined hands, to drive away the cold.

The silence was startling.

At first, she hadn't noticed it at all. Continuously, she sent the words of love to her, the tapping of her thumbs syncing with her beating heart. Eventually, the lack of correspondence and interest was too stifling to ignore. She watched, bitter and heartbroken, as others moved on.

This stranger had saved her life countlessly, showing her over and over again what friendship truly was. She had been liberated from the all-too familiar demons that plagued her brain. Empty promises of forever, made on both sides, only further amplified the hollow ache in her heart.

This stranger had become a stranger once again. From unknowns, to friends, to something further, without a hint of eros. Mutual trust forged from their mutual aching, only to cause them both more hurt later. Unreasonable jealousy and anger arose at the sight of this stranger showing no sign of love or recognition towards her, choosing instead to focus all of her attention to others.

She should've known. It always happens, the lack of interest and commitment that arrives with the winter snow. Maybe it was an issue worth getting checked, though it hadn't felt like an obstacle she couldn't face with her friend at her side. Now, there was a void, an empty space in her hand and in her heart, still pining after the lost love.

With the void, the demons returned, no longer pushed back by the strength and security of her friend. Her mind was now a battlefield, a chorus of harsh words echoed endlessly, wearing her down. She remained in a dark, ageless rift that threatened to swallow her whole. Was this her only friend? The only one that would be hers faithfully?

Cold. Puffs of air to warm her empty hands, with nothing to warm her empty heart. Brief flashes of light, laughter and warmth and joy from others, all attempting to console her. Nothing. There was such an emptiness to her forced smiles, longer sleeves, harsh barks of laughter. A glimpse at the one she thought was forever, consistency, nothing returned save for ice, a glare from the one she'd hurt by doing nothing... or something.

What went wrong?

What had she done to ruin things this time?

Perhaps it'd been her, with her decrease in affectionate behaviour, her lack of conversation, and her awkward silences. An empty paradise void of the things she'd once called home, love, family. Pitiful laments of woe spewed from her mouth relentlessly, a funeral song to mourn the loss of her - this perfect stranger who'd healed her, only to wreck her still-mending heart.

The stranger she'd called her friend.