The moonlight hit her face just right to show her wrinkled forehead, showing the effort she was making to not give a hint of the anguish though it clearly shone in her eyes. Her beautiful tan skin with that freckle right above her right lip and the effortless smile as she looked at him could not hide the sadness in her eyes. He always made her smile. He did not have to do much to accomplish that - his presence alone did it. But today he was moving away. This was not a sudden decision. From the moment they met, it was clear. He was going to move far away by the end of the month. The first moment you feel a connection, the inevitable end is the farthest thing from your mind. They refused to acknowledge it explicitly. However, they had a deal in place. Bringing sex into the equation would just make it worse. The end would be unbearable then. They tried to keep it platonic. For 28 days. Tonight was it. He was flying out tomorrow noon. He had said goodbye to everyone else earlier in the day and had kept aside his last few hours in the city for her. Just so that he could soak in every aspect of her before he had to leave. He wished she could go with him. But her responsibilities kept her here. They walked the pier like they had done on many of the nights before. Neither of them were fans of the romantic candle lit dinner. They had always walked. They would then stop by at any place open at the hour, just to rest their feet enough to be able to walk till dawn. But this time it was different. She could not chat to her heart's content like before. He could not playfully roll his eyes at her only to draw her close and kiss her forehead and whisper into her ear to go on. She had never felt this wanted, secure, and special.
They seemed to have their gazes fixed on the waves in the ocean. One, two, three. She would then turn to him to catch a quick glimpse and aver her eyes before she started crying. He did the same. He could not bear the thought that her radiant face was being betrayed by her eyes today because of him. He wished he could take that sorrow away from her. They reached the end of the pier and stood there in silence for what seemed like hours. He slowly moved toward her, taking her hand in his as if to signal to her that it was all going to be fine. This was his gesture for being there for her as long as he breathed. That touch was almost unbearable for her. She could not be strong anymore. Quickly turning to him, she jumped into his arms, and started to cry into his chest, feeling his heart beat faster in helplessness. He wrapped his arms around her as tightly as he could despite knowing it was a promise he could not keep. He had to leave in a few hours. But not yet.
They did not say a word to each other. Both took the time to finally let the feeling sink in. This is it. There was nothing they could do about it. After a few minutes, she looked up at him. The strain of trying to stay strong for her was clearly visible. He looked at her, his arms still wrapped tightly around her as though to keep her close for as long as he can. A smile came over her face. She decided that for this moment, right here, he was all there was. There was no flight tomorrow, there was no distance, this was her world. Right now. Right here. He tilted her head and slightly raised his eyebrows in surprise. Just as soon as he had done that, the smile did what it had done from the moment he had laid his eyes on her - melt away everything that had occupied his mind. It was just her there. Her lovely brown eyes looking at him, and that smile - that smile could change worlds and he'd know.
He let go of her and brought his hands to her face. She had always had short hair but for him she had let it grow. She had always boasted to him about her "sacrifice". "I cancelled my appointment. For you!" Then playfully tug at her hair to show how much it had grown, for him. This was the closest to professing her feelings she had gotten thus far. He knew this was her way of saying it. His way was to take her immediately into his arms and run his fingers through her hair and to whisper into her ear "Count these. That's how much I love having you in my arms right now". She knew what he meant. These memories played out in their heads right now as he tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ears. She smiled again and asked "How much?" He smiled in return and ran his fingers through her hair and enthusiastically said "THIS MUCH!" Both of them laughed for a second at their goofiness. She yelled "doofus" and he immediately retorted "brat".
"Maybe we could sit down somewhere?" She said, turning her gaze back to the ocean.
He simply nodded and took her hand, leading her towards the beach.
They knew it was going to be a cold night, so they had their coats on and she had taken a shawl for earlier. They found a spot right next to the pillars of the pier that gave a good view of the ocean in front of them and the stars above yet offered some privacy. She spread the shawl across the sand and sat down, looking at him to come join her. She saw his silhouette across the night-sky in the moonlight. He wasn't much taller than her and had shaved off his beard the day after they had met. He later confessed that it was because of a passing remark she had made about liking clean-shaven men. The boy needed a tan though. But it was his eyes that she loved. The kindness in them was nothing like she had seen before and they hadn't lied. He was the kindest person she had ever known.
She scooched to give him room. They spoke of his trip and how long it will take for him to travel 14000 kms across the world. She kept asking him if he had all his things packed and whether he wanted to catch some sleep before he had to leave. She wanted him to stay but he had more than a day of travel ahead of him. Each time she said it, he just smiled and kissed her forehead. After asking him once more, as he leaned in to kiss her forehead, she blurted out "I am going to miss you so much". He saw the sadness return to her eyes as though with a vengeance. He wanted to take it away. He had to make her feel better. This time he leaned in and kissed her lips - gently taking her lips into his, lingering a while before looking back at her. She was lost in his kiss and as his lips moved away, her lower lip seemed to try to grasp onto any contact.