Tears Of A Dying Sunflower

Her Happily Ever After

"Your dreams are becoming reality this day. And you look so beautiful." I said, mesmerized by the beauty in front of me.

She smiled at me as she stood up. She looked so elegant as she slowly walked around.

"Am I?" She chuckled, holding her dress up and turning around like a princess.

I gave a small laugh, grabbing my sketchbook for one last time.

"Can I draw you?" I asked.

"Sure." She smiled, as she stood there like a beautiful goddess.

"Thank you." She uttered, as my pen scratched the paper on the table.

"Haha, the sketch is not done yet. Thank me later when I'm do–" Before I finished talking, she replied.

"I mean, thank you for being with me for all this time." She said, her eyes crashed onto mine.

"You've been with me in every step of the way. You never left me, and you always stayed. That's what I'm thankful for." Her eyes leaned down, staring blankly at the ground.

"What are you saying? Of course, I'd stay. That's a promise I kept for you right from the start." I replied, avoiding the glimmer in her eyes as I kept drawing.

"You're worth staying for." I said, flashing a smile at her.

For a moment of lost time, we both stayed silent. My pencil kept caressing the paper in front of me, trying to replicate the angel my eyes are currently seeing. As my eyes gave subtle glimpses, I noticed the stars in her eyes darken, the smile in her lips slowly disappearing and the rainbow that embellished her faded.

"Hey, smile. Don't frown on this special day." I said, smiling as I closed the sketchbook.

"I'm very happy for you." I continued, her fading state unchanged. As I gave another glimpse at the stars in her eyes, they were twinkling. Faint but still beautifully twinkling.

"If I had chosen you. Maybe I wouldn't see the pain you are trying to hide inside. I know what you feel. You're trying to hide it but the stars in your eyes tells me the truth."

What she suddenly uttered caught me off guard. I became speechless as she continued.

"All these years. I noticed the secret glimpses you made, the way you gazed at me from afar, and the way you laugh when you look at me. Sorry if I couldn't love you more, sorry if I only loved you as a friend." I couldn't do anything but listen.

Tears started falling as I quickly wiped them off my eyes. She was saying the truth. I love her, but everything's too late. I don't have a chance anymore.

"What are you talking about? I'm happy, that you've found the one. I'm alright, I'm happy it ends this way." I replied, sobbing as I tried to hide the traces of pain inside me.

After a while, the marriage ceremony began. As she walked out the door, she took one last glimpse at me, a tear fell at her cheeks as she uttered something, something that made me let go of all the tears I tried suppressing inside.

"I love you, but I'm sorry. This is a lifetime that isn't meant for you and me."

It hurts for me, and a part of me just can't accept the truth. If maybe I hadn't been weak back then, then maybe I'd be the guy standing at the altar waiting for her, I'd be the guy who would be taking care of her all her life. But destiny only chose me to be her friend. Nothing more, nothing less. I can't do anything but to be happy for her.

Because this is her happily ever after.