When I See You Again (gxg)

Icarus

I was greeted by a familiar face when I woke up.

She was fast asleep, her lips slightly parted, and her chest heaved a little every time she breathes. Her scent which was now mixed with the aroma of my shampoo intoxicated me.

I trained my eyes away from her and sat on the edge of the bed. I wasn't sure how we ended up in our situation. I had no recollection of falling asleep either, but I'm not complaining.

I realized that maybe It's a good thing that she was able to voice out her feelings. The only problem is that I didn't know how to react. I wasn't sure what to say or how to explain.

So I figured that maybe I can leave things as it is for the time being, like how I developed the habit of hiding and leaving my problems behind without really confronting it.

And maybe she's right. Maybe I did change. Maybe I'm not the person I was before. But change is not always a bad thing right?

After a minute of aimless thoughts I felt a little bit thirsty. A glass of cold water appealed to my mind.

I was just about to leave when my eyes caught sight of the painting she was asking about this morning. I redirected my steps and went closer to the canvas.

I lifted the frame with both of my hands, ignoring the weight and turned it over, hoping to hide it again for the time being. But when I did, I noticed a piece of folder paper stuck on its back.

Out of curiosity, I slid it free, unfolded and read it. And in doing so, I was greeted by a neat cursive handwriting recognizable as my own.

It was a poem I've written years ago. The same time I made the painting.

And It read,

This is me, a wandering soul in this world of thee,
A shadow of a girl who once wanted to flee,
To elude from pain, to escape from reality

This is me, the broken piece of me
A fragment of someone who I didn't want to be
An Icarus who has fallen to the sea

This is me, scarred and bruised as you can see
I tried to yell but no one heard my plea
I cried but no one noticed me...

A mix of emotions surged through my chest.

It felt heavy.

Like the wind was suddenly knocked out of my lungs. Once again, I couldn't breathe.

The memories kept resurfacing like a broken tape record flashing before my eyes.I was desperately fighting so hard to push the images back where it came from but I couldn't.

I was just standing there, unmoving when Willow appeared in my sight. He went closer, circled my legs and jumped, his front paws landing on my belly.

He proceeded licking my hands that were still a little bit shaky. And honestly, it calmed me down a bit.

That's when I realized how silly I must've looked like. I took a deep breath and pocketed the paper in my pants. I mustered a smile as I petted my dog, letting the distraction veer me away from my thoughts.

Once I was downstairs, I fixed myself a glass of water and savored the chilling sensation in my mouth. The endeavor cleared my mind for the time being. I was me again and I was grateful for that.

I'm still holding my glass, facing the kitchen counter when I felt someone hug me from behind. At first I tensed not knowing who the culprit was. But it was gone the moment I heard a familiar chuckle.

That's when I knew that it was my best friend. It was Ally

This time I rolled my eyes and loosened her hold on my hips. I was successfully able to turn around, greeted by her smiling face.