As they headed to the airport, the atmosphere was quietthat you could hear A pin drop on the floor.They were seated in Johns car, Rebecca seemingly lost in her thoughts,looking through the car window. Occasionally, John would take a quick glance at her while he drove to the airport. The quietness was unusual. He wasn't used to this. Rebecca was always so talkative and cheerful, but this side of her he was seeing right now was strange to him, and he didn't know what to do. Knowing he was the reason for this, her unusual quietness pained his heart the more. But there was nothing he could do about it.
On the other hand, Rebecca couldn't stop the loneliness she felt creeping up inside of her heart. He wasn't even gone yet and here she was sulking already. She mentally slapped herself for being this weak. She had to be strong for both of them. She knew it, but she couldn't find it in her strength right now. How would she cope without him by herself? Somehow, along the line in this love story of theirs, he had managed to interweave himself in her life so tight that she found breathing without him difficult. And here he was about to go to a whole other country for two years. Lost was not even enough to describe how she felt at that point.
Where was she going to start from without him in her life? Would she ever move on from him or forever be stuck waiting for him to return? She thought to herself. Although she knew the answers to her last question,, the reality of it was something she wasn't ready to accept yet. The lingering truth hanging heavily in the air that none of them was willing to come to terms with yet. It was hard enough to think about it, not to talk about accepting it. That this was the end one way or the other. Two years was a long time and a lot could happen within that period. Knowing John, he would never ask her to wait for him, he loved her too much to do that.
A small tear slipped from her eyes as she thought back to the first time they both met. They were both in college and it was a rainy day. She was in a rush to get to her class on time while John, on the other hand, was walking around campus with no care in the world, as he typically would, when she bumped into him. Spilling the books he was carrying all over the ground. She apologized to no end while helping him gather the books on the ground. He looked at her and smiled, that smile that always seemed to take her breath away even till now.
" What a shame, beautiful but clumsy" she had heard him say.
She remembered finding him annoying. However, John was many things and annoying was just the least of them. He had asked her for her number as compensation for bumping into him. His persistence made it difficult to refuse him, especially as she was in quite a hurry that day. With time, he managed to get her to go on a date with him and the chemistry that coursed through them was undeniably hard to ignore. And from there, they kicked it off.
As John turned off the car's ignition, putting the car to a halt, it pulled her out of her thoughts.
"We're here" he said, turning to look at her.
As her eyes met his,the connection that coursed through them at that point was magnetic. They stared at each other lost in their moment. So many unspoken words passing between them at that moment. His gaze was so intense, boring deep into her soul, Rebecca could not take it anymore.
" We should get going else you'll miss your flight" she said, looking away.
As they walked slowly into the airport, the tension grew more and more. A long goodbye was inevitable. A loud announcement cut through the already noisy environment. " Flight leaves in Ten minutes" it said.
John and Rebecca stood facing each other, their hands intertwined.
" Two years is such a long time" Rebecca said.
" I know, I'll miss you" John said, staring at her, wanting to engrave her image in his mind forever.
" I know I can't ask you to wait for me, but if we do ever meet again...." John trailed off, his words hung heavily in his tongue.
Rebecca cut him off, grabbing his face for a desperate kiss, so many emotions passing through that one kiss.
" 5 minutes more" the announcer shouted, interrupting their moment.
John gently pulled away, their hands still entertwined.
" If we do ever meet again, then" Rebecca said, letting go of his hands.
She stood there and watched as he walked towards the line, his back turned to her. She couldn't help the stream of tears that flowed flown her eyes as he walked away from her knowing it would be the last.
" Good bye" she shouted in between tears
" Goodbye" he replied
