Loss: A Short Story

loss.

She was simply beautiful. I remember being mesmerized anew each morning. I watched her crystal petals drooping elegantly onto my mantle, the arc of her thin glass stem and the sharpness of her leaves. It had never occurred to me that she too was fleeting. I was sure that she would remain there on my mantle, ever still. I took delight in the time I spent at her side, gazing endlessly at her, memorizing her shadow, marveling throughout the day at the different ways in which the sunlight would adorn her. I became utterly fascinated by her ability to reflect beauty and I began to get closer. My compulsion for her came to a point where I could barely sleep at the thought of running my hands through her delicate petals the next morning.

I decided impulsively to wrap her in a cloth and take her to the river, where I was sure that the reflection of the water would bring out in her a beauty I had never witnessed. It was a glorious day. The sun glared from above me, and its light illuminated the path I tread to the river. I was so overwhelmed by the beauty of the day, that I carefully took her out of the bag, and unwrapped her. Her petals glistened gracefully in the light and I held her up to it until I reached a cliff overlooking the river. I was desperate to revive the beauty that I had seen from her in those days when the mere thought of her filled me with ecstasy. I held her up higher and higher, even as I reached the brink of the cliff. Still, she would not shine bright enough! I glared intently at her, thinking for some reason that she would cave to my gaze. But she did not. With each passing minute, I walked closer to the edge and more angrily held

In the blink of an eye. I watched in terror as the current swept her in a gust. Immediately I ran around the cliff and down by the river. I chased her down the current in an anxious hurry, tears swelling up in my eyes, as I ran breathlessly after her. I ran through weeds and bushes. I fell again and again, in an exasperated rush to get her back. I needed her back! My knees were bruised, and trickles of blood traveled down my weak calves. Still, I ran. Down the endless river, hoping, and almost believing, that I could find her, and wrap her back up in the cloth and take her back to the mantle, where I would admire her without questioning and without contempt. Slowly, I felt the speed of the river overwhelm me, I could not go any faster. I stopped very suddenly and fell to the ground in defeat, I had lost my glass