“Are you ready?” Memory asked him. They were already in the Milky Way galaxy. It gave the impression that they had not been very far in the first place. And through time warp, it would only take them a while to reach Earth. Miguel shook his head as he looked at Thera once more. Thera looked back at Miguel with lifeless eyes. It told Miguel how she felt. It was the first time he saw her this way. Somehow, he felt that way as well.

Miguel pulled out the Key in his pocket and opened it. He took the Shooting Star and held it in his hand. “Thera,” Miguel softly spoke as he approached her, “I’d like you to have this.” Miguel took Thera’s hand and placed the ring on her finger. She remembered what Miguel said about the ring. “Think of it as a remembrance of our time together, a memory.” He smiled, to which she tried to smile back.

As soon as they said their goodbyes, he told Memory he was ready. Memory requested that he step onto the platform. In a matter of seconds, particles of the energy enveloped Miguel. He felt his cells dissipate into air—his body dematerializing into the same energy, which was later, beamed towards Earth.

Thera burst into tears. “Is this it, Memory? Is this how it feels to love?” Thera whispered. She realized how big Memory was without Miguel. She realized how Miguel felt when he had first been taken away from Mia. She realized how it felt when love starts to finally bloom and suddenly love being taken back. They had just been together for 7 days but it already felt like forever. “Why is it sad? Why does it hurt?”

Love is when you miss him even before he’s gone; when you could listen to him talk all night and never get tired of hearing his voice; when the sound of his name sends chills down your spine and when you see his smile the second you close your eyes.

Adriene Auckerman