Even though at this moment, the only thing she really wanted to do was to let go and let herself break down and cry. Let the tears fall. Let the raw emotions inside her finally come to the surface. Let him know just how much this decision was affecting her... let him see how this decision was in fact, killing her.
But no. She needed to be strong. She needed to hold her ground and keep that everlasting mask in place. It was for the best. Although what exactly this 'best' was, she didn't know. So maybe this wasn't for the best. All this was happening because circumstances decided to be cruel, and there was nothing she could do to change them.
She thought she felt her heart stop beating when her worst fears were confirmed. The decision had been finalized. He was leaving. She had lost him. In the end she couldn't bear it anymore. She had to go... go out of the room, go out of the building - she didn't care. She just had to go someplace where she wouldn't have to lie anymore, somewhere she could be alone and just let it all out.
She ran outside. Tears were streaming down her face. She was having trouble breathing - and it wasn't because of the running. It was because with every breath she took, she became more acutely aware of the jarring pain in her chest where her heart was. It was the worst pain she had ever felt in her life, and yet it was not caused by any physical wound.
With tears still streaming down her face, she eased herself into a sitting position on the grass. She hugged her knees, rested her forehead against them and sobbed freely. Only one thought echoed in her mind - She had lost him.
She raised her head and wiped away the tears with her sleeve. Maybe she was overreacting. He would be back. It wasn't like the world was going to end just because he decided to go.
But just as she thought that, something in the sky caught her eye. She wiped her eyes with her sleeve again; the tears had blurred her vision. She could see it more clearly now.
It was a gap. There was a gap in the sky.
She stood up, thoughts of her recent heartbreak temporarily banished from her mind. She stared at the oddity on the heavens above her. It was lightning shaped, and from where she was standing, she could see that the middle part was pitch-black.
She took a step closer, and realized that the chasm was actually growing.
She didn't know how long she stood there, fascinated by the strange gap above. But she was suddenly snapped out of her musings when the ground beneath her started shaking. This was followed by an ear-splitting roar; it sounded as though the earth itself let out a massive groan.
People seemed to realize that something was going on. They poured out of the same building she herself had exited earlier. They all milled around her; some were clutching at their companions, some were weeping hysterically, some were talking excitedly into their phones, and some were taking pictures. But all of them had one thing in common; their eyes were trained at the chasm in the sky.
Then the ground shook some more, and there was another groan from the earth; louder this time. The chasm above them grew larger, and bit by bit, the blue sky around it started vaporizing right before their eyes.
The people around her were panicking now. Some dropped on their hands and knees and started praying. Others stood clutching their mobile phones, relaying this current development to their loved ones. Others with much more sense ran to their cars and drove away. A futile action, it would seem. No matter where they went, the chasm would still be visible, and the darkness inside it would still be eating away at the sky.
As for her, she didn't care. She merely stood there and watched the chaos unfold in front of her. She was an island; unmovable in the midst of the sea of panicking people threatening to engulf her.
Why would she care? After all, her world had already ended even before that chasm appeared. This was just making it official.
“There are things that we never want to let go of, people we never want to leave behind. But keep in mind that letting go isn’t the end of the world, it’s the beginning of a new life.”
