Author S. K. Nicholas

Black feathers upon a lover’s belly. Laughter with a friend. Memories of spending Christmas time with family. Those moments when nothing else mattered. Not yesterday, not tomorrow. The older you get, the more you realise how many faces have died, and how many have left you behind. Some succumb to illness while others are snuffed out in the blink of an eye. A car crash here, a suicide there. Family members you took for granted, drifting away while you were too busy worrying about stuff that served no purpose. Lovers you should have made more of an effort with, and those who played you for a fool. Life is a wonderful thing, but every time it blesses you with a little magic, it knows it will get you in the end. It gives with one hand and takes with the other. Kisses now lost, and promises broken. Too many tears, and too many fears that you could never quite shake off. So many tender embraces crippled with indifference. So many dreams that crept out of reach. The mysteries of love, and the emptiness of knowing what awaits each and every one of us. No endless horizon, only the end of everything. The final curtain call of a life blessed with far too many mistakes and far too many wasted days. And even though those moments of joy can lift you up in the darkest of hours, you know the light is only temporary. No amount of rage can destroy the night. We can try as we might, but we are merely passengers with only one, silent destination. This is all there is. So speak your truth. Hold your loved ones close, and keep them warm as the days grow cold. Give yourself only to those who give themselves to you, for the rest are mere junk.