The Thing About Love

Months had passed after Victor’s death, and Niko was always visiting him. The cemetery was quiet and empty. The autumn wind blew softly as the leaves rustled down and scattered across the ground. Niko sat down in front of Victor’s grave. He dragged his fingers over Victor’s name, feeling the cold, hard granite. He took out a book with a navy blue cover and a title in gold letters.

“Hey, Vic,” Niko said softly, getting closer to Victor’s grave. “I brought the book I was working on. The one you were curious about when we first met.”

Niko brushed his fingers over the book slowly. “It’s the story of us. How we first met, how you changed my life, and what you meant—what you mean to me.”

Niko opened the book, taking a deep breath. He started reading the first page, his voice shaking. The first page talks about the first time they met at the amusement park, describing how surreal the moment felt when they bumped into each other and how the whole world started to slow down—the rides, the talking, everything. Everything slowly disappeared, leaving just the two of them.

As Niko read, tears pooled in his eyes, spilling out as he continued to read, but the empty void only grew. “The moments we spent felt like a Ferris wheel,” Niko quivered. “We started at the bottom, slowly making our way to the top. As we made it to the top, the whole world was under us, and we were the happiest. But as we reached the bottom, the world once again overcame us.”

Niko continued reading, remembering the happiest of moments they had shared. The walks in the park, the café, drinking hot chocolate, and the movies they watched. The days they went on vacation, the proposal, and the days leading up to and after the wedding.

Niko recalled all of those, except for the two days after the wedding. Niko added moments between the two that were bound to happen, but destiny had said otherwise. Niko read until the end, where the two had grown old together and stayed happily side by side.

The wind picked up, the scent of the earth surrounding Niko as he closed the book, resting it on Victor’s grave. “It’s getting published soon,” Niko said, resting his head against the grave. “But I wanted you to be the first person to read it.” Niko sat back up. “I miss you.”

Niko looked up at the sky, the sun coming out slowly, casting a golden glow on him. His mood lifted for a moment, taking the sunlight as a sign that Victor enjoyed the story of the two.

“I wish you were still here. I miss you.” Niko got up, dusting the bits of leaves off of him. “I’ll come back soon,” Niko promised. He picked up the book and put it in his bag. “I’ll read you so many more stories.”

Niko walked away slowly, the wind carrying his words away, leaving the cemetery in silence. Niko looked back with nothing but emptiness in his eyes, leaving his beloved to rest in eternal peace.