We Were There Once

We were there once.

When the tide rushed in like the sweep of a broom as we watched day turn to dusk. The mix of colours radiating through the sky was so picturesque, I couldn't comprehend it. Sitting on the sandy rocks, there was not a care in the world as you slept on my warm shoulder. You didn't realise as I smiled at you with a longing that we could stay like this forever.

You were my sunshine, I was yours. Together, we were brighter than all of the stars in the sky. I was your rock in the darkest times. You didn't care what anybody thought of me. No matter what, we promised we would be there. Forever. Now, I grimace at those promises as I wonder if this was ever true.

Soon, that evening on the beach ticked by. Years passed, people changed. Freshmen became sophomores. Yet, we were still the same. Bonded by struggle, by friendship. There seemed to be nothing that could break us apart.

Then, he came. Out of nowhere, like a speck of dust that had multiplied. I told you to dust him away, that he wouldn't care for you. But you were entrapped. 'Love,' you called it. No matter how I tried, I couldn't save you.

'At least I could still be there for you,' I thought. But as time passed, you slowly drifted away to a desert island. It was my darkest time. Yet you weren't there to let me cry on your shoulder as I had done.

Whenever I saw you, I would rush past. Yet you wouldn't see me as you stared into his hungry eyes, thinking it was something it wasn't.

You thought I was the problem, that I was feeding you lies. But yet I was the one that could see the smirks on his face when he glanced at his phone. I was the one that would see him slide his phone into a safe spot as you came.

Then, I moved. "I'll keep in touch," you said, "I'll go visit you in a few weeks when you settle in." Lies. Those weeks turned into months, months turned into years. No text, phone calls or even birthday wishes came from you.

After that, I gave up. Living a new life without you, left a hole in my heart. Knowing that you would be heartbroken when you found the truth.

Yet, when I saw you alone in the café that day, on the side of Exhibition St, I couldn't bring myself to say hello. I glanced at you, reminiscing about the day on the beach when things were different. But I brushed past you, not looking twice, nothing but a stranger in my eyes.

We were there once.