First love, final kiss

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Words to António

Friday night. Mia got comfortable on the chair while the pizza was getting ready. She drank a bit of her soda and felt her stomach growl. That pizza place was a popular student hub and of course a favorite date spot for the couple. Across the table, António seemed deep in thought or distracted, making a roll and fixing his cigarette for later.

"How was your day?", he asked

"It was alright I guess, life on campus like usual. Ah, that paper I wrote with a hungover last week got a 4 out of 5 score. How funny is that? I didn't even know what I was doing half of the time. Maybe the professor had a hungover as well"

He laughed, tilting his head back, and fixing his beautiful black hair, forming in shiny curls.

"How about your day?", Mia asked.

"It was fine... I was actually looking for plane tickets to go home in a few months from now"

It was a topic both avoided to mention. Their period of studying abroad would soon be over, and nobody wanted to talk about a long-distance thing. Quite a gloomy subject.

Silence on the table, as the cheerful waiter brought the pizza.

"Enjoy"

They nodded an awkward thank-you, and then they tried to change the subject.

"You know what, would you like to go for a weekend getaway together? A friend of mine went on a ski trip with a bunch of other guys in the mountains and it was great... We don't have to go skiing, I know it's... it's not quite your cup of tea. But we could rent a cabin and stay there by the fireplace and see the snow outside".

"It sounds amazing, I think it's just what we need to recharge..."

"Alright! Let me worry about booking and plans, you just bring yourself, and maybe a backpack. We go tomorrow morning"

Mia hated being impulsive, she was a planner (making a plan A, B, C, and so on), and well, he was completely the opposite. It seemed kind of a cute combination at the time.

They got on the bus the next morning, held hands, and shared kisses as they were in their "honeymoon"-like phase.

They hiked in the snowy mountains for a few kilometers, admiring the bright scenery. It was a sunny cold day, and the snow was mirroring all that light, it looked like paradise. António made strides fast with his long legs, while Mia struggled to keep up. She was more of an indoors person and of course shorter.

"Do we even know where exactly are we going?"

"Yeah, there are a bunch of cabins in that direction, we just have to pick one and ask if they have a room"

"Aaalright then... but didn't we have a reservation?"

"Who needs a reservation when we can change things up at any moment?"

They went for the first cabin, they heard the price and turned around. Not so student-friendly. They discussed it outside and decided to continue uphill in case they found something else.

They found another cabin for a similar price. The place seemed a bit old and run-down, and quite empty from reservations at the time. An old Polish lady, who seemed like the owner, was at the reception desk.

Then Mia told António to follow her lead.

"Darling, didn't we pass earlier a cabin with a better price? Would you like to go back?"

"But honey, it's a bit far, I am kind of tired of walking around with all this snow"

"Yeah but the place is similar and with lower cost"

They went back and forth for less than a minute, and Mia made a turn with her body towards out, before the reception lady who overheard the conversation, intervened.

"How much are you willing to pay?"

Negotiating the price got them an affordable double-bed room on the ground floor with a fireplace but no breakfast, which was more than fine. They would go out for food anyway.

The lady showed them the room, and as soon as they thanked her and closed the door, Mia released a big smile.

António said, "I don't know how you do it, I didn't expect this"

"We did this together, you certainly played the part"

They hastily left their backpacks on the floor and made love.

After, António smoked his cigarette while still in bed, and Mia rolled up with the sheets covering herself a bit, getting comfortable in his arms.

They didn't speak a word for a while.

Then António said, "Whenever I hear this song which is stuck in my head, I think of you, want to hear it?"

He took out his phone and put the song to play, translating the lyrics for her verse by verse.

Later that day, they went out for dinner, and enjoyed hot wine with spices in the town, and felt the cold night air on their blushed faces.

Hiking on their way back uphill, they shared different stories and talked philosophically about what is love really.

When they reached the half-lit lobby of the cabin place, they overheard music, as if someone was playing the violin, and it was coming from upstairs. Such a sentimental piece and a skilled artist.

He made a move, bowing, and invited her to dance with him. Mia thought it was cheesy and ridiculous, but finally let herself free from these thoughts, and they just danced together for a while.

A clumsy lovers' waltz at the empty lobby on that winter evening. When another guest of the cabin place walked in, they stopped and went back into their room, withholding a nervous laughter.

They kissed, staying embraced for an unknown length of time.

Sometimes words are not enough to describe a feeling. Words were missing then, but that was fine.

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Fast forward to his final letter

Three red roses, dry and dead

in an envelope traveled far away,

within an envelope, with a bittersweet message

Making her heart heavy like lead,

the skies seemed gloomy and grey,

memories recreating a shadow, an image

An image of an old lover, her first real love

with whom dreams of the future she wove

Words spoken but not meant

Illusions got them both hurt

As she read the letter she cried one last time

Why the guilt? she didn't commit a crime

Breathing out, letting the soft breeze carry her sigh

She promised herself she would no longer lie

To herself, closing the full chapter

Like removing once and for all the damn plaster

Moving forward, and braving the weather

She would grow strong, this time and forever

Her feelings for him became scattered and gone,

like a daydream of a rose and a thorn

Cynic and tough she briefly became,

She learned harshly the rules of the game

When he reached out, sometime in the year after,

"I miss you, want to catch up?" caused laughter,

The memories she treasured inside

But her eyes had long dried,

He was engaged now to his ex, so bizarre

She thought while reading his message in a bar

She had a sip of her gin,

and with a grin

She pressed block and delete,

and her happiness was now complete

For she realized she did not care for him like that any longer

She could finally move on, having her own life to conquer

She didn't stay cynic and cold for too long,

As new love found her, and proved her wrong

Then the circle once more begun

A life full of love, under the sun

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