Leaving and Back Again

“So is this goodbye?”

Lyra quivered to the man standing in front of her. They were both just behind the gates of her manor, autumn leaves swiftly falling from the trees towering over them. Just three mornings before, Mattheus, her companion in her home, had broken the news to her he was leaving the place to be on his own, a concept which Lyra had a hard time grasping since after all everything has gone smoothly for the both of them. To be honest, it had been the most major fight they had ever since he lived in with her. 

“I’m leaving the place,” 

She could still vividly hear that day; they were sitting at the small dining table fit for the two of them which was on the rooftop, eating their breakfast away under the warmth of the sun. She could recall his voice when he unfolded his plans, boldness and strain mixed. Lyra had never felt like she was hit like a ton of potion bottles and cauldrons until that moment.

“Why would you even? Everything’s fine here, I’m here.” She recalled her response, shock and confusion written all over her breaking voice. Lyra had never been afraid in her life, even when the Shadows from the Cursed Valleys were chasing after her. Her only close friend was leaving her alone. Not that she had any trouble being in solitary before he came to her life, but the thought of being by herself again disturbed her. And this is why your mother keeps telling you to stay away from any attachments, commitments; now look at you. She scolded herself once she was alone in her room as she contemplated this sudden information.

When Lyra thought everything was going well, it just had to go downhill. They went to adventures together, sometimes with their other friends, where they would barely make it out alive. It was the first time she was ever content with her life, the first time she finally felt pure happiness. It was enough for Mattheus to be here.

Though in all honesty, she knew this day would happen. From the moment he told her he would stay with her, she didn’t need a clairvoyance sorceress to run to and ask if ever this day would come, but she hadn’t anticipated when. She got all caught up with her work and ventures that when he broke it to her, she was stunned. He probably even planned this all along before we went back home.

“Among all people, I know you would be the one to understand why I would be doing this,” He bursted; Mattheus had the right to be angry and confused as well at her as much as she wanted to be mad at him. He expected her to support his decision and all Lyra ever did that moment was to storm out and never come back out to face him.

He visited her the same night she locked herself when he revealed himself to her. She was so mad and confused that she didn’t come out for dinner, and Mattheus had resorted to leaving her plate just by her door. I’m such a dramatic witch. She cringed as she looked back, embarrassment flowing as soon as she finally stepped out of her room and conversed with him about the issue.

The sound of Mattheus snickering at her words had woken her up from her reminiscing. In return, she shot him an angry stare and grumbled ‘I’m being serious’ under her breath. “You make it sound like I’m not coming back,” he retorted and reached for her sleek raven hair to tousle it down.

In those lines, Lyra’s heart fluttered like it would fly out of her chest, “Are you?” She raised her head and looked at his eyes with glimmer. She glanced at his disheveled golden locks spilled down his forehead, the same look ever since she found and met him. He wore his beige trench coat, underneath a white polo, and brown cargo pants. Hanging down his chest is the necklace shaped like a flower that Lyra gave to him, that also matched the necklace she was wearing. It was only at this time she got a close, detailed look on him.

“In time, Lyra,” he whispered but loud enough for her to pick up on the words. She was at the brink of letting all her tears fall out. Don’t cry you big girl, you’re a sorceress for magic’s sake. 

But it was too late, Mattheus could hear her sniffles amongst the silence that embraced the moment. He just chuckled at her. How dare he laugh at such a serious time! And all Lyra could do was wipe the tears away because nothing will stop him from leaving anymore. He already got his bag with him filled with everything he needed.

Mattheus lifted his hand and wiped the tears streaming down Lyra’s cheek and cupped it afterward. “I’ll see you soon, ok? I’ll be back before you even know it,” He leaned to her, connecting both their foreheads and afterward placing a chaste kiss on it. Just like that, he left her in the silence at the gates. His boots clicked with the cobblestone shortly before the path merged with the main road.

Lyra stood there, wiping her eyes dry with her hands and smudged them down her beige coat. She watched him ride his horse waiting outside; he took a quick glimpse at her one more time and grinned as the optimist of him would. As he left her sight, Lyra looked back at the manor; vines of her favorite plants curling down from the roof to the ground. She knew her life would change again once she stepped inside. Piles of books and cases waiting for her at her work room to be solved.

Who knows how long she will see him again, maybe a month after he’s going to come back at her doorstep or maybe it would take him years which was awful if you’d ask Lyra, but one thing she knows is that he will always be in her heart.