Memories

I remember the color of that candle. I remember the color of her eyes, and the way she smiled. I walked into the gift shop at the beach, and instantly smelled the same scent as the first day I met her. I was taken into a memory I had long buried.

Four years ago-

The shop was small, and there were hardly any people there. What more could I expect from a small candle shop, squished between two bigger company buildings? I looked around and thought,

"what is there that I could get for her? there should be something..."

Soon after, I was standing over a counter of candle scent samples.

"what would my mother like? what are her favorite scents?"

I was snapped out of my thoughts by a petite girl with platinum blonde hair, and peculiar cobalt blue eyes. " do you need help?"

I must have looked dumbfounded, because she quickly added, " I work here, so if you need any help, just ask."

"oh, o-okay." Why was it so hard to find my voice?! why was I feeling so flustered?! "well, what would you recommend for an older woman? I'm looking for a gift for my mother, that is."

She smiled, and my brain melted. She was beautiful, but in her own way. she had a way of shining, which was weird for me to say since I met her all of twenty seconds ago.

"we have these candles here," she said pointing to the sample counter. " and there are the new shipments, over there." pointing in the opposite direction. " do you know what kind of scents she likes?"

"She doesn't like anything to heavily perfumed, and she likes refreshing scents."

She led me to the counter on the opposite side of the store, where the new shipments were.

"we have some here, like Citrus, Ocean Breeze, and Rain Forest."

" Thank you," I looked at her name tag. "Elzie."

"Oh, no problem." Then she picked up a pale green-blue candle. "I think this one suits you. Well, you look like you would like this scent." Now she was the one looking flustered.

"thanks!" I smelled the candle. It was refreshing, like being blown by the wind at sea. Ironically, it was called Ocean Breeze. "hmm, you're right, I do like this scent."

I ended up picking out a bright yellow Citrus candle for my mom, and ended up buying the Ocean Breeze for myself. As I was walking out, Elzie runs after me, holding my change, and a receipt. "You forgot this!" She stops next to me, then asks, "what's your name, by the way? Since you know mine."

I'll admit, I was shocked. "Zac. nice to meet you."

"Well, Zac, I hope to see you around."

With that, she walked back into the store. I looked at the receipt she gave me, and realized why she ran after me. It had her number on it, and I blushed like a maniac.

After this, I called her, and we ended up going on a date. A couple dates later, I asked her to be my girlfriend. She accepted, and we were official. Elzie and I were dating for about a year and a half when the accident happened. She was driving home from work when a drunk pulled onto the road, right in front of her. Elzie was killed on contact, and I was her emergency contact. So, at 8 pm, I was called to the hospital, and the doctors told me the news. Elzie was gone. After that, I couldn't really function. She was my other half, and now, she was gone. She was killed on a Wednesday night, and I had been planning to propose to her the very next day. The very next day. my chance was gone. That one scent from the gift shop at the beach brought back memories that were painful to me, but also, it was what I needed. In the gift shop, I bought one candle, and went to the cemetery. A slow drizzle had begun, but I wasn't affected. I walked to her grave, and placed the candle there.

"Here, Elzie. This reminded me of you, and I really wish you were here with me. I miss you." Along with the candle, I had the engagement ring I bought buried with her. The stone I chose for her ring was the same as the color of her eyes, a peculiar shade of cobalt blue. I still miss her, even though it's been almost two years. I can't think of how things would've turned out if she left work five minutes earlier, or later. I would've proposed the next day, and we'd have our wedding plans to work out. I keep thinking about these kinds of things, like what if? what if the drunk wasn't there? what would our lives look like now? Most importantly, how am I supposed to cope with the loss of my soulmate? I could hardly keep myself together. She was my anchor in life, she stabilized me, and now she's gone. Memories are all I have, and those I will try to keep as long as possible. Of all of the pictures in my phone, most of them are of Elzie. I hope my memories of her don't grow fuzzy over time, because I want to keep her alive, at least in my mind.

I looked back at her gravestone as I walked away, and I swear that I saw a small flame flicker on the candle, even though it was raining. "There you go again, Elzie, working your magic on my head and my heart. I still love you." My words were hardly above a whisper, but I somehow knew she heard them. "I just wish our time together wasn't cut short. In the next life, I hope to meet again." This was the same thing I've been saying for the past two years, and I would continue saying this, until I joined her in the next life. I walked out of the cemetery, enjoying the silence, and the Memories that I carried of the love of my life.