[ WP ] It had been 12 years since your high school girlfriend suddenly died . Today , on vacation , you bump into her .

My eyes were playing tricks on me. They had to be. And of all days, today. Life sure has a cruel sense of humour. 
 
 It was like nothing had changed. The cute spring in her step when she walked, as if life was a blissful dream without a care in the world. The innocent curiosity with which she pointed and questioned anything and everything, a beautiful, unquenchable yearning to love and happiness at the gift of life. 
 
 It was wonderful while it lasted. High school was never an easy time for anyone, but together we had forged my favourite memories then. That invaluable gift of companionship, a shoulder to cry on and a listening ear, a best friend and a partner in crime and everything in between. I had never been able to find it again after her. 
 
 It was my fault. She pleaded and begged me not to do it. I was too stubborn. She would n't leave me. She said if she came along, she could help take care of me in case things were headed south. 
 
 The car came out if nowhere. The light at the end of the tunnel. It was n't my fault, but all I needed was a second. If I had n't been drinking, perhaps I would have had that second. And in that second she was taken away. She paid the price for my sin. 
 
 After that I kept running. My ghosts would n't let me rest. Running is addictive. The calm before the storm, the false sense security you lull yourself into, allowing yourself to forget even if just for sometime. And then it comes back. Like a tidal wave, the pain overwhelms you. The guilt becomes unbearable. So you run again. 
 
 Is this where I had been running to? The finish line at the end of my endless race? 
 
 She turned at looked at me straight in the eye. She gave me a nostalgic smile and cocked her head to the side. Her voice was the same sweet nectar I had archived into my memory. Yet her eyes were different. The spark in her eyes I remembered was gone, and in them I found only pity. 
 
 `` Wake up, Xavier. You need to wake up. You need to live for both of us.'' 
 
 And then she was gone.
