Day was… what I guess you could have called my Sun if you were being dramatic about it. He’d lit up my world, radiating through to the very core of me and left me completely burned and stranded in darkness.
Which was why it was quite the shock when, two years later, I ran into him again…
I’d stepped out of my apartment, walked down the street, crossed into the park on my way to do some early autumn reading under the birch trees, and — all of a sudden like cat claws popping a balloon… there he was, propped against a marble fountain and licking casually at a pink lollipop.
I stopped dead in my tracks.
“Hello, Charli,” Day pushed off the fountain, stepping toward me. His voice was just as smooth and buttery as it had been two years ago.
I didn’t say anything.
There he was: long white coat and pants — Day only wore white — startling white hair, honey colored eyes…
He took another step toward me.
“Stop,” I said, holding my book out in front of me like a shield.
Day didn’t stop. My hands trembled. I wished I’d brought The Complete Works of Shakespeare instead of a flimsy paperback.
Day stopped just two inches before my outstretched novel.
“Don’t,” I begged, eyes pleading.
Eyes soft, Day reached out and gently took one of my hands from the book; he brought it to his lips and kissed my fingertips, eyes closed.
“I’ve missed you, Charli,” he breathed, sealing me back away in his unbreakable trap.
Getting over Day had been like trying to reverse the flow of a waterfall. And I don’t mean a dinky one like in a hotel lobby. I mean Niagara Falls.
The thing was, Day had been perfect. Mysterious and loving, gentle and strong, interested in me but selfish at all the right times, fearless, adventurous… and then he’d just disappeared.
I had been left with nothing but a note which read:
Forget about me.
That was it.
All this to say, you might be a bit understanding of the fact that I punched him. Hard. Oops…
Day’s eyes fluttered closed and he slumped forward, catching me off guard and nearly sending us both tumbling onto the grass. I found my footing at the last minute, but Day was out cold.
I let out a sound that was less like a curse, more like a sheep falling off a mountain.
Unconscious Day draped over my arms, I laboriously dragged him back to my apartment, completely unbothered by the horrified looks of dog-walkers and frisbee-throwers out to enjoy the last bit of warmth from the sunshine. An emotional part of me hoped all their days were ruined.
“Ugh, Charli,” Day muttered in his daze.
“Not a word,” I was livid, “not one word.”
Back in my apartment I slung him onto the couch and dashed to the kitchen for a cold compress. I ended up opting for a bit more than a compress…
I shall admit… perhaps an entire pitcher of ice water was slightly overboard…
Day awoke with a start, entirely drenched, leaping to his feet before unsteadily falling back onto the couch again.
Then he did perhaps the worst thing he could have possibly done:
Day threw his head back and laughed.
“Haha! I supposed I really deserved that one, Charli,” he clutched his sides, then deftly reached into his dripping coat for another lolly. He’d picked up the candy habit to kick the smoking one, and it appeared this one was actually harder to break.
I let him laugh — I was entirely speechless.
He went serious again, slicking white waves of wet hair out of his eyes.
“Charli, do you remember when I told you about why my hair turned white?”
I shivered. Even now, the shock he had endured as a child sent chills up my spine.
“He’d come back, Charli. And He was planning to kill you. And then He was planning to kill me. I had to leave.”
I could count the number of times I’d seen Day look truly deeply hurt like that. This right now made six.
“I am sorry I couldn’t explain everything back then. I-I didn’t know if I was ever coming back.”
Tears gathered at the corners of my eyes.
“But now I know. And now we’re safe…”
I didn’t quite know what Day meant at first.
He reached deep, deep down into the pocket of his coat and presented me with a small blue urn.
“Wh-What?”
“This is Him. What’s left of His ashes, anyway. I brought it as proof — proof that I had to leave. Charli… is there any way you can maybe not forget about me? Ever again?”
You probably can’t understand that moment. You can’t understand unless you know what Day went through because of Him. You can’t understand unless you know Day like I know him.
Because all I felt was relief.
And then I took Day in my arms. And I kissed him.
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