The end had been drawing near, as certain as midnight’s tolling bell.
Each moment, each shared glance, each word felt like the long, slow chime echoing across a darkened sky—drawing them closer and closer to goodbye.

He walked into the room where she waited to see him one last time,
and though he had prepared for this, his heart still leapt at the sight of her—
as it had a hundred times before.
She had been the only good thing in so long.
He had held her close in his soul, clung to her presence like a lifeline,
dreading the moment he would have to let his friend go.

The days leading to this parting had been heavy with dread,
each hour bending under the weight of what was coming.
And now he stepped into the final act—
moving across the stage to share the scene just before the curtain would fall.
He wanted to cry out, to stop the play,
to give voice to the hollow ache growing in him with each step toward her.

But the dialogue, when it came, was casual—
simple words hiding the storm inside.
For if he had tried to speak the truth of what he felt,
the words would have been lost in the sobbing of his soul.

So instead, he wrapped his arms around her.
He breathed in her scent, knowing it would be the last time.
He felt her nearness, the comfort of her presence,
knowing that when this embrace broke, so too would the silken thread that had connected them.
His partner, his traveling companion, had finished her journey.

They stood, close but silent.
She looked at him, and he at her.
Her hazel eyes were familiar but this time they offered no comfort.
He saw in them a storm that blocked the safe harbor of an ally.
She was the keeper of his trust and his shelter,
but her voice in the quiet would soon be silenced; a confidante lost
He felt the pain rising, raw and unstoppable—
his voice cracked, his face burned, his eyes glistened with the weight of goodbye.

And all he could manage was:
“I will miss you so much.”

She turned, walking toward the open doorway.
He watched as her dark hair swayed with each step,
longing for his friend to stay, to remain in sight,
to remain within reach.

But she wouldn’t.
She couldn’t.

At the doorway, she turned once more,
offering a final farewell.

And he said, simply, truly:
“I love you.”
And in that moment, he had never meant it more.

She had been his partner through trying times.
She had been a reason.
A friend found quickly, a bond formed deeply.

And now she was gone.

He sank into the emptiness of the room,
quiet in his despair,
hollow in his loss.
His hands shook.
His lashes were heavy with unfallen rain, his vision clouded in grief.
He wiped the tears before they could fall.

She was gone.
That was it.
It was over.

His special companion had flown away,
and he feared, with all his heart,
that it was forever.