Chapter 1: The Last Goodbye
The rain wouldn't stop.
It fell heavily against the black umbrellas gathered around the grave, turning the earth beneath our feet into mud.
I stood at the back of the crowd, staring at the coffin.
Her coffin.
Maya.
I couldn't move.
Everyone else was crying. Her mother held onto her father. Her best friend could barely stand. Teachers whispered among themselves.
But I couldn't cry.
Not yet.
I was still waiting for someone to tell me this was a mistake.
That Maya would suddenly walk through those cemetery gates with her backpack hanging from one shoulder, her hair blowing across her face, and that little smile she always tried to hide.
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She wasn't coming.
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And somehow, that was the first thing I finally understood.
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I had lost her.
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Forever.
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My hands trembled as I looked down at the flowers I was holding.
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White lilies.
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I remembered the first time Maya had told me they were her favorite.
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I had laughed at her.
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"You actually like flowers?" I had asked.
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She smiled.
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"What's wrong with liking flowers?"
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"Nothing. It's just... very you."
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She had looked away, embarrassed.
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I didn't know then that one day I'd be standing beside her grave holding those same flowers.
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I didn't know that I'd spend the rest of my life wishing I had treated her differently.
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I didn't know that the girl I spent so much time making fun of...
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was the girl who loved me more than anyone ever had.
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The priest continued speaking, but I couldn't hear him anymore.
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All I could hear was my own voice from months ago.
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"You really thought I'd ever like someone like you?"
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"Stop following me around."
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"Everyone knows you have a crush on me. It's embarrassing."
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I had said those words like they meant nothing.
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To me, they were jokes.
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To Maya...
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they were wounds.
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And now there was no way to take them back.
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I closed my eyes.
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For the first time, I wanted to tell her I was sorry.
I wanted to tell her that I didn't hate her.
That I remembered every time she smiled at me.
Every time she helped me.
Every time she waited for me even when I pretended not to notice.
I wanted to tell her that she had mattered.
More than I had ever admitted.
But the cruelest thing about regret is that it always arrives when there's nothing left to change.
I opened my eyes and stared at her grave.
The name carved into the stone made my chest ache.
MAYA.
I placed the flowers beside it.
"I'm sorry," I whispered.
The rain became heavier.
And for the first time, I cried.
But Maya couldn't hear me.
She never would.
Because by the time I finally realized how much she meant to me...
it was already too late.
Six Months Earlier
"Maya!"
She turned around.
Her eyes met mine.
And she smiled.
That stupid, beautiful smile.
The smile I would later spend every night wishing I could see again.
Back then, I didn't know her story.
I didn't know what she was hiding behind that smile.
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I didn't know how badly I was going to hurt her.
And most importantly...
I didn't know that the girl standing in front of me would become the person I would regret losing for the rest of my life.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe8UXGSMmDw
and then Add to home screen.