He Painted Her

After all the people had left. After the mourning was over.

After her scent was gone. Gone, from her clothing. Gone, from her bed sheets.

He painted her…

He painted all her remembered of her. He painted her eyes, her nose, her lips… He painted her laughter, her tears… He painted everything about her and nothing about her…

He painted her…

He painted her in the kitchen, dancing with a mop. He painted her in the studio, posed in an arabesque. He painted her in bed, her hair strewn across the pillow, smiling sensuously at him.

He painted her days…

He painted her when she was a baby, using pictures provided by her family. He painted her when she was an adolescent, dressed up in her softball uniform. He painted her when she was thirteen, immersed in a book, wearing glasses three sizes too large. He painted her when she was sixteen, her eyes shining in delight at the prospect of driving. He painted the day when she fell in love with him.

He painted her life…

He painted their first meeting, her face expressing her hatred for him. He painted their first date, she in her faded jeans looking like a deer stuck in headlights. He painted their first kiss, both of them had anticipated the moment for days. He painted their engagement, her eyes overflowing with tears at the thought of spending her short life with him. He painted their wedding, reminiscing her radiance in that beautiful white dress. He painted their first night, a night of pure ecstasy for the both of them.

He painted them together…

He painted her the day she received the news, jumping up and down in excitement. He painted her pregnant, sewing clothes for the baby. He painted her in labor, her mouth grimaced in pain. He painted her dead, with their unborn child dead inside her.

He painted her joy.

He painted their family, sobbing and wailing. He painted the blackness of her coffin. He painted the roses. He painted the reception.

He painted her funeral.

And after he painted everything about her. After he painted all he remembered. After he left an imprint of his love on earth. He left to join her.