A/N: Yet another short story. Please, as always, comments are much appreciated. I do hope you enjoy!

Emily

Time

His breath came out in icy puffs as he looked out over the frozen landscape from his seat on the wooden bench. Around him, the sun was rising, its rays hitting the frosted ground, resulting in the illusion that the ground was covered in glistening diamonds. The man on the bench seemed to notice none of this beauty. Anyone who might have passed him would have said that he looked like a statue, for he sat unmoving on the bench, his gaze distant, his eyes full of pain.

He was in another world, his thoughts far away. His mind was not on the bitterly cold morning, or on the natural beauty provided by the rising sun, but on something considerably less beautiful. Of course, there had once been a time, not so long ago, that he had not been so oblivious to all that was surrounding him. He had once viewed this world with optimism, with joy. Of course, he had not been alone back then. She had been with him.

It had been their bench. Here they would sit, hand in hand, bodies pressed close together to ward of the freezing air. They would laugh and talk gaily, eyes trained on each other. To him, this time seemed like a lifetime ago. In reality, it could have been a week or a year ago, he didn’t know. Time had had little meaning to him since she had…left (for that was how he had to think of it). He couldn’t remember his last meal, or the last time he groomed himself. He hadn’t picked up the phone for some time, and he was pretty sure he had lost his job, as he had not showed up for work since it happened.

None of this mattered to him, however. He didn’t care anymore. He didn’t care what happened to him. He was perfectly content allowing himself to waste away, little by little, before he finally died and left this miserable life. He had lived his life for one thing, and one thing only. Her. And now she was gone.

His eyes were moist with unshed tears, and images of her danced before him. She was grinning, laughing merrily, and cherishing everything around her. His mouth opened, and a cry of anguish fell from his lips as he thought back to the moment that his world had stopped.

In his mind, he could once again hear the police telling him in their unemotional tone that there had been an accident. He vaguely remembered falling to his knees, gasping for breath, sobbing and begging God to bring her back. Everything after that was a blur, a whirl of events he could not discern from one another.

He had never thought he could fall in love, for it was never his idea of fun. In his youth, he derived pleasure from moving from one woman to another. And then she came along and changed his world. With her sharp tongue and her enchanting looks, she had challenged him and mystified him in a way he never thought possible. He chased after her, finally getting her to agree to date him. After that first date, it was all over. He was in love. For one glorious year, they had spent almost all of their free time together, doing anything and everything.

And then just like that, she was gone. In a single moment, a bullet had pierced through his perfect world, and he was left to sift through the carnage alone. And quite honestly, the mere thought of having to handle this alone was more than he could bear.

A movement from somewhere around him startled him, pulling him from his thoughts. He looked around, for a feeling that he couldn’t quite explain had swept over him. It had started to snow, and the bitter wind had picked up. The snow was falling in thick sheets, yet through the veil, he could see a figure moving towards him.

Auburn hair swirled around her face, dressed in a simple gown of shimmering gossamer material, he knew that it was truly an angel that was gliding through the snow. . It wasn’t rational, for she had died, yet he could see her clearer than ever now, a gold aura surrounding her. She smiled at him, and through the cry of the wind, he heard a voice whisper: let go. He looked around for her, but the moment had been transient, and he was once again staring at the falling ice crystals. Yet as he wondered if it had all been an illusion, he felt a pair of phantom lips brush his cheek, and he knew.

He pulled himself off the bench and took one last look around. It was time. Time to let go.

A/N: Again I ask for comments: they really do help quite a lot!

Emily