A/N: Hi. This story is based on a challenge I found somewhere in the site a couple of months ago, but I didn't have an account back then so I couldn't publish it. Anyways, hope you enjoy my story.

Description: Goodbyes are the hardest. Unfortunately for our protagonists, they will have to bid each other adieu and it is unlikely that they will ever see each other again.

Requirements:

1) An actual parting between the protagonists -- whether they come back together or not is up to you. (Read the second stipulation under "Optional".)
2) A creative way of saying goodbye without actually saying it (read the second stipulation under "No" for details)
3) The reason for the parting has to be WILLING -- this means that nothing is forcing one to leave the other. It must be out of the character's own volition.
4) Cell phones must make several appearances.
5) Setting must begin in the Fall/Autumn season.

Optional:

- Both are leaving for different things, instead of one leaving the other behind.
- They are reunited. If you choose to do this, however, they must be separated for at least a year. (Absence makes the heart grow fonder, anyone?)
- Cell phones are a key part of the story.

No:

- Airport/bus terminal goodbye scenes
- actual usage of the word "goodbye" or any of its variations in any languages (this includes "see you later", "'bye", "farewell", "arrivederci", "adios", "hasta la vista", "adieu", "aloha", "au revoir", "auf wiedersehen", "adeus", "paalam".. whatever else you think of) by either protagonist in dialogue
- text messaging or chatting online. As much as I love to do both, I hate seeing it in fiction.

I close the zipper of my fourth suit case and sit on the bed. I slowly take a deep breath. The autumn breeze enters my room and I inhale it. I hear the autumn leaves being carried away with the wind, dancing with it. Feeling nostalgic, I look at each and every corner of my room very carefully. It seems like I'm taking pictures in my mind. It's the last day I can see my bedroom. The room I slept in as a young girl with simple dreams to someone who learned to dream big. I look from my closet at one end of my room where my clothes used to be .I look at my dresser beside her closet where everything that was once there is gone. All except for a green cell phone that lay there. I walk over to it and pick it up and look at its contents for one last time.

There's pretty much nothing left in its memory. No text messages, no songs and no contacts. There were only pictures; the only thing that shows the world a glimpse of our wonderful time together. Xiah and Ian. We were so perfect for each other. It was true love. We were only sixteen. It was the most unforgettable moment in my life. I look at the very first picture. Both of us were sitting on the swing together, nine autumns ago. It was that very day we took the picture that he said the three words I longed to hear all my life. I remember it so vividly like it is happening right in front of me.

I am running towards the swing, making sure that no one gets to it. But it isn't the only reason. My emotions were spinning out of control. There were too much. I just wanted it all to stop. I don't know what to do. I hear the autumn leaves as they vigorously crunch under my feet. All I want is to get to that swing and ride on it. Maybe it would make everything feel better just like before. I get on it, but it had lost its magic. Without my father to push me, it was useless. My father is gone. The only parent I had. I think of everything that we used to do as I swing there. The higher I go, the farther I felt away. It's like I'm lost. There's nothing else to do. My tears were waterfalls that would never cease to fall.

Then I saw Ian. He's the boy next door. He has lived in my house longer than I have lived in mine, so he knew almost everything I go through. I hear the autumn leaves crunch slowly as he approaches me. He doesn't ask me what's wrong. He just wipes away the tears with a brown handkerchief, gently clogging the waterfalls. He sits beside the swing and just stays there. After a few minutes or hours, I don't know, I lost track of time; he comes closer very gently. I slightly back away, feeling uncomfortable, but he pulls me in and whispers "I love you." I don't know what to feel or what to say. I simply reply, "Uh…blah." I can never express myself through words. He gently laughs as though he understands.

I smile as I think of that memory. I click the right button and look at the next picture. It's a picture of me and Ian on the park bench, eating hotdog together.

"Say 'aaahhhh'." He says playfully as he feeds me hotdog.

We laugh together as he carefully wipes away the ketchup on the right corner of my lip.

"So, what are your ambitions and dreams in life?" he asks.

I've never thought of that question before he asked that.

"I don't know," I honestly reply", All I want is to be loved. And it came true through you." I end the sentence cheerfully.

"What about you?" I ask out of curiosity.

"I want to be a race car driver or pilot. Any of those two as long as its exciting." he replies.

After a few minutes he tells me ", you know you should have a dream. It's what would motivate you to go on."

"But you're the one who motivates me to go on," I reply.

"Yeah," he says as he gently takes my hand"But you have to have a big dream that can motivate you. So you can keep on going even when I'm gone."

"When you're gone?" I ask out of curiosity.

He just simply smiles and says "Just think about it. Dream big and follow your dreams. I'll help you achieve it"

I think about it and agree.

As I remember this memory, I feel something weird within me. It's when things started to change between us. I browse through the other pictures. I notice the change in his expressions. He didn't look so happy like the previous pictures. I didn't notice it back then. As I reach the last few pictures, the picture of a large tree in the park. It's empty, but it contains memories I would never, ever forget.

I wake up in the morning and after a couple of weeks I finally know what I will be. "I want to be a professional photographer and writer. I want to be able to also capture others special moments. And although they say that a picture is worth a thousand words, I also want to be able to write something special about each photograph I take. If I can't express myself verbally, I feel very determined to be able to express them through writing!" I think in my mind. Excitedly, I run out of the house to tell Ian. Surprisingly, I can't find him at home. He's usually at home on Saturday mornings. I run off to the park. The leaves that crunch beneath my feet as I ran, added to the adrenaline I feel.

When I reach the park, I search everywhere for him. Finally, I stop and see him under a huge tree with another girl. They stare at each other in an intimate way as though they were reading each others minds. They look like they are lost in their own world. A few minutes later, he pulls her in and kisses her. This immediately brings back all the feelings I had when I lost my father, except it's worse than ever. Just as he had completed all my days countless times, in that moment, he had torn me apart more than my parents ever did. I cry as I run home. I hear the autumn leaves crunch beneath my feet in a repeated pattern. I want to get lost in that sound…

Tears start to form in my eyes as I remember that. I quickly press the right button and see myself sitting alone by the swing. It was just one day after that incident. I completely ignore him for one day. He didn't seem to notice until night arrived.

I hear the crunching of autumn leaves as he approaches me. I swing slowly. My instinct tells me to run away, but my heart doesn't listen.

"Why?" I ask as tears started to form in my eyes "I saw you yesterday."

"Oh. That." He says lightly as though it didn't seem to bother him.

"Listen –"he begins, but soon starts to laugh.

"Look, all this time I never really loved you. I just simply felt sorry for you and I just thought I could help. But as time went by I just got bored. I got so damn bored of you. I stopped caring." He simply says

I cry as I hear each and every horrifying word he says. Each created a hole in my heart. As he finishes the sentence, I feel so empty beyond repair. "Uh…blah," is all I can say then I just walk away and cry.

I look at the last picture in the green cell phone. A picture of the swing, the swimg where he confessed. It was empty. I then look at the time and realized it's time to go. With the help of the taxi driver, I put my entire luggage in the cab and half-heartedly, I take the green cell phone with me and walk to the next house and ring the doorbell.

"What am I doing here?" I ask myself. Before I have the chance to back out, the door opens and a stranger I once used to know stands behind it, Ian.

"Uh…hi," I awkwardly say.

"Hi," he replies in a mysterious tone that doesn't sound unfriendly yet it doesn't sound friendly.

He sees my bags and asks, "Going somewhere? Didn't you just graduate four days ago?"

"Uh, yeah," I begin "I got a job offer at a magazine. It's not so famous, but I'll take what I can get. Go and follow your dreams right?"

After a couple of seconds of awkward silence, I break it.

"Uh…you might want this." I say as I hand him the green cell phone, looking down.

"What for?" he asks.

"Who's that?" a voice of a woman interrupts from upstairs.

"Just a neighbor," he replies.

"Uh…blah," I quickly say as I turn and walk away.

Without lifting my head, I walk towards the taxi and listen to the rhythm of leaves crunching as I walk past it. I get in and look ahead. I see the familiar leaves doing one last dance with the wind as the taxi brings me to the place where I can follow my dream.

A/N: So, that's it. How was it? Please click the button below and tell me. Comments and critisisms are very much appreciated.