The day had gone by rather quickly, and the weather was absolutely crazy. It went from the perfect weather to a huge lightning storm and strong winds. I was watching the storm through the window of the restaurant with my friend, waiting for it to settle down if only a bit. Finally the rain stopped, and the weather was calm. It felt like the perfect time for a walk. The air was warm and humid, the sky was surprisingly clearing up, and the city seemed peaceful. Just as I was about to leave, she asked to join me for the walk. Although I prefer going on walks alone, I politely welcomed her to join me. This was going to be the last night of my visit to Richmond, and I wanted to mix it up. I had taken the path from the apartment to the VCU campus several times before, so I decided to walk down the path near the river. After visiting the very scenic James River earlier that day, we were excited to experience its beauty at night.
When we got to the river path, it was absolutely beautiful. The lights around the city contrasted wonderfully with the night sky. The sound of water streaming was soothing and peaceful. The air was even more moist, but also refreshing and cool. I was convinced that the James River was most beautiful at night.
After some time on the bridge near the river, we began walking down the path. At first, we talked more in depth about the same topics that came up during dinner, and those that came up almost every time we talked. With her, the topics of conversation were usually pretty lighthearted, like our favorite TV shows, food, movies, and daily events in our respective lives. She loved joking around, was constantly smiling or laughing, and just always seemed to enjoy life. Not only that, but she helped others around her to appreciate life as well. That's part of what made her such an amazing person.
We stopped halfway through and decided to sit down for a while. The look on her face changed from the familiar smile to a look of concern. I knew what she was going to bring up. Recently, her mother, who was a single parent and who she was incredibly close to, had died from complications after heart surgery. I had met her mother several times, but didn't know her that well. Although I talked to her a few times about it, I never tried to bring it up myself - and we never really talked about the situation in depth. I sat there, waiting for her to say something, but there was only silence.
Suddenly, after a few minutes of silence, she started to cry. She was sobbing uncontrollably and tears were streaming down her face. I didn't know how to react. I put my arm around her and tried to comfort her. It felt like her body had collapsed, and she buried her face on my shoulder. What she was feeling was so directly portrayed by the look on her face and in her eyes. All I was thinking was that I wished she didn't have to go through this. Still there were no words. She continued to hold on tightly, and I felt her warmth as she grabbed my hand. We sat there for what seemed like ages.
I could tell she had stopped crying, and there was no more sobbing or sniffling. Even though it was dark, I could see the redness and swelling in her eyes. Finally, she spoke -"I can't imagine life without her" Again, I didn't know what I could possibly say or do. I just told her that I was sorry, and that I wished she didn't have to go through such a tough loss. She nodded and sat up. She began to tell me a story about how she and her mother used to make blueberry pancakes every morning before church since she was a young child. Again, the look of sadness on her face was so clear, even as she was attempting to smile. She got up and started to wipe the tears from her face, and we continued walking down the path.
She shared several more stories about her mother throughout the rest of the walk. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to every one of them, and I could tell she enjoyed recalling and sharing her experiences. As she was telling them, her face was lighting up and she was smiling more and more. By the end of the walk, she seemed to be back to normal. It felt surreal after sharing such a powerful moment of sadness and devastation, and I knew that I would never forget that moment. Even so, as I looked at her smiling and sharing memories, I knew that things would turn out alright for her - and that was all I needed.
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