• The smell of rain from the night before hung in the air along with the smell of moistened earth. The chilly morning air caressed my face and arms, making small goose bumps rise on my skin. My green eyes trailed upward to the sky. Small wisps of clouds sailed over me ever so slowly across the pink dawning sky. A slight breeze whispered through the trees which made the leaves dance and the branches sway gracefully. I inhaled deeply, taking all of this in my mind.

    Today was a beautiful morning… but today was also the anniversary.

    The anniversary of when my friend passed away and left me in this world.

    I looked down at my hands. Resting on my palms was a small flower pot. Planted within the flower pot was a small, delicate rose bush. The last gift… his last gift. The red roses were fully bloomed now, and seemed to glow in the light of the sun.

    I smiled with sadness, finally kneeling on the damp, cool earth. I sat the pot ever so carefully beside me and picked up a miniature spade. Then, I began to dig in the earth.

    Last year, the earth became my friend’s blanket, his final resting place where he would always sleep. And while he slept, my soul was drowned with agony far beyond imagination.

    He was my only Listener, the only one who reached inside of me and saw the true me. And then, just like that, he was gone… Before he shut his eyes for eternity, he handed me the rose within the pot with his shaky, pale hands. “For you,” he whispered. “Take care of her… She is so much like you.”

    I almost went insane. Everyone thought it was grief that I was going through, and left me alone to cry and wail, but there was so much more to my inner turmoil. The weeks and months following after he left were so lonely, so sorrowful. I didn’t want to be alone, but everywhere I turned for help, they treated me like the plague. They didn't want to be weighed down by the sadness that pierced my heart. I felt like I wanted to die. The likes of me weren't welcomed in this world. I wanted to end my life. Who would care if I left or not? I'd just make their lives easier without being there to burden them. Just when I was about to loose it, I looked on the rose bush.

    He wants you to live… she seemed to have whispered to my heart.

    Coming back to reality, I patted the soil around the rose bush that was now planted within the ground. I had given her back to my friend.

    “Are you saying goodbye?”

    I turned to see a boy, not much older than me watching me as I cared for the rose bush. I smiled, and then shook my head.

    “Only saying hello.”

    The boy grinned, and then took my hand that was still covered in dirt. I stood by the boy’s side, looking out over the world touched by the morning. A slight breezed came over us, washing us with the scent of rain. The rose bush was between us, swaying ever so gently in the wind…