“I loved you!” I shouted. Of course I’m met with silence, “I love you…” I trail off as I run my hand down my face.

“I’ve loved you since we first met, but of course, I never had the strength to tell you till now. And now it’s to late.” I murmur as I turn to face her. The wind whispers through the cemetery, carrying the faint scent of rain-soaked earth. The sky is gray, heavy, pressing down like the weight in my chest. I stare at the grave marker, her name carved in smooth stone, the only thing left of her in this world.

I let out a bitter laugh. “You’d probably call me an idiot, wouldn’t you?” My voice cracks as the weight of my own words are suffocating. “All those times you were right there, and I—” I shake my head, swallowing the hard lump that was forming in my throat. “I never said it. Never let myself feel it.”

I kneel down, brushing away a few stray leaves from the base of the marker. “You knew, didn’t you?” My fingers trace the cold stone. “Of course you did. You always knew everything before I did.” I shut my eyes, trying to summon the sound of her voice, the way she used to tease me, the way she saw straight through me like I was made of glass.

The silence that answers is deafening.

I exhale shakily. “I was too afraid. Too stubborn. Too damn proud.” My throat tightens, threatening the spill of emotions, “And you—” My voice breaks as I squeeze my eyes shut against the tears that threaten to spill. “You gave everything. You gave your life. For me.”

I drop my forehead against the cool stone, the ache in my chest only spreading, becoming unbearable. “I should have told you when it mattered. Should have held you, should have—” My breath shudders. “I should have saved you. It should be me in the ground, not you.” I choke out.

The wind picks up, rustling the trees around me, as if the world itself is answering in some quiet, invisible way. I force myself to look up at the name etched in stone.

“I love you,” I whisper. “I love you. And I don’t know how to live with the fact that you’ll never hear me say it.”

The sky rumbles softly in the distance as I run a hand down my face, the weight of grief feeling nearly unbearable. But still, I stay. Because this is all I have left of her now.

And I know it’s too late. But maybe if I stay long enough, my regret and confessions will seep into the earth and let her know.