Across a meadow, two children play tag,

Giggling with gee and carefree bliss,

They play until the crimson sunset beckons

For the two children to return home

One child goes by the name of Avery,

Another child goes by the name of Mei,

By fate, they met the first day in kindergarten,

At recess, some older kids filled with malice,

Bullied poor Avery to watery tears,

Brave Mei jumped in, and drove the bullies away,

And ever since, they were best friends beyond compare,

They had their differences,

Avery came from humble origins,

And Mei from a wealthy background,

But, the children, innocent as a songbird,

Saw and played under the same azure sky

Upon reaching the age of 14,

Mei held a wonderful tea party with Avery alone,

They sat face to face on an antique wooden table,

With the smell of lavender incense wafting in the air,

They drank jasmine tea and had playful banter,

The moment the two captured was truly tranquil

And in such a peaceful moment, Avery confessed his love

“I love you and you alone, Mei.”

Almost as if expecting it, Mei confessed immediately afterwards

“I love you and you alone, Avery.”

Upon the words leaving their lips, they sealed their pact of love through a kiss,

They made a silent but mutually understood pact to love each other forever,

Sadly, life had different plans,

When they both turned 16, Avery’s parents announced they were moving,

For they found a great paying job that would bring them firmly middle class,

His heart weighed down like chains, Avery refused to tell Mei,

For he couldnt bear to see Mei filled with anguish,

Not even to the last day, did he speak a word,

And on the last day, they both slept on the same bed,

Mei was filled with happiness, and Avery was filled with regret,

When dawn broke and Mei woke up,

Avery wasnt beside her,

He had vanished entirely from her life,

The moment she woke up that day,

The friendship and love she had with Avery

Was like a fleeting dream,

That day, Mei’s weeping filled the air,

Her family comforted her like a delicate blanket,

But a chasm would forever lay in her heart,

In the distance, as Avery rode in his parent’s car to their new home, he wept,

Bu, the cacophonous sound of the road,

The honks, the engines, and wheels,

All but completely blurred out,

The sound of his cries,

Despite their pain, life went on,

The sun still set and it still rose,

Mei made new friends in college,

And later found a boyfriend,

Year by year, the pain in her felt filled itself,

Likewise, Avery found new acquaintances,

And found a girlfriend in college,

Year by year, his regret lessened,

Many years later, Avery was married with two children,

And Mei was married with one child,

Avery lived in the quiet surburbs as a doctor,

And Mei lived in the bustling urban world as a lawyer,

One morning, Mei woke up exhausted,

And decided to go to a coffee shop to perk herself up,

She walked to a coffee shop,

That went by the name of “William’s Fresh Brew.”

Upon entering its doors, she was greeted by a scent of roses in the air,

The shop was a vintage space,

That held keen familiarly to her heart,

By a turn of her head, she saw an older Avery drinking coffee,

While working on his computer,

With suddenness, the hole in Mei’s heart opened back up,

The pain of his disappearance came rushing back,

Like rushing waterfall,

“Why did you leave without saying anything?”

Avery had came back to his old hometown,

On an important trip to assist the local hospital,

He had woken up from his hotel exhausted,

And chose to stop by a coffee shop,

“William’s Fresh Brew,”

It held an air of fanciness,

That felt foreign, but also close to his heart,

For it reminded him of a love long past,

While working vigilantly on his computer,

With immense surprise he heard

“Why did you leave without saying anything?”

Avery and Mei faced each other,

One with anger in her eyes,

And the other with shock and sadness,

“I can explain,” Avery said. “Sit down next to me.”

Mei sat face to face with Avery,

On an antique wooden table,

But an air of tension hung in the air,

And an awkward silence remained,

Avery cut the silence by speaking.

“I’m truly sorry.”

Avery confessed that he was too afraid to tell Mei about the move, and didnt want to bring her pain,

“But that brought me more pain instead.”

Laying their true feelings on the table,

Avery apologized deeply,

And Mei, realizing that the incident happened decades ago, sighed,

Knowing it was finally time to let go of the pain,

With a soft smile, she said,

“I forgive you.”

And both of them, tears in their eyes,

embraced each other, filled with nostalgia and regret of the time lost,

With playful banter, they spoke of their years past,

The hardships of college, and debt,

Their respective marriages and children,

They spoke about their good days, the bad days, and the neutral days,

Finally, when they both realized it was time to leave,

They exchanged numbers and followed each other,

And with smiles on their faces, left the shop home,

Filled with gratefulness of finally reconciling and leaving behind their pain and regrets,