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(Not every goodbye is loud… some are silent, cutting the heart without a sound.)
On the day he left, the morning was dark—despite the shining sun.
The streets were crowded, people rushing… but he stood still on the station platform, his bag on the ground, eyes staring into nothing.
A shadow appeared beside him, followed by a voice… "Nila."
She ran to him, tears streaming down her face, as if a part of her was being ripped away.
She stopped in front of him, gasping for breath, and said,
"Don't go… Icarus, please, don't leave me in this world."
He didn't reply. He just looked at her.
He was tired… tired in a way no sleep could cure.
She stepped closer, held his trembling hand, and spoke in a hoarse voice:
"I'm the only one who stayed with you… you know that. Don't leave me in this loneliness.
You were everything."
He finally whispered,
"I'm not okay, Nila. I'm a heap of pain, of ruins. I'll destroy you if I stay."
She cried out:
"And what about me? Aren't I already destroyed?!
I die every day because you're not okay!
If you leave… I'll break. Please, understand me."
He sighed, and at last… his tears betrayed him.
He looked into her eyes and said,
"I can't live among people who see me as a burden…
and I can't bear the way you look at me every day—
trying to fix someone who's already broken.
I'm not a restoration project, Nila…
I'm a man who drowned, and can't swim anymore."
She gripped his hands tightly and said:
"But I was always the one who held you when you drowned…
You promised me you'd stay.
Don't break your promise, please."
He lowered his head, and gently kissed her forehead…
as if it were a kiss of apology.
"Maybe I'll come back.
Maybe I won't.
But if I do… I might not be me anymore."
Then he pulled his hand away, picked up his bag, and walked.
He walked as if the ground beneath him was crumbling,
as if each step pulled a piece of his soul away.
She screamed after him,
"I'll love you… even if you never come back!"
But he didn't look back.
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