Three years passed, and I still haven’t opened the box he gave me. Nor have I even touched it ever since I had it. It was still perfectly sealed, not even a single thing had changed.
It took me as long as it possibly could to solely tear off the wrapping paper.
And it also took me even longer to read the note that was sticked to the top of the box.
To my beloved, Jade.
That’s it, that’s the only message he wrote.
Yet I read it over and over again until I could hark his voice whispering the sentence in my ear.
I could no longer bear my drops of sorrow, nor could I shunned the memories that the box had kept for a most long time.
I might not but set them free,
I might not but set him free.
Nevertheless, he must’ve wanted me to have this so badly
Thus I finally discovered what the box had been keeping inside for so long.
A portrait painting. A sweater. A black leather jacket, which I believe was his. And a card wallet.
I don’t know how, but it’s been 3 years and the sweater still got the smell of him. Hence I did what everyone would do, I hug it most tightly as if I was hugging the man, but i didn’t
I took out the second clothes, a jacket. And I smiled, this was his favorite jacket. The picture of him wearing it, is so vivid and perfectly drawn in my head.
I then went to the card wallet, at first I thought it was just a normal card wallet, but it wasn’t. It has our initials sewn on the back side. MJ. As M stands for Max, and J for Jade.
In the end, the painting. The most beautiful painting someone has ever made for me. The color selection, technique, and all’s about it is impeccable. He did in the most laborious way down to the smallest detail. He drew me so perfectly, I almost looked like Athena.
When I looked at the other side of the canvas, there was writing on it. And it said,
As thou received it, this shall be thy last present.
It was so well written with the most beautiful handwriting of a man.
To the man I loved once and for all, allow us to meet again.
— Audi
March 28th, 2022.
Please bear with me if there’s grammatical errors.
