The greeting that punched Elizabeth in her gut wasn’t “Hi, long time no see! How have you been?” It was Leo’s expressionless face and pale lips that mumbled “Did I hurt you?” right when the clock hit twelve and the fireworks were set off to the sky to welcome the New Year.
Dumbfounded, Elizabeth realized she was holding her breath when she felt her chest tighten. She drew out a sigh – she didn’t know whether it was a sigh of relief or of pain.
She thought of ways to escape the situation. It’s been years since “that” happened. She forced herself to act confused and asked him “What do you mean?” while internally telling herself “that’s right Liz, play dumb. After all, you are one. Just flaunt it.”
But Leo was unfazed. He knew Elizabeth like the back of his hand. “Just answer the question.” By the tone of his voice, Elizabeth was left confused. “Wait. Are you mad at me? Why are you mad at me?” Leo answered, “You haven’t answered the question yet. I’m the one asking the question here.”
It’s been years, Leo thought, but all this time he still doesn’t understand why they suddenly parted ways. Everything was okay, it wasn’t great but it was okay. They've already settled down, shared the same goals, and were living together for years that's why after all these years, he still doesn’t understand what went wrong.
“Calm down will you? We haven’t even seen or heard from each other for three years and this is what I get? A pissed off and demanding Leo?” She forced herself to laugh and she was shocked by how bitter and genuine her laughter sounded against the sudden silence brought by the last set of fireworks just seconds before her laughter turned into a cry.
Leo looked down at his shoes and turned his back on her. “If I did, don’t expect an apology from me.” Elizabeth smiled against the smudged mascara streaming down her face and against the unstoppable flow of her tears. “I’m sorry Leo. I’m sorry but save your apology to yourself.”
That was far from what Leo expected. When he came back to his hometown and expected Elizabeth to be there, he made sure to talk things out with her and to finally have an answer to the question that kept gnawing him all day and all night for the last three years.
Her answer was far from the answers he expected: “I stopped loving you.” “I grew tired of you.” “Leo, I have a terminal illness and I don’t want you to cling to me because I only have a few months to live.” “I have to move to another continent.” “I cheated on you and got pregnant.” Her answer made him furious. He turned around but felt a sudden pang when he saw Elizabeth kneeling down with her face covered in her hands and crying her heart out.
He started walking towards her and kneeled down in front of her. He put his hand on top of her head and muttered more to himself than to her. “Where did I go wrong? What did I do to make you run away? Tell me. Make me understand. Please.”
Elizabeth stopped covering her face and held Leo’s face in her hands. “Don’t dwell too much in the past. It’s been three years already. ” She took out her wallet and showed him a picture.
There she was, Elizabeth, holding flowers and crouching in front of a gravestone with the name Leo Charles Michaelsonn written on it. “Why does that have my name on it, Liz? Don’t play with me. Is this some sick prank? That’s not funny. Stop this.”
Elizabeth thought she must have finally gone crazy but what hurt the most was how real everything seemed and felt in that moment. She couldn’t handle the guilt of three years ago when she walked out of their apartment after a fight with Leo.
Standing in front of her now, she was taken back to December 31, 2018. She remembered how he sent her countless messages and called her countless times but she wouldn’t answer. She remembered how she didn’t return home for two days and when she finally did, she opened the door to find him laying down on the floor.
She remembered how Leo had complained for days about how tight his chest has been feeling and how much she ignored his complaints. She also remembered how much her hand stung after slapping his face and storming out the door.
“No, you stop this! Stop this! Stop this! God, I’m so sorry. Stop it already Leo, stop this!” She stood up to walk away but Leo grabbed her hand. When she turned around to face him, he wasn’t there. She blinked several times to realize she was in a different place. She was in the dark, surrounded by trees.
She opened her mouth but was stopped when she heard a voice say “Hello?” she quickly turned and looked around then responded the same word. She heard a gasp and just seconds later, she felt something touch her neck leading her to let out a gasp. The voice uttered Leo’s name and without a second thought she called out to him.
She began to run and heard the same voice whisper “Help me” right when she fell onto the ground. She was covered in mud, alone in the dark. The air was cold and the woods, filled with silence. “Help me” she whispered to herself. She heard a different voice laughing in front of her.
She couldn’t see anything but the voice was enough to let her know what was in front of her wasn’t human. The voice changed imitating Leo’s voice, a child’s voice, an old woman’s voice, and her own voice.
The laughter stopped and was then replaced by a gurgling sound when suddenly, a red light a few feet away from her suddenly went up to the sky. She followed the light with her gaze and saw it explode in the sky. When she looked down she was on the rooftop. She heard the noise of fireworks indicating the welcome of the New Year.
“Elizabeth” a familiar voice called out to her. When she turned around, she felt as if all the food she ate during the day was coming up to her throat. Standing in front of her was Leo. His expressionless face and pale lips mumbling “Did I hurt you?”
