"Why did you kiss me that day?"
I murmur, my voice barely audible in the stillness around us. It's a question I've carried for
so long, one that resurfaces every time I think back to that moment, that day when
everything changed.
Anne looks up, a slight smile tugging at her lips, and shrugs. "Maybe I just couldn't hold it in
anymore."
I remember the day like it was yesterday. Anne had called, her voice heavy, telling me that
the engagement had ended. There were family issues, she said, something about her
parents and his parents clashing. She told me she hadn't loved him, that he'd never really
meant anything to her. But even so, she looked shaken, hurt in a way that surprised me.
I wanted to help, to lift that burden from her, even if only for a little while. So I suggested a
movie—a silly distraction to take her mind off things. She had nodded, a small smile finally
breaking through her somber expression, and we set off for the theater. We didn't even care
what movie was playing; it was enough to be together, to find some comfort in each other's
presence.
The theater was nearly empty, and we found seats in the back. As the film began, I glanced
over at her, watching as she settled into her seat, her face lit up by the flickering screen. But
it was obvious she wasn't really watching; her mind was elsewhere. Her fingers twisted in
her lap, her gaze distant, as if caught somewhere between regret and relief.
"Are you okay?" I asked, reaching over to place a hand on hers. She looked at me, and for a
moment, her eyes were filled with a sadness I couldn't begin to understand.
"I just feel…lost," she whispered. "Everything's different now. I thought I'd feel free, but I
don't. I feel empty."
Without thinking, I slid closer, wrapping my arm around her shoulders, pulling her in gently.
She leaned into me, resting her head on my shoulder, and I felt my heart beating faster, an
almost unbearable tenderness swelling up inside me. We sat there in silence, letting the
scenes on the screen wash over us, but I couldn't focus on anything except her.
Then, out of nowhere, she lifted her head and turned to look at me. Her eyes were soft,
searching, as if trying to find something in my gaze that she hadn't found anywhere else.
She leaned in, just a fraction of an inch closer, and before I knew it, her lips brushed against
mine, light as a whisper, hesitant but full of intent.
I froze, momentarily caught off guard, but then I felt her hand on my cheek, and all at once, I
was lost in the warmth of her touch, the softness of her lips. She kissed me slowly, each
movement tender and deliberate, as if she were savoring every second, every breath. I
responded, deepening the kiss, letting myself get lost in her, in the way she seemed to pour
all of her unspoken words, all of her hidden emotions, Into that single, fragile moment.
When we finally pulled apart, she looked at me, her eyes glistening, a bittersweet smile on
her lips. "I want to be with you, Artimis," she whispered, her voice trembling. "I don't want
to hold back anymore. I want to be free, with you."
I looked at her, feeling a rush of emotions—relief, joy, a love I had barely allowed myself to
acknowledge until now. She had kissed me, breaking down the last of the walls between
us, and in that instant, I knew that nothing would ever be the same.
Even now, that moment lingers, the memory of her kiss haunting me, reminding me of a
love that felt as inevitable as the tides, pulling us together against all reason. She had
kissed me, and in that kiss, she had shown me the depths of her heart, and I knew, without
a doubt, that I had fallen irrevocably in love with her.