Quietly I sat looking past her and out the window at the raindrops as they danced to the ground and wondered to myself; How did we even get here?

The rain, I have always loved the rain. Each rainstorm a thing of beauty, with its bolts of lightning and booms of thunder. How it makes the sidewalks glisten, and the umbrellas dance. But what I love about the rain is the thing that makes each storm unique, and that’s its voice. Close my eyes, and I can hear each story that it tells. There was one story, one I’ll never forget, a love story, my love story, and not to be egotistical, but if you saw it, you wouldn’t forget it either.

We sat in the car as the storm swirled all around us. Its lightning streaked across the sky, illuminating the night, its raindrops danced merrily on the roof, and with each thunderclap, its shouted aloud for all to hear, on this night, in this storm, a love affair was about to begin.

It’s in your eyes, what can I say. They turn me on. – Prince

I looked into her eyes because it was always her eyes, mesmerizing in every way; all it took was one look to pull me right in. It was at that moment, in that storm, that I knew there was no escaping her, no turning back. Then she looked back at me and uttered two words kiss me she said. I knew it was wrong, but I couldn’t resist, and with that kiss, my heart was all in.

She wasn’t like the others, or so that what I thought, and before I knew it, my heart she did possess. She told me she loved me and asked would I always be there. Of course, isn’t it evident, don’t you know I could never love another I said. Looking back now, my mistake was crystal clear; I forgot to ask her is that the way she also feels.

As the years went by, several chapters did we write. Some were good, some were bad, and some a little bit of both. But with each new chapter, it was becoming apparent that what had begun as a brilliant love story was starting to fade.

Now here we sat, a storm swirling all around us—a storm not unlike that first storm but also very different. The raindrops did not dance merrily, the lightning did not joyfully streak across the sky, and the thunder only mustered a whisper. Like on that first night, I looked into her eyes, because it was always her eyes still mesmerizing as ever, but this time all it took was one look to let me go and, at that moment, in that storm, I knew right there was no keeping her, no turning back. She looked at me and uttered four words; we both know it’s done, she said. I knew she was right but couldn’t believe it and with those four words, my heart was let go.

I looked out the window at one last lightning bolt as it streaked across the sky, and with one last thunderclap, the storm shouted aloud for all to hear, on this night, in this storm, a love affair had come to an end.