dOWN that rOAD

Ever ride down an old familiar road, wondering where it all went?

The years, the memories, the heartaches.

You feel them as you pass a clump of trees that you’ve passed a thousand times. You sigh. You do your best to take it all in, afraid that if you don’t you’ll just get swallowed up.

You do it because it’s one of the only things that ties you to it all, even though it hurts. All the while listening to those tunes, those damned beautiful and haunting tunes that bring it all back.

You smile. Barely. And a tear slides out.

It’s all so slow, so deliberate, so thick. You could get yelled at by another driver and you wouldn’t even notice, your mind so deep into the memories of then.

You pull off the road, mainly just to breathe. The music keeps playing, song after song that carries her back into your mind. You even wonder why you do it, but you know.

You know that without it something would break. And you’re not sure you could handle that.

You can handle the pain, you’ve learned how to live with that; but to lose the memories, no, you’re not sure if you could make it.

So down that road you go, taking it all in, listening, breathing, and crying a little.

It’s okay. It’s just part of it all.