The final goodbye.

“Can we talk?” he asks her as they sit on the front porch.

The sunset kisses the sky with it’s soft, pink haze. There’s a cool summer breeze dancing in the air that moves the trees in a beautiful trance.

She looks at him, his face disturbed and unsettled. For months now the tension has been high and she knew eventually the words were bound to come out.

“Sure.” she quietly whispers as the pit in her stomach feels heavy with dread and despair.

He stands up and takes her by the hand. Slipping her fingers in between his, she follows his lead. Not a word is spoken. Their heads hang down with their eyes focused on the gravel beneath. The silence between them is deafening and becomes louder by the minute.

Slowly she looks up and sees the old barn in the distance. It was the barn her daddy built before she was born. Growing up, it served as a secret hideaway when she needed space. Many nights as a young girl she would sneak out and create her fortress inside; kept warm and safe by the security of the walls around her.

It was her castle and she was the queen. If the barn could talk, it would tell stories of her tears, laughter, hopes, and dreams. It would tell of how she met him, the man who would take her by storm and steal her soul as if destiny bound them together.

The very man she walks hand in hand in silence with. Feeling his sturdy grip, her mind wanders back to the summer when he would help her daddy on the farm. The barn served as a witness to the day they met. Watching two teens fall hopelessly in love, stealing kisses underneath the wooden staircase where no one would see. The promises they exchanged for the future they imagined on some faraway land. That was thirty years ago and many, many promises have come to pass since then.

As they step foot into the barn, the doors weathered and torn, she feels the presence of heaviness. Dust stirs in the air. The golden sunset peeks through the cracks, highlighting his face as she looks deep into his eyes, scared of what he sees as he looks back at her.

Crickets echoe between the battered walls. A slight breeze sneaks through and the barn door creaks, as its way to acknowledge their presence.

He places his hand against the wall, running his fingers along the peeling paint. His face unable to read but his eyes tell a deep secret.

“I don’t know how to say this.” he murmurs and looks away.

As he fights for his words, she subtly scans the empty barn. Memories fill the void and playback to her like a movie on a screen.

Remembering the night they exchanged their first kiss. Hidden deep inside the rustic corners, it was when she experienced love for the first time. She had never been kissed before and he showed her what butterflies felt like. The flutter feeling of losing all control and trusting what was beyond her own understanding.

The time he promised her the world with an exchange of a ring. That was the winter the snowstorm buried the ground beneath, hiding everything behind a blanket of light. The white glitter of fresh powder that was blinding to the eyes and also to her heart.

The many fall nights when they would nestle inside, candles lit and blankets to keep them warm. Sometimes falling asleep and waking up to the frost covered ground as the world changed colors.

Memories upon memories that the barn kept just for her.

Her eyes stop scanning and finally rest upon him. His face now red, evident that he’s hiding something deep within.

“My heart is not here with you.” he finally stutters. “I am not in love with you anymore.”

There’s a long pause. She doesn’t say a word.

The only sounds are floor boards that creak from the breeze passing through and the crickets that sing to their own song. The dust continues to stir in the air. Sunset takes a peek bearing witness to what unfolds.

Slowly she steps outside. The cool breeze kisses her face. Taking a good look at the old barn; dusk now closes in. Ironically fitting as she feels her world going dark.

She studies it’s frame that has been through the weather and years but somehow still stands. The hinges that are loose but hold it together. The once fire red color now faded and dull.

The barn that served as a refuge when she needed a safe place, kept her secrets, and dried her tears. The walls that provided security and comfort. The very place they met and fell in love. The future they hoped for. Stolen kisses and stolen dreams now fade like the paint.

It’s dark and the sun has set. A twinkling glow from the stars above and the silhouette of the barn is all she can see.

As he stands there beneath the frame of the door, she turns her back and walks away. The gravel rumbles beneath her feet in sync with her aching heart. Crickets continue to sing a lullaby that drowns out the thoughts in her head.

And somewhere off in the distance she can hear the barn door close, one last time.