The Weight of Goodbye

River had always been the strongest. He wasn’t just strong—he was unstoppable. From the time he was a child, he had been lifting heavier and heavier weights, until nothing seemed impossible. By the time he was an adult, he was a legend, the strongest man to ever walk on the planet. No one could match him, no one could defeat him. Championships, records, fame—he had it all. People looked up to him, admired him, and worshipped his strength. He was the hero everyone wanted to be, the symbol of power and achievement.

But despite all the trophies, all the medals, all the cheers of adoration, River felt a hollow emptiness inside him. He had dedicated his entire life to weightlifting, but in the quiet moments, when the gym lights went dark and the applause faded away, he realized he was alone. No one truly saw him for who he was—just the champion, just the machine that could lift the world.

Then, one day, everything changed.

Her name was Kayla. She was beautiful, with a kindness that shone through every word, every smile. She had been his biggest fan since high school, always watching from the crowd, cheering him on with all her heart. But when they met face to face, it wasn’t his muscles or his fame that caught her attention—it was his soul. She saw the loneliness in him, the vulnerability he kept hidden beneath layers of strength.

“I’ve always admired you, River,” she said one evening, her eyes shining with warmth. “But I want you to know, you don’t have to be the strongest all the time. You’re allowed to be human.”

That was all it took. River found in Kayla a kindred spirit, someone who understood him in a way no one else did. She loved him not because of his strength, but despite it. She loved him for his heart, his tenderness, his vulnerability.

They fell in love quickly. Kayla stood by him through every competition, through every victory, but most importantly, through every moment of doubt. She became his anchor, his reason to wake up every morning with a smile, not for the gym or the crowds, but for her. With Kayla, he wasn’t just River the weightlifter. He was simply River, the man who loved her deeply.

They got married in a quiet ceremony, far from the press and the cameras. Kayla, always so full of life and laughter, made him feel like he had everything he could ever need. They dreamed of a future together, a family, a life that went beyond the weights.

But as the years passed, Kayla became ill. At first, it was just a cold, then it was something worse. River, who had never once been defeated by any opponent, was helpless as he watched Kayla deteriorate before his eyes. Every day she grew weaker, He tried everything—the best doctors, the best treatments—but nothing worked. Slowly, Kayla’s vibrant spirit began to fade, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

Then, one fateful morning, she was gone.

River stood beside her bed, holding her hand as she slipped away. He couldn’t stop the tears, couldn’t stop the flood of grief that drowned him. He had faced so many challenges, so many battles, but none of them compared to this. The love of his life was gone, and he was powerless.

The funeral came a week later. The world felt cold and empty without her in it. River, once the strongest man alive, now felt like the weakest. His heart ached with every passing second, each moment of reality crashing down on him like the heaviest of weights.

At the gravesite, as they prepared to lower her into the earth, River’s legs shook. He was supposed to carry her, wasn’t he? He had carried so many things in his life—heavy dumbbells, barbell plates, steel doors, and endless trophies. He had been the strongest man alive, and yet now, standing before her grave, he couldn’t even carry his own wife.

“Help...me.” his voice broke, his chest tightening with every word. He tried to speak again, but his throat constricted as tears blurred his vision. He looked down at her casket, a look of desperate sorrow on his face. "Help me carry... my wife.”

He dropped to his knees, sobbing uncontrollably. The world, once so full of promise, had become an unbearable weight.

“I’m supposed to carry you… Why can’t I carry you?” he whispered, voice trembling.

He felt like he was suffocating. His body, once so strong, felt fragile in the face of grief. The world that had once seemed so easy to conquer now felt impossible. His heart shattered as he stared at the earth, unable to speak, unable to move.

One of the pallbearers stepped forward, his voice gentle but firm. “River, let us help. We’re here for you.”

River wiped his tears away, his hands trembling as he looked up at his friends. They stepped forward, lifting the casket with great care, but River didn’t feel relief. He felt nothing but emptiness. He should be the one to carry her. He should have been the one strong enough to bear the weight of her loss.

“Please,” he whispered through gritted teeth. “Please, don’t leave me. Don’t leave me here. I need you…”

But Kayla was already gone. And no amount of strength, no matter how many championships he’d won, could bring her back.

As the casket was lowered into the ground, River collapsed to his knees, crying out in despair. His world, once filled with light, was now consumed by darkness. He had no one. He was nothing without her. All the strength in the world meant nothing when the one person he needed most was gone.

“I’m sorry, Kayla,” he sobbed, voice cracked and broken. “I couldn’t carry you. I couldn’t carry us…”

The earth swallowed her up, and River felt like he was falling with her, drowning in a sea of grief. He had been the strongest man alive, but in the end, he was powerless to carry the woman he loved. The weight of his love, of his loss, was too much for him to bear.

And as he stood there, alone in the cemetery, he whispered, “I love you.”

And with that, his world went silent, the weight of the love he couldn’t carry consuming him completely.