Those big emerald eyes he loved so much greeted him that morning. He looked into them for what seemed like hours, losing himself in the abyss of those bewitching windows to her soul. They were alluring, taking him deeper and deeper with every passing second. It was like a drug, and he was addicted. Everything about her drew him in, but her eyes… those eyes made him want to jump around for joy. She closed her eyes for a split second and his world seemed to collapse. Then, like a speeding bullet, she was gone. She vanished.

He heard the bathroom door open all of a sudden and close immediately after. He looked around, dazed and confused, until his eyes focused on something other than the beautiful eyes: the door. He waited patiently for his loved one to come back to bed so he could stare into her eyes once more. But she never came to bed. “I have to work,” were the last words she muttered before sprinting out the door. His heart burst into tiny pieces every time she left. She was his world.

Was… past tense of is, the act of being no more. She was no more. She had evaporated abruptly from his life, her soft hands never touching his anymore. He remembered that day as if it had been yesterday. The wounds were still fresh, stinging and hurting him every day. He remembered that day. The day she died.

They had gone out to the cliffs. They were excited to finally try the new stunts they had been practicing for so long. They reached the edge of the cliff and stared straight down. The adrenaline rushing through his veins made him feel excited and powerful. And in that very moment, he had the power to do anything. He could have turned back and gone home with her. He could have suggested they try previous stunts that weren’t as dangerous as the new one.

But he didn’t. He took one hard look at her, and jumped. He heard her scream in excitement a fraction of a second after him. For a few seconds, he just fell. He looked around him and admired the scenery. For an instant, he forgot what he had to do and panicked, but regained control and calmed himself down. Flapping his pale blue, long wings, he glided along the cliff’s side. There was no feeling like gliding. As he flapped his wings, he wondered how his ancestors had managed to live without them. What kind of humans were they if they had no wings? They were magnificent. Hidden, it made them look like normal humans, but once they stretched them out, it was a one-of-a-kind sight. Nothing compared to the grandness of those wings. They were as long as he was tall, strong, and had immense force.

He looked back up, searching for his love, but she was nowhere to be seen. He searched in the distance for her bright pink hair and green skin. But everything was green around them. After a few minutes of searching, he spotted the fiery, pink mane. A wave of relief traveled through his body, calming him. He soared to her, grabbing her hand as they drifted from side to side.

They never performed the stunt, after all. He forgot about it and intended to never let go of her hand. She didn’t mind. She was enjoying the view. He looked at her, smiling, feeling glad she was his. It was a shame this beautiful thing only lasted for a few minutes. The cliffs were not the highest, and they weren’t the lightest creatures in that strange, but beautiful world. He wondered how something so beautiful could exist, something more beautiful than their world. Meg was stunning; too good-looking for him. He was plain looking and had blue skin and bright yellow hair. His eyes were a deep violet color, nothing interesting, unlike hers. His purple eyes could never compare to her deep emerald orbs.

As they were gliding, he started to wonder something that had been bothering him for a long time. He wondered why Meg didn’t pay attention to him, or showed her love. She never showed emotions. But he shut those thoughts out. It was too painful. His life was perfect. It needed nothing more. He forced a smile onto his face as she looked back at him. Meg did nothing. Not an ounce of emotion showed through her face, except excitement. He knew she was enjoying the fall, but she was enjoying it alone. In that instant, he did something he would regret for the rest of his pathetic life.

His smile was no longer one of happiness, or even forced happiness. It turned into a sick, twisted smile and she noticed. It was the first time he had sensed her feel something – anything – towards him. He loved it. The fear spread across her face as she stared back at him, watching his expression turn into one of pure evil.

Not once did he hesitate about what he did next. He looked her straight in the eye and pushed her, making her lose control. She screamed as she fell quickly towards the ground. He cackled as he watched her body hit the ground, blood spilling out the side of her head. But then reality hit him. What had he done? He killed the love of his life.

How could he do something like that?

A year had flown by since the deed. The pain was still there, yet it was stronger. Nothing seemed to make it go away. He tried moving on, seeing other girls, but they never compared to his one true love. She was his soul mate. Is it even possible to replace a soul mate? He didn’t think so. In the end, he did what he always did: he gave up. They had so much planned together: a family, a lifetime of happiness… Everything was gone, except the rage. He was mad at Meg for being so cold, being so heartless. But she was out of his life for good.

One day, though, everything changed. His life was turned upside-down in a fraction of a second. There was absolutely nothing that could have prepared him for what was coming.

It all happened while he went for a run. It was not characteristic of him to do this, since he had lost all the motivation to do anything. But that morning was special. He woke up feeling refreshed, like everything was going to go the way he planned. He woke up at 5 a.m. He hadn’t been awake that early since… ever. He picked up a bagel and ate it on his way to the park. After jogging around for a bit, he looked around and sat on a bench.

Then he saw her.

She was perfect… or almost as perfect as his former-lover. She had fiery red hair and her skin was dark blue. He stared at her and couldn’t stop. She looked back at him as she walked by, giving him a smile. He felt his heart sink. He could never have her. He was nothing special. Sulking, he started running again. He wasn’t paying attention to his surroundings. He just ran.

“Hey, watch it!” He looked up. It was the woman from before.

He apologized quickly and got back to running, flustered and surprised. She caught up to him. “Have I seen you before?”

“Uh… y-yeah. You walked by me a while ago,” he blushed and smiled back at her sheepishly. She laughed and tried keeping up with him. They talked for a while, introducing themselves.
“Gem,” she shook his hand.
“I’m Skylar.”

They kept on jogging for a while.

“Wanna go get lunch later?” He asked, his confidence growing.
“I would love to,” and she smiled.

Back at home, he was nervous and sweating. He hadn’t gone out with anyone other than his previous lover, in over four years. He took a shower to cool off and wore his best clothes. He left his home and decided to change the plans. They would eat, but it wouldn’t be at a restaurant. He wanted to show her the cliffs.

He was gifted. He possessed a gift no one could see in plain sight. His wings were special. Not many people had a pair like his, or even a pair and the only person who had seen his had her own pair, so it was no surprise. He picked her up at her house and they were on their way.

Once they reached the cliffs, he saw her look of surprise as she gawked at the scenery. He smiled at her and attempted to make small talk, but then the question he dreaded came up.

“Why did you bring me here?” she asked him curiously.

He didn’t know how to answer. Memories came flooding back to him. That day… the day he regretted the most replayed in his head as he tried to regain his composure.

“I-I thought you would like it. I used to come here a lot… to perform stunts,” he smiled, trying to hide his other emotions.
“Stunts? What kind of stunts?”

He looked back at her and took his shirt off. As he spread his wings, he saw her expression change from one of surprise, to one of disgust. But then, something happened. It was unexpected and completely took him by surprise.

Gem’s eyes, which were yellow before, started changing colors. They turned the fiery red, just like her hair. Her teeth got sharp as she smiled at him. In a split second, she was in front of him, pushing him over the edge. He screamed and looked at her, above him, staring from the edge of the cliff. She laughed, enjoying his panic as he tried to flap his wings.

It was impossible. He was paralyzed and didn’t know what to do. He saw her jump and glide as she reached him.
“How do you feel now that you’re helpless? Now you feel how I did, you insignificant human being,” she spit at him and laughed.

He now realized what was going on. Meg was back, and she wanted revenge. His eyes opened, nearly bulging out of his skull, which only made her smile bigger, her satisfaction growing.

He turned his body around, facing the ground, and in that instant everything turned black.

That was it. It was the end of him. Everything was over. No one would know what happened. He moved his fingers.

Wait… He was dead. He couldn’t move anything. He shouldn’t be able to. He moved his head and saw the cliffs around him. But then he looked down.

There he was, lying motionlessly on the hard ground. He saw blood oozing out of a huge crack on his skull and remembered that was exactly how Meg looked like. Puzzled, he kept looking around and spotted Gem’s red hair in the distance. She flew closer and closer to him until she stopped next to his motionless body.

“You never should have done that to me,” she snarled.

And that was it. His life was over. Was, past tense of is. Just like his lover.