He loved her. He wanted to be with her all his life if he had the chance. That was only a broken illusion for him to hang on to. Life was simpler without her, but he didn't fall in love with the simplicity, he wanted her back.  The way that her green-blue eyes soothed his troubled mind. He knew her scent as if it was his own name. He could find her if she was a rock in the ocean. He cared for her. He fought every battle with his fist to fix everything and anything that threatened their bond.
A chill ran down his spine. It was bitter cold, but the stillness of his body eluded the freezing air. His pupils were fixated on an invisible spot on the wall. No movements; only the thud of his heart and a clouded conscious. Blackness hugged his sight, but was gentle enough to make out his nightstand to his right and a faded wood dresser at his toes. Alone in his apartment, the newly made 20 year old laid quietly. The dark choked his vision until his head fell back and he was lost in another memory.
“Wake up” echoed from his head. He was still shrouded in the black fog, but it was different now. The air hung thick, not like he was used to. He narrowed his eyes to try and cut through the blanket in front of him; widening them as he saw a faint glow. Still drowsed from before he stumbled to his hands when he tried to peer closer to the light. His eyes focused on the ground and steadily moved up to find a worn down, beaten work boot; two of them to be exact. With the light coming back to his eyes, he made out a man ,not two feet away from his face. His jeans were muddy and old. The man held his hand out as a gesture to help him up. Without a choice he took the hand and felt the man pull him with great force. The man, who he thought to be a construction worker, had a firm grip and it only reinforced his hypothesis. He notices the worker had calloused hands, those of someone who swung a hammer all day. The “orb” of light had vanished, but it still somehow lit the long corridor they were in. Following The Worker ahead of him, they walked a distance of what seemed like a mile. None said a word about names, places, or why they’re here. The worker stop abruptly and turned to face him. He now noticed the face of the worker. He was dirty, but was still decently handsome. he had a scruff on his face from what seemed like a day old beard, but besides that he noticed much more. His eyes were a deep, brown and his hair was dirty as well, but still neatly combed to one side. He looked oddly familiar as if he’d dreamt of him before their meeting. While deep in thought the mans voice interrupted him and spoke in a low tone. “Listen. You must listen. This will not be easy. I hope you understand why you’re here.”
“Wait- what?” he replied. The Worker walked on forward and like before he followed him in silence. Windows started appearing in the corridor. He couldn’t see what was passed them until he got closer to each one. He saw her. The girl that stopped his heart only to make it start up again. He paused. Wondering what was happening; he moved to window to window, peering in for at least five minutes on each one. The man was smiling. He saw her laughing with her friends in one of the panes and put his hand to the glass and tried to get her attention. “Hey! I’m over here!” he called. “She can’t hear you,” said The Worker ,”These are only memories of what you loved about her. Each one a different time and place. Each one a different feeling and memory.” He took his hand off the glass and backed away without breaking eye contact with his love. The Worker grasped his arm firmly and pulled him. “We must go. theres more you must see.”
“No. I have to sta-”
“No! We must go on.”
He continued to walk with the man with a thick lump in his throat. He walked to another set of windows. This time they showed him and her together. Laying in bed with his arms around her waist underneath the sheets. He buried his face in her back with a small smirk as he tried to give her little bite. He thought of all of the times he did this and the happiness that accompanied these moments. His eyes blurred and with a few blinks, settled to normal. The next window was them walking together. In the memory, he looked over at her and asked to hold her hand. With a smirk she said no. He grinned, grabbed her hand, and started swinging her arm. She laughed and told him to stop and tried to contain him but couldn’t. He started laughing and finally stopped, but only to hug her and push her to the wall. She froze there back to the wall, gazing at him. He stared back ,falling deep into her eyes, not wanting to look away. He kissed her lips lightly while he pulled her waist closer.
“There’s one more you must see,” the worker interrupted. He finally looked away from the memory, but it was still fresh in his mind. “The softness of her lips, the way she smelled, and her eyes; they were a drug to me,” he thought “I'm addicted to her.” He took a few more steps to the last window. Once more it was him and her. They were fighting and yelling at each other; hurting each other with words they didn’t mean. His eyes blurred once more remembering one of his promises to her “I’ll never raise my voice to you. I would never do that to you. You’re my everything. I promise.” He can remember the look in her eyes as he told her to leave him alone. She was broken; so was he. She had tears running down her face, but he kept his composure throughout the memory. Everyday after that he remembered that he shouldn’t have; he should have stopped her and showed her the vast amount of love and care he possessed about their relationship together. As she walked away with her makeup smeared and tear trails on her face, he screamed at the window. They weren't words he was saying; they were pleads for her to come back to his arms. For her to look in his eyes and free him from his stress and pain. He yelled more. He threw his fist at the glass again and again, crying for her to turn around. Finally, after what seemed like forever, the glass shattered. There was nothing left of the barrier to him and his memories besides edged shards that glistened on the ground. There was blood dripping from his hands, but he couldn't focus on that. All his attention was fixated on her and getting her heart back. His face was hot with love, hatred, fear, sadness, and his own tears. He called for her again. Her name echoing throughout the corridor, but she was gone. The place where he and her stood ,cutting into each other with their voices, was now gone. It was a black, empty room now filled with broken glass and the faint glow of the hallway. He dropped to his knees, sobbing, muttering in short breaths for her to come back. The Worker put his heavy hand on his shoulder. “Please, we must go. I assure that it will get better, but for now you must listen to me. Everything will be fixed. I promise.” Through what sight, he still had left, he stared at the man; he was moved by his promise and decided to trust his word and move on.
He walked on further until his legs gave out and his body dropped to the ground, but it wasn't the same cold, flat surface as before; it was dirt now. There were a few larger rocks around him and the walls looked to be ragged stone as well. He figured he was in a cave now leading out to some exit finally. His eyes, now dried, saw the same glow he’d seen before, before he was broken down by his memories of her. He had an urge to find it. There was a different feeling in the air, one he hadn't felt for a while. As he drew closer, his senses were taken off guard. He felt a chill and his hair stood on end. He still couldn't quite make out the light, but he recognized something else. He smelled her perfume; the sour familiarity he knew by heart made him walk faster. As he got closer to the light, it glowed brighter and brighter until it blinded him from a few feet away. Once more, darkness. He glimpsed around in wonder and saw a necklace with the same, faint glow coming from the locket. He hastily stumbled toward it to find it was hers. It was the locket he gave her for her birthday a year ago. The locket was warm and when he put it close to his ear, he could hear her voice. Her familiar laugh that made him smile. He shuffled along with it clenched close to his heart; it began beating faster the closer it got as if it wanted to reach out and hold it. He was abruptly pulled back to stop his forward shuffling by the Worker. When he finally regained his consciousness, he saw he was no less than a foot away from a ledge. At the bottom there were rocks and a wall of lashing water. He turned to the man and was given a look that he knew. The Worker wanted him to let go of the necklace and give it to the rocks  below.
“You have to do it. You must let go of the memory. It will be alright.”
“How do you know? You haven't gone through anything like this!” he said furiously.
“I have. I know you and you know me.”
“Wha-” he muttered. The Worker took the locket and looked at it with a sunken smile. His eyes reddened from old memories.
“I loved her. You loved her. Do you understand this?” Just then he knew who the man was. The Workers brown eyes were just as his. His brown hair was just as he did his. He hadn’t asked why the man was covered in faded dirt or to what his name was because he already knew what it was; it was his own. They were the same; the only difference was the amount experiences the elder man possessed.  The Worker looked at him “I made it. So will you. I promise.” The Worker turned around and started walking back the way they came and eventually was swallowed away by the darkness. Alone he sat on the ledge of the cliff. He lay back feeling his eyes fill with tears once again as he thought of the girl he loved and fought for. Closing his eyes he was in the blackness again with nothing but a locket and the sound of the lapping sea. All alone, he muttered a few words in the dark. “I miss you. I always have. I loved you. I love you. Please come back.” He laid there with his eyes closed until his chest grew heavy and his thoughts faded.
He heard a knock. He was again in the chilled air with a blanket over him. Once more he heard the knock. Standing up, he made his way up the stairs in a dazed, disoriented manor. Looking through the peephole he say the neck of who was knocking and a familiar locket around it.