I didn’t know she was leaving, nor did she. Unbeknownst to either of us we were approaching a fork in the road.

I remember the day being cloudy, a gloomy hue clung to the sky. Quite a contrast to the joyous look in her eyes as she bounced around the garden. How she darted among the leaves, almost too quick to spot, before eventually pouncing from behind a plant pot or the far side of the shed.

She lit up our final moments together, moments in time that I regret not making more about her. My focus was elsewhere, my mind was drifting far above us both.

We had it all. I remember the last I saw of her vividly, seared into my memory, her beautiful round eyes peering directly into mine. The dark sides of two moons completely wild and triumphant, brimming with joy at the life we’d made with love and care.

I’ll always regret turning away, not staying fixed on where she’d wandered to, where she’d chosen as the next leg of her adventure. But after that she was gone.

Despite the days stretching into weeks, then months, and all my love rusting into despair.

Wherever you are, my dear, home is waiting for you right here.