SWNOVELS Chapter 24
This is a note I left for Elio as I approached the end of my life, a form of reconciliation with the past.
“Elio, by the time you read this note, I will have already be gone. I’ve loved you since high school, and when you proposed to me back then, I was overjoyed. I thought my unspoken love had finally been answered. I knew you didn’t return my feelings, but I believed that my love for you was enough. I thought you would eventually understand it. Yet, I never imagined we would end up like this. Your constant defense of others and your doubts about me have left me heartbroken. I kept making excuses for you, reassuring myself that maybe you
This is a note I left for Elio as I approached the end of my life, a form of reconciliation with the past.
“Elio, by the time you read this note, I will have already be gone. I’ve loved you since high school, and when you proposed to me back then, I was overjoyed. I thought my unspoken love had finally been answered. I knew you didn’t return my feelings, but I believed that my love for you was enough. I thought you would eventually understand it. Yet, I never imagined we would end up like this. Your constant defense of others and your doubts about me have left me heartbroken. I kept making excuses for you, reassuring myself that maybe you misunderstood me. But when you made that choice, I knew that no matter what I did, I couldn’t warm your heart. I don’t know what my death will bring you, or if you will regret it, but I want you to know that I no longer love you. On the contrary, I hate you. If I could turn back time, I would never have met you, and I certainly wouldn’t have agreed to be your wife. Meeting you is the greatest regret of my life.”
Upon reading this, Elio could no longer contain his grief and began to weep uncontrollably, pounding his fists against himself. I watched with cold detachment, for my heart had long been dead..
Elio, pale and trembling, rushed out of the house and drove frantically to my grave. Clutching my headstone, he begged in fervent remorse, “Aimee, I truly realize my mistakes. Please don’t stop loving me.”
“1 gave you my heart. Please come back.”
“Aimee, I was wrong. I’ve always loved you. Aimee, I made a mistake…”
Elio repeated these words endlessly, his eyes still reflecting the tenderness I hadn’t seen in a long time. He spent the night away, and when he returned, his hair was streaked with gray.
After that, Elio’s mental state deteriorated. He refused to leave my grave, except to find food, and no amount of persuasion could make him budge.
Winter soon arrived, bringing snow and biting winds that cut through even the thickest layers of clothing. When Elio was found, he was kneeling in front of my headstone, dressed in thin clothing. It was
no surprise that he had frozen to death in the harsh winter.
His knees were pressed to the ground, his head bowed, and his hands clasped in front of the gravestone, as if seeking atonement. Elio had long abandoned any attempt to care for himself; his hair was greasy and unkempt, his clothes stained beyond recognition, and he carried a sour odor. His once–proud features were gaunt and discolored, a far cry from his former self.
The only reaction from those who discovered him was a dismissive comment, “What a wretched vagrant, before they turned away without a second glance.
Elio died frozen in front of my grave, with no one to claim his body. I felt a profound sense of calm, knowing that he had received his just punishment.
It was time for me to leave as well. The ones who needed to be punished had been dealt with, and I was ready to move on to wherever I was meant to go.