Remember Her

                                            
                  True love is lit by a light with a never ending flame so why does it die?
This is a question most will never understand but I guess it’s true when people say, “All good things come to an end whether we choose for it to or not.”
Have you ever met someone who stole your heart or took your breathe away? Have you ever wondered if there was someone out there just for you and no one else? From the moment Audrey saw him walk through the door, she couldn’t help but to stare at what was in front of her. It was as if nothing else mattered. For a moment, time had stopped and everything was moving in slow motion. She knew from the bottom of her heart that he was the one.
It was about eight o’clock and the night was young. Audrey and I wanted to go out and have some fun. I called Audrey to see if she was ready to go out yet but she was still getting herself ready.
“I’ll be there in about thirty minutes or so.” I told her.
You could tell from the tone of her voice that she was ready to go out and make history. Little did she know that this was a night that would eventually change the rest of her life. It was around ten o’clock when we arrived at the club. We were standing at the bar waiting for our drinks when she noticed him coming through the door. She had never met him before but she had a look in her eyes that told me she was in love.
“Audrey? Audrey?”
There was no response from her. I could see that she was looking at him. He was about five foot nine, thin but with a good build and nicely dressed. However, something just didn’t seem right.
“Audrey?” I asked again and she finally turned to look at me.
“Come on. Let’s go check out the people here.”
She grabbed her drink and walked slowly behind me.
The club was starting to fill up. More people started hitting the dance floor. Audrey and I were dancing when he came over.
“Hi, my name is Frank. Can I dance with you lovely ladies?” He asked politely.
“Sure.” I responded.

After dancing for a little bit, Audrey and I decided to take a break. Frank came along and we started to talk. We told him we were going go to the bathroom and he asked if we could come back and talk a little more. I told him we would be back if he didn’t move and he calmly nodded his head.
While in the bathroom, Audrey turned to me and asked, “So, what you think of him? I think he likes you.”
She knew where my heart was though.

After leaving the restroom, we went back to Frank and we started dancing again. The three of us had so much fun that it seemed as if the night had come to an end too soon. As we were leaving, Frank asked if he could have our numbers. Audrey gave him her number and we left.

They started to talk and eventually got together. It turns out that Frank is the youngest of three kids who was from a little town two hours up north from us. To show her how much he cared for her, he would visit her almost every weekend when he was off work. She would go visit too but he preferred her not to because of the long drive. After two years of dating, Audrey and Frank’s relationship was still as strong as ever although Frank’s parents didn’t think that Audrey was good enough for him. He was able to keep their thoughts on the sidelines and follow his heart about what he felt for Audrey.

One day, Frank drove over and asked Audrey if she would marry him. He told her that they could run away and be happy together.
“Why so sudden?” She asked with confusion on her face.
She saw tears rolling from his eyes. She could see the hurt that he had inside him. She grabbed hold of him and held him tight so that he knew that she would never let go.
With tears in her eyes, she slowly whispered in his ears, “Honey, yes I will marry you. I’ll run away with you but just let me say my good byes to my family and friends first. Okay?”

Audrey and Frank agreed to run away later that week. Audrey had the better car so she was supposed to go pick Frank up on Friday. They decided they would go stay with a friend of his until they got jobs and had enough money to start a new life in a new state. Audrey was very scared but she wanted to support Frank with all she could. That week, she started to fill her car up slowly with stuff that she needed. She had to do it when her family was asleep so that no one would know. Soon, Friday came around sooner then she had expected.

It was around four o’clock when Audrey showed up at my house. I gave her a hug as tears streamed down her cheeks.
“You’re the best friend that I’ve ever had and I wish the best for the two of you but, are you sure you want to do this?”
She nodded her head and handed me a little box.
“Open it.”
Audrey smiled as I opened the box.
“This is an angel that I’ve had since a long time ago, longer then I can remember. This is one of my most treasured items and I want you to keep it safe for me.”
I gave her a hug and we talked for a bit until she said she needed to get going. Little did I know that this would be last time that I would ever see my best friend.

It was about eight thirty at night when I got a call from Frank asking if I had seen or talked to Audrey. I told him that I last saw her at around five plus and she said that she was on her way to pick him up. Apparently, she never got there. Frank figured that her parents probably found out about their plans and wouldn’t let her leave or talk to him. He got into his car and started to race towards her house. To make matters worse, there was a car accident along the way that slowed him down. The only thing that was on his mind was to get to town and confront Audrey’s parents to let them know that he was serious about wanting to marry Audrey. He would do whatever possible to give her everything that she has ever dreamt of and be the one to make her happy for the rest of her life. Frank got to the front of her house and sat there wondering how to put what he wanted to say into words. He knew that as long as he had Audrey, he would be happy.

He finally found the courage to walk up to the house and ring the door bell.
Audrey’s mom came and answered the door.
“Is Audrey home?” He kindly asked.
She kindly responded that she wasn’t home but he was more then welcome to sit and wait for her if he wanted. Hence, he did so. Thoughts kept running through his head as he sat on the sofa.
“Did I scare her?”
“Where could she be at this hour?”
“What if she didn’t want to run away with me but was too frightened to tell me no?”
Then all of a sudden, there was a knock on the door. Frank immediately jumped up from the sofa to get the door, hoping that it was Audrey.

 Standing on the other side of the door was not Audrey but two police officers instead.
“Hi.” One of the officers said.
“I’m Officer Steven Mitchell and this is my partner Officer Mike Jones. Is this the residency of Audrey Thao?”
Frank stood speechless and confused but he nodded his head. He wanted to ask for the reason they were here but nothing came out from his mouth. The cops asked if it is okay for them to step into the house and Frank nodded his head again.
“Are you her brother?”
“No. I’m Frank. She’s my girlfriend.” He stated.
“Is she alright? I’ve been waiting for her to come home.”
The officers wanted to know if her parents were home.
“Yes, they are. However, they’re sleeping.” He responded.
“What’s wrong? Where is she? Did she do something wrong? Is she hurt?”
He knew that something was wrong and his eyes started to tear.

The cops looked at each other and then glanced at Frank.
“Would you take a sit Frank?”
He knew it was going to be bad news but he still hoped that she would be alright.
“Now Frank, we came here tonight to let you guys know that Audrey was in an accident. Witnesses say that she was heading north on the freeway when she was hit by a drunk driver riding south who had no headlights on.”

Frank started to cry and scream louder then he had ever done before and that woke Audrey’s parents up. The cops explained what happened and Frank left the house with tears in his eyes. He could not believe what had happened. He had just talked to her earlier and tonight was supposed to be the first night of the rest of their lives together not the end. Frank suddenly remembered the accident he came across on his way to find Audrey. Why didn’t he stop instead of rushing through? It was her. He could have helped her or at least see her for the last time. However, the truth is she was gone and there was nothing that he could have done.

Audrey’s parents blamed Frank for her accident. He paid for the whole funeral but it wasn’t enough for her parents. They knew they have lost their daughter but they didn’t understand that Frank had lost the dearest thing to his heart. They blamed him because if she hadn’t been on her way to see him then she would still be alive.

Death is harder for some as compared to others. It took Frank three years before he finally face up to reality and realized that Audrey wasn’t coming back no matter how much he wanted her to. It’s interesting how life can suddenly come to an end. Some are lucky enough to never go through the pain of losing a loved one. However, for the rest of us, we can always remember that our loved ones never really leave us. They continue to watch over us as angels above us.