your boots send shivers across ice as thin as paper
wisps of snow float through the air
you can't help but think
as the cracks in the ice circle around you like a web
about all the times you kept walking
when the people who loved you most cried your name out in vain
when you locked your eyes on the ground with your head down
no time wasted but no time spent well
you think of your ignorance
when you refused to let anyone help

you realize all the things you should've done
you feel the empty lurch of your stomach as the ice breaks
as you fall to a freezing death
thinking - if only

if only I had kept my head up high
if only I had smiled just that once
if only I hadn't pushed all my friends away
if only I had listened

if only I had read the sign that said,
'thin ice'

And I run to you,
with aching legs
and an aching heart
I run into your arms
closing my eyes
In hopes as to never forget this moment

and with soft promises of tomorrow.
tiny whispers of "I love you"
silent prayers that this wouldn't be the last time
A kiss on my forehead
holding me close to your chest
tears in our eyes
sadness overflowing
onto the pine needles crunching beneath our bare feet

Delicate hands on soft cheeks
"I have to go.."
Sadness sparks again in your eyes
"I love you."
"I love you too."

We break away,
only to stare at each other for another minute
our hands and our eyes locked together

Whispers,
carried away by the wind
"Rem em mber  m me  e.."
And our hands part
We break our gaze
More tears.
I'd never seen you cry before.

That moment.
the one moment where you are at the point between sanity and insanity.
the worst moment
but the best
the one that seems to last forever
but is gone in the blink of an eye
The breaking moment

"I love you"

We both retreat back into the safety of the darkness