01

It was snowing. The kind of weather he had been fond of.

Sarah William's eyes stung a little and she rubbed them. She had been crying last night. Again.

She sniffed as she pulled the black overcoat around her tighter. Her dark hair was twisted in a bun on top of her head and covered in a beanie. These days, she didn't care what she wore. She would have walked out in pajamas if it hadn't been for her roommate, who had fussed over her state this morning.

Sarah passed kids and people who were on their way to school or work and a bunch of teenagers who were trying to catch some snowflakes. Everyone seemed so carefree, so absorbed into their own lives to care about the other person.

This caused a bitter smile to appear on her face.

A small girl with pigtails ran into her legs and stumbled, causing Sarah to come to a halt.

"Ow." The child took a few steps back and looked up, a bit of fear evident in those innocent eyes. "Sorry."

Sarah paid no attention to the girl's apology as she was eyeing the girl's pigtails and reaching down, she grabbed one of them, closing her numb fingers around the strand of blonde hair.

"I hate pigtails," she stated in a low tone. The girl squirmed away from her grasp and ran back to the safety of her mother.

"What's wrong with you?" The mother's shrill voice made Sarah's ears ring and she winched slightly as she straightened up. Without looking at the mother, she passed by her and continued on her way.

She stuffed her hands in her pockets, breathing out. Damn, it was cold. What was so great about winter anyway? Why did he love this season so much?

But that was the best part about him. He loved the little things. Thinking about him now, felt like another stab to her heart.

She came to her destination in a few minutes. Sometimes, she didn't even need to look up to see where she was going. It was as if her body was silently being drawn to that place.

Wither Church Cemetery.

A name that was perfect for the place. Not only did the dead wither away, but the cemetery looked old and ancient as well with it's tall grey and cracked walls. The dead were abundant here whereas, the people that still breathed were missing.

Sarah had long ago realized that the alive tended to avoid the dead as much as possible. It was ridiculous that they did because that's where everyone was going to end up eventually, wasn't it?

With a heavy heart, she hurried up the small steps that would lead to her to his grave...

Everywhere headstones poked up from the ground, some old and hardly recognizable anymore. Others fresh and some even without a single scratch. His headstone was yet to be placed, though.

After climbing up the steps, she lowered her eyes on the snow-covered ground. Nobody had time for dead people. And why would they be when they could be with their sweethearts or warming themselves up in a coffee shop. She clenched her hands in her pockets. It made her angry and these days, she was angry and frustrated without a solid or logical reason.

She didn't look up as she continued to walk and it was only when she was a few feet away, she noticed a dark figure. She looked up and saw that he too was wearing a dark overcoat. The guy seemed like he was still in high school or maybe a little older. His unruly, thick brown hair was covered with a few specks of snow but he didn't pay any heed to it. In fact, Sarah knew that he wasn't even aware of her presence, or his surroundings at all as he continued to stare at a grave in front of him. It didn't contain a headstone either.

She couldn't see his expression properly but she watched him silently as he knelt down slowly in front of the grave and laid a pale hand on the snow-covered earth. She caught his thin lips move as he murmured something that she couldn't hear. A tear fell from his eye and Sarah's chest tightened at the sight.

She took another step closer to him, curious and sympathetic but also feeling like she was invading a private affair.

She saw that his eyes were a shimmering green color but right now, they were reflecting the sadness and emptiness that Sarah was feeling inside. There was so much emotion in them that she found her own eyes stinging once again but she blinked the tears back immediately.

A strange feeling came over her and she wanted nothing more than to run and wrap her arms around this total stranger. She wanted to know him, his pain, his troubles, everything. She wanted to make his pain go away, to wipe away his tears, to make it all go away.

Which was very unusual and odd for her. She wasn't the sort of person who would cry if others cried. She wasn't exactly insensitive, but a bit aloof. Yet, here she was, silently sharing this stranger's pain as if it were her own.

She mentally slapped herself back to reality and shook her head, willing the absurd thoughts away. She was just about to turn away before she did anything stupid, when she saw another tear fall down his flushed cheek and she stopped. She knew she couldn't just walk away like this. Not when she could feel his pain.

Lifting her chin, Sarah approached him slowly with careful steps, not wanting to disturb him. She extracted the blue hanker-chief from her pocket and stood behind him, still wondering if she should be doing this.

For a minute, he didn't acknowledge her and Sarah, being the impatient person she was, bent down and tapped him on his broad shoulder lightly.

He jumped at her touch, proving her theory right that he really wasn't paying attention to his surroundings. His watery green eyes looked up at her, and he blinked at her confused. Then he turned his face away and started to wipe his eyes rapidly with the back of his hands, as if ashamed that she had seen him crying.

He stood up quickly and Sarah couldn't help but notice how tall he was. He didn't seem this tall when he was at a kneeling position. She held out the hanker-chief without a word when he turned to look at her again. After a few seconds, he accepted it and his pale fingers closed at the edge of the hanker-chief.

"Thanks," he said gruffly. And at that moment, Sarah couldn't help but think how much of a boy he looked when he said that. It was like he was trying to put up a brave face, ready to deny the fact that he had been crying at all. Then again, he really was a boy.

She nodded once and there was silence between them again as he blew his nose lightly in front of her. He glanced at her and then looked away again, his eyes still puffy.

"Hang in there," Sarah said, suddenly, meaning it. He glanced at her again and she gave a small smile. When had she last smiled? She couldn't really remember. "That's what I'm doing," she confessed.

With a gentle pat on his shoulder, she turned and walked away, glancing behind once.

She would visit his grave tomorrow. After all, he wasn't going anywhere. And with the guy still standing there, she suspected that she wouldn't get the privacy she came for.

She sighed, looking up at the grey sky. It was so cold and grey, that for a second Sarah felt like she and the weather were in perfect sync with each other.

She didn't notice the green eyes that followed her when she climbed down the steps and disappeared from his sight. He looked down at the blue, now damp hanker-chief in his hand and he looked up again, at the spot she had disappeared and his lips curved up at the corners. "Thank you," he said, this time meaning it.

Chapter 01 to be continued...

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Author's Note: Firstly, I would love to thank anybody would took the time to read this, it honestly means a lot to me so I hope you enjoyed it as well. Please comment below to let me know your thoughts and opinions on the starting chapter.

To all the readers who'd read the book before I took it down, welcome back! ;D How do you find the slightly improved chapter?

And to all the new readers, welcome. ;D What do you think of the chapter?

And of course, the brilliant cover is made by Unlimitedbladeworks so a big thank you goes out to him.

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