No Way to Say Goodbye.

He wanted her to always remember what it was like to be with him; fun, carefree, and secure. He had to make sure that she would be able to come back to him no matter if it were his Hannah or any other Hannah for that matter. She was going to recall being with him, even if he had to engrave it into her brain himself. His determination was that strong; not a day went by with him not working on his little journal and photo album that was supposed to wake Hannah up from the horrible trance. As long as Hannah had the journal and photos, he was almost certain that is she were to ever lose hope, start to falter or completely fall under that they would be her guidelines.

From the day he’d laid eyes on her, he’d never admit that she was exactly what he was looking for in a companion. Hannah had caring eyes, soft skin, and a smile that could warm an ornery old man’s soul. The way she walked was so blithe, and how her voice was as soft as a whisper even when she was angry. He would always love her because of the simplicity she carried. Hannah didn’t put her baggage on display for others’ pity or concern.

She was spectacularly independent and mature, however when her ‘wild’ side—as she named it—came out, she could be as wild as he could. She filled in the missing cracks of his crumbling character. She’d helped him with countless things; school, homework, his friends, struggles, confessions, you name it. Yet, she seemed to stay patient when she listened for hours on end to his nonsense chatter.

As Jacob slipped another photograph into the album he carefully wrote next to it that this was his favorite picture of them two. Hannah was in a bathing suit, flexing her muscles as much as she could. She even had her face all scrunched up like she meant business; perplexed. Jacob was standing behind her, casting mountainous shadows by his muscles and he didn’t even need to contract. Supposedly thinking, this was his favorite because of course she was in as little clothing as possible, nonetheless she was being Hannah and that was enough for him at any given time.

“Jake,” A raspier voice broke his thoughts. “Hannah’s here.”

Pivoting towards his concerned father, Jacob patted his shoulder and proceeded to walk out of the shed; his thinking haven, where he was allowed to believe in the impossible and in Jacob’s case it was that Hannah wouldn’t make him cry anymore and snap out of whatever she’d been spelled into.

She was wearing her favorite winter jacket. Her cheeks rosy from the crisp air. Her hair was down, just the way Jacob liked it because then, if they were sitting close enough or if they were laughing while laying on his bed he was able to play with her hair. She loved it when he did that, and for her, he would do it forever. As for now, he was to read to her. Show her what Hannah meant to Jacob, and through the mercy of hope have Hannah come back to him.

“Hey Jacob,” She smiled, twirling her thumbs absentmindedly.

“Hey,” He was giving up. “You ready?”

Tilting her head, she nodded. “What’re you going to read to me?”

Wincing from devastation he spun in her direction and firmly placed his hands on her tiny frame. His eyes desperately looked into hers—nothing. He knew that today wasn’t too be that special. But he promised Hannah to not give up on her that easily, for she wouldn’t if it were him, and he knew this. It had been months since her accident, and he wasn’t having any luck. Sam, his leader, was there to encourage him along the way because Sam said he’d been in Jacob’s shoes before.

Releasing a timid looking Hannah, his unknowing girlfriend, he turned and sighed warily, “Hopefully, you’ll remember this time,” when she wasn’t able to hear him, or see the tear that broke his eyes barrier.