Closer To You

I was born gifted with power.

I was born trapped with a curse.

They both coexist like yin and yang.

Circling one another in an infinite loop.

I have the power to grant any wish from the person I fall in love with.

And I was cursed to never be able to get together with the person I am in love with.

It sucks, isn't it?

Luckily, I never fall in love in the twenty-three years of my life. Not even once! At least, I don't know what to expect and I don't make any expectations about my love life the moment my dad told me about the curse when I was only six years old.

But I think, my luck is running out now...

My name is Gabriel Blackwell, I'm going to turn twenty-four this year and I am just realizing that I am deeply in love with my best friend; Ava Shelley.

-----

He wakes up with a slight headache. He always gets a headache every time he dreamt about her.

Who the hell is Ava Shelley and why did I always say I'm in love with her in each dream?

He sighs. It's been five years since he started dreaming about Ava – each dream has a different scenario. It's been happening since he woke up from his coma. He never saw her face but he always says her name in his dreams. Silly dreams!

A hand reaching out to him from his side. "Hey..." Her soft voice says. "What's wrong?"

A ring adorning her finger. Yes, Gale was engaged with Meryl and he still can't stop dreaming about another girl. He felt guilty for it.

"Another dream..." Gale said hesitantly. "I'm sorry, Mer... It just won't stop..."

Meryl get up and sat next to him. The look in her eyes making him swallowed hard. Somehow, he knows what she'll say will turn his life upside down.

"Five years, Gabriel..." Meryl said sadly

"I know, I know! I'm sorry but I don't have any control of it, sweetheart..." Gale took Meryl's hand, clasped it tightly.

"Gal– Gabriel..." Meryl sighs his name.

"Please don't Gabriel me, Mer." Gale pleaded

"But I must! This is serious, Gabriel! You've gone to a psychiatrist. You've undergone hypnosis to stop those dreams but it kept coming back to you!" Tears streaming down Meryl's face. "This Ava... She's real – I know it! There's no way you're so hung up on her if she's not!"

"Meryl... Can we not do this again?"

Gale was tired of all accusations Meryl throw at him. It's not like he chooses to dream about Ava. He was disturbed by it as much as Meryl does.

"No... You listen to me, Gabriel! If she's real and she's out there, you gotta find her!"

"And what if she's not? I'm not going to risk you for someone who isn't real!" Gale insisted.

"But, Gabriel... You don't even love me in the first place. You won't lose anything." Meryl said dejectedly.

"Now you're being nonsense!" Gale spat and stand up. He paces back and forth to calm his mind.

"Gale..."

"Now you Gale me? What is it that you really want, Meryl? Do you even love me?"

"I love you, you know that..."

"And I love you!" Gale exclaimed.

He saw Meryl flinched and her body started trembling but he couldn't care less anyhow. He's tired of not being trusted. He does love her! Why would he even propose to her if he doesn't?

"No! Not the way I want you to love me!" Meryl screamed her frustration.

"For God's sake, Meryl Auckland! I proposed to you! What the hell do you think that means?" Gale matches her high tone.

"You want security! You're going to turn twenty-nine this year! Despite your amnesia, you still thrive and finished med school! Your future as a doctor is bright and now all you need is a secure relationship!"

Gale shook his head in disbelief at what his fiance had just utter. The hurt of her words hit him severely and he needs to get away.

"I can't have this conversation anymore... I'm tired." He said weakly. "What do you want?"

Meryl stand up and walked towards where he stands after he stopped pacing. She hugs him but he didn't respond. He doesn't know what to do anymore. If she wants to separate, be as it may. He won't try to stop her any longer.

"I love you, Gale... I really do..." Meryl whispered in between her sobs. "But, loving you has caused me pain I cannot even explain. And I know you love me too... But... Please understand, Gale."

"I don't know what you want me to do... I couldn't understand it, Meryl." Gale whispered, a tear slipped out of his eye.

"Let's just stop..." Meryl said after a long silence. "Let's stop pretending that we will work because we both know we won't."

Meryl draws away from him and looks at him in the eyes. They were both crying. But Gale couldn't do anything anymore. He nodded his head defeatedly.

Trembling, Meryl raised her hands and take off the engagement ring that had adorned her finger for more than seven months. She took Gale's hand and put the ring on his palm.

Silent tears keep streaming down their face.

This is the end.

There's no way of fixing it. He had lost Meryl; the first person that had helped him in the past five years of his miserable life ever since he lost all of his family and also his memory. He had lost the relationship that had grown from friendship until they got engaged.

Gale would miss her soft blonde hair and her hazel eyes. He would miss her chastised him when he forgot to brush his messy curly dark hair on their dates. He would miss her kind comforting smile.

Tiptoeing to match their height, Meryl kissed Gale for the last time. A goodbye kiss.

She stepped back and started to collect her things. Gale knows he should stop her – he knows he have to try harder to mend things but Meryl's words ringing in his head. She doesn't want him anymore and he will respect that.

Meryl diligently gathers all of her belongings. It wouldn't be much since she's not really living together with him. Still, Gale gave her time alone and decided to stay on his apartment balcony.

Half an hour passed and he heard her steps nearing the balcony.

"Gale..." She said weakly. "I'm going."

He nodded. "Should I help you bring your things to the lobby?" Gale said without even turning his body to look at her. He could hear her sighed.

"No, it won't be necessary. But I borrow your luggage and I will bring it back to you as soon as possible." Meryl explained.

"O-okay..." Gale said, he felt like there's a lump that prevents him to talk to her.

Meryl didn't reply and there's a full five minutes of silence between them until she sighed again.

"Gale, just know that I would never hate you and I want to be your friend still. We always work out better as friends." She said.

"Okay..."

"I'll be off now. Goodbye, Gale."

The sound of her shoes and the rolling of the wheel of his luggage are sickening. They're getting farther away and when a click of a doorknob can be heard, Gale runs toward it.

"Meryl! Wait, I need to ask you something!" He said breathlessly as he arrived in front of his door. Meryl already stands outside – still holding the doorknob.

"Yes?" She said kindly but sadly.

Gale put his face on his hands and sighed.

"We were happy, right? It's not always fighting and screaming, right? You were happy with me? Because I felt happy with you and I'm so grateful for the last five years. Without you, I wouldn't be who I am today. You helped me be me. People said so that it feels like I never had any amnesia because I am just like myself before the accident." Gale rambling.

Meryl smiles warmly at him. The first smile he saw today. "You made me irrevocably happy, Gabriel. But I believe, it's not at its fullest. Not to me, not to you. And I know we could be happier but for that; we couldn't be together." She said slowly. "I must go..."

"Yeah... Thank you for everything. Goodbye, Mer."

"Thank you too. Goodbye, Gale."

And she closed the door and all the possibility Gale had imagined when he proposed to her.