I miss my cousin. When I saw her at my uncle's house, she ran to me and threw her arms around me. Her arms tightened and she didn't let go. When I realized she was crying, it made me cry too. So there we were, two girls crying in each other's arms. It's been about four years since I last saw her. Such a long time but when I think about it, it feels like just yesterday when she lived with us for the summer. When we finally let go of each other, our eyes were red and our cheeks were flushed. We smiled at each other, laughed. We said hello and bonjour and comment ça va, and then she took both my hands in hers and looked at me with concerned eyes. "Lilac," she said, "I heard you were in the hospital. Are you okay?"
Gently I squeezed her hands and assured her I was okay. Just a little pain lingering, and nothing to worry about. Her sweetness and vitality overwhelmed me, and I was struck by how lovely she's grown these past few years. So sweet and gentle, and part of me wanted to protect her under my wing forever.
We spent the whole day together, talking, laughing, taking selfies, and sometimes we just sat together in comfortable silence. I was so happy.
When the hour came for her to leave with her family, she turned to me with tears in her eyes. "I'm going to miss you," she said. I could hear a slight tremble in her voice; it went through me like a sigh.
I gave her a big hug. "I'm just across the ocean," I said. "I'm always here for you."
And we cried again, bittersweet tears that wedged inside my heart. I watched her get into her dad's car, and I gave her a big smile when she looked back at me. The wind dried the tears on my cheeks as I stood at the green gate, waving at them as they left. The last view I had of her was the side of her face as she turned to wave one last goodbye.
