goodbye.

Goodbye is the only word in the English language that has the ability to send a genuine shiver down my spine. It is the only word to cause that painful, visceral reaction of the diaphragm, and to thicken the air traveling to my lungs. For a minute, it seems as though this feeling will never be forgotten. But after a moment, it is tucked away into the deepest depths- gone- and so are you. And there goes half of me, too. I cannot begin to recall how many times I have said or heard goodbye, perhaps because my mind has masked these moments, or left these memories to melt away.

In recent years, goodbye has not been a word used infrequently, or spoken lightly. Hello is said only halfheartedly, with the anticipation of the close goodbye looming. And each syllable of each word burns the tip of the tongue as it passes by. Goodbyes have come in a vast variety of forms: goodbyes for now, goodbyes forever, goodbyes for always. It is far too difficult for me to determine my most favorite. But now, in this wide turn of events, I say goodbye, consumed wholly by the thought of the hellos to come. I say goodbye, knowing it is only for a little while, and certainly for the best. And I say goodbye, knowing that this word will not change anything.

When all goodbyes are said and done, I have only this more to say: May my next hello be the first, your last hello be the next, and our next goodbye be our last.