Solitude Was The Only Logical Ending

Prologue

That day, the hot sun was hanging awkwardly in the cloudless blue sky above them. The birds were chirping tirelessly, seemingly unbothered by the stifling summer air. All in all, it was a beautiful Sunday afternoon. In fact, it was the kind of afternoon during which the main characters of any stapler romantical comedy or family film would be going on a road trip or having a picnic in a park.

Sadly, they were not the main characters of a feel-good film. Both of them also weren't dressed in light summer clothes and didn't have their feet planted on the soft and lush grass, even if they were outside. Rather, they were standing in uncomfortable shoes, on an old pavement which was full of cracks, and dressed in black formal clothing, which was making them sweat profoundly.

What's more, they were in no mood to have a picnic or go on a road trip together. Truth be told, neither had been in the right state of mind to spend time with each other for quite a while now.

"I want a divorce." Kaoru announced as her cigarette smoke hit Kenshin's nostrils.

The red-haired man turned to her. It was the first time he took a proper look at her in the last few days.

Her once shiny midnight hair no longer gleamed in the sun and were pulled into a bun so tight Kenshin was sure she would get a horrible headache in a matter of hours. Large black bags hung heavily under her big blue eyes, indicating the woman's lack of sleep, as well as the nightmares which plagued her nights instead. Huge beads of sweat were rolling down her exposed pale forehead, but that's only to be expected. After all, she was wearing the same pencil skirt and blazer she occasionally wore to work during the colder months of the year.

Kenshin gloomily chuckled to himself. Without a doubt, his appearance mirrored the one of the woman standing next to him.

"Okay." He finally replied. "I'll pack my things and leave the house to you. Just send the necessary paperwork to my office."

After saying those words the man averted his gaze from his soon to be ex-wife once more, looking somewhere over the horizon and not seeing anything at the same time.

"Why the fuck would you even think of such a nonsense? I don't want to stay in that house a single minute longer than I have to. Just like you." The young woman was unable to keep her cool.

Another puff of smoke followed her statement.

Kenshin breathed in the toxins. He didn't notice when she began to smoke again. He truly did try to remember the day when the familiar scent flooded their house once more, but no matter how far back he looked it always seemed to be present on those colourful walls.

The thing was, Kenshin clearly recalled Kaoru quitting smoking. She did it before they even got married. Probably during the early days of their engagement. Or maybe during that short period of time between the red-haired man making the decision of proposing to his girlfriend at the time and actually going through with the deed.

"We'll sell the house and split the money then." He concluded with a sigh.

"It's been few days since I packed my suitcases. They're already in my car, you know." She stated while putting her cigarette out on the sole of her black high heeled shoe. "You can either throw away or keep everything that I left behind. I don't care."

To this Kenshin did not respond, simply because he did not know what to say to the woman standing next to him. All he did was kneel down to the grave in front of which both of them were standing and placed the flowers – which he had been holding during this whole conversation – right next to the grave stone.

Kaoru had also brought flowers, only she laid them down moments after coming to the cemetery. Now they were only centimeters away from Kenshin's.

Once more, the woman next to him glanced down. Fresh tears filled her eyes, threatening to spill any moment, but somehow she managed to control herself. Or maybe she simply no longer had any tears left to cry.

The older man could hear Kaoru fidgeting with the lighter in her hands, probably trying to light another cigarette.

"We should go." He whispered quietly, and more to himself than anybody else.

Without a word she turned around and left, making her way down to the cemetery's parking lot.

Another whiff of smoke never reached Kenshin's nose, hence he decided that Kaoru ended up not lighting the second cigarette. Then again, the wind might have simply changed directions.

The man continued kneeling down in front of the grave, waiting for the nature to be disturbed by the mechanical sound of a roaring engine and for it to quiet down one more time, as the person he once considered the woman of his life put more and more distance between them.

"I should go." He repeated the voiceless whisper by the time the only sound disturbing the heated air was the chirping of birds.

Kenshin made his way to the parking lot – the same one Kaoru drove out of just a few minutes prior – extremely slowly. It's been a long time since he had lost the luxury of walking so slowly, but there was no need for him to hurry anymore. After all, the only things waiting for him in that big house were bags which needed to be packed.