She did not remember her first day of school, walking in holding her mother’s hand, as her ballerina lunch box bumped against her leg. She did not remember winning the championship soccer game, the medal weighing on her chest as the sun set behind her, the oranges and pinks coloring her face. She didn’t remember the enchanting days she spent with her grandfather, soaking up the wisdom of his words and the enticing stories he shared. She didn’t remember when those days ended, leaving behind only a hazy memory and tears stifled into a pillow. She did not recall the first wave she caught, nor the smile it created; a toothy grin causing her eyes to crinkle, as salt sprayed  her ankles and her dad hollered, the board carving its own path through the too blue water. She didn’t remember the first kiss she shared, the blush that creeped over her cheeks, or the eyes she stared into once she pulled away. 

She didn’t remember the school years that seemed to stretch on so lazily, all blending together in a muddled collection of memories. She didn’t remember the panic attacks that loomed over her head. She didn’t spare even a second to remember all the friends she made, the family she created and the experiences she shared.  She didn’t remember her small town, or the itch she had to leave it behind, to see more. She didn’t remember the mountains she submitted, the live music she heard, the dazzling places she visited. 

Instead, she remembered this. A soft summer breeze.  The roar of a waterfall and the contrasting hum of “Eyes The World '' by the grateful dead playing in the background, on loop.  A sheet of rock, water rebellious spilling over the edge, powerful, unstoppable, free. She remembered him, barefoot and laughing, trying to balance on the slippery rock.  He felt like an older brother. She knew him for only a week but he felt like someone she was supposed to meet, as if their souls were connected, their paths intertwined.  As the sky darkened around them, they swam, and kept swimming. That night he taught the stars, the unique way they were painted across the sky. He whispered, “Let it be”. Let it be. Let it be. Letitbe. LetitbeLetitbeLetitbe