Praveen Kumar 
i found an old photo tucked behind the mirror, your smile still catching the light the same way, i sat on the edge of the bed and just looked at it, the room went quiet around me;
i remember the drive back that night, the radio playing something neither of us knew, your hand resting on my knee the whole way home, i did not want the road to end;
some mornings i still reach for the other side of the bed, half expecting to find you curled into the blanket, the coffee tastes different when i drink it alone, but even that reminds me of you;
i keep thinking about the way you laughed at my bad jokes, how you never once made me feel foolish for trying, those small moments never asked to be remembered, they just stayed, quietly, without permission;
i do not know why tonight brought it all back, maybe it was the smell of rain through the window, or the light falling wrong across the empty chair, and for a second i just let myself stay there;
