He always left his guitar case wide open, even with his beloved instrument sitting in it for the night. I'd never seen him latch the clasps on the side, almost as if there was no use for them even being there. I'd asked him why once, with which he replied,

"Nothing is truly broken until it is locked up."

He always spoke that way, from a deep crevice in his heart I always thought I didn't have; that was until he opened it up. Every moment we shared dug a little deeper in the crevices of my heart and made me wonder how I'd ever lived a day in my life without him.

He had a special love for the beauty he found in every part of nature, but each sunset that bubbled in the sky seemed to spark a twinkle in his eyes I could never explain. He'd stop to admire the gleaming colors painted across the clouds anytime he had the chance, and often times he'd look at me slyly just for the moment. I'd asked him why once, with which he replied,

"What a waste to take for granted pure beauty that smiles just for you."

It seemed as though there was a light in him that could never be burned out. At times when I least expected his presence, he'd come with a mischievous smile to whisk me away. Whether it was midnight dancing in an empty parking lot engulfed in the moonlight to the sound of sweet rhythms buzzing from his lips or floating down a flooded creek doused by the pouring rain in a tattered canoe that turned to a mud fight, there was an energy in him that never died. I'd asked him why once, with which he replied,

"Where there is time there is room for adventure." 

I never truly saw the crimson heart he let me be a part of until I watched in agony as its beat decreased in irregular patterns on the monitor in the cold hospital room on a sullen summer evening. I'd brought him his guitar in the case unclasped and wide open, just like he always did.

He slowly lifted his hands to the instrument and gingerly touched the strings. He said nothing, but I knew his mind overflowed with poetic words and phrases he always murmured so effortlessly. He traced his fingers across the strings in a swift motion and a single rhythm echoed between us. 

"The melodies can never end as long as they're left in the open to roam free."

I felt my lip quiver and a single teardrop fell into the hole in the center of his guitar. It was in that moment I finally understood what it was he always meant, why it was he never locked the guitar away.

He looked at me as though he'd never seen something he'd ever treasured more in his life.

"I never understood how it was you always looked so beautiful, even when your heart shattered and swelled up in pain."

I remember collapsing across the neck of his guitar into his arms and with his little strength he held me there with him. His chin tucked my head safely away nuzzled into his chest, the cotton of his shirt soaking up the water leaking from my bloodshot eyes, and I didn't ever want to leave the incomparable feeling of his warm embrace.

I felt his head lift suddenly a moment later. I regained my composure as best as I could to see that enchanted look in his eyes and I followed his gaze with my own to the colossal open glass window.

The sunset always gathered his full attention and brought the warmest smile his face ever lit up with. He smiled right there in the empty room at the bright painted sky just out of his reach. He looked at me just like he always did when he saw the entrancing lights in the sky, but this time the sly smile slowly dissipated into one full of relief.

"The beautiful sight in the sky always amazed me that a simple canvas could be filled with such beauty and life, every reason I fell so in love with you. The colors in the sky are always you."

Contentment washed over his gentle face and he took his hand and carefully twisted his fingers to interlock with mine, rendering the only strength he had left. I held him tightly as if somehow there was enough strength in my own fingers to rejuvenate his beautiful soul, knowing it was nearly the last time I would have the chance.

Tears streamed down my face and with his free hand, he eased his trembling hands to my face and weakly rubbed his thumb under my eyes to wipe them away. Barely above a whisper I asked him why, with which he replied with his last breath,

"So when I return to the sky you'll always be with me."