your character wakes up in the past, when they were still with a lover who would later on break their heart. how do they handle this?

Writing Prompt #4 Your character wakes up in the past, when they were still with a lover who would later on break their heart. How do they handle this?

As I wake up, I notice something familiar, yet somewhat foreign. His smell: that wonderful smell of him.

I stretch to shake off my drowsiness and hear his voice, “Good morning, Sleepy.”  His face is close to mine and he playfully kisses my nose. I love it when he does that.

My mind races to place this moment. Was I having déjà vu? We are in bed with the sunlight peaking through a curtain I forgot to fully close. He was always careful about making sure no light would get through, but I wasn’t. I could sleep through almost anything.

He is in a really good mood this morning and I remember exactly how he looked when the sun hit him on this particular day.  This day is when we realize we are in love.

This was almost 3 years to the day when he would take his own life because of the depression he suffered after losing his brother to a freak accident the year before. No one could lift him out of the darkness. No one could reach him,… not even me.

I had often awoken to moments like these, when the past came back to life with memories so vivid and real that for a moment, everything seemed as it was, as it should have been. I would reach for him and feel the coolness of the sheets, where he used to lie beside me, only to fully awaken to realize he was indeed, still gone.

This is different. I feel his warmth as he lies next to me. I feel his strong arms as he pulls me closer. He smiles that incredible smile, just as I remember, looks down at me and blurts out, “I love you so much!”

“I love you too!” I reply feeling my heart swell; this is the first time we ever say those words to each other. Relief washes over him as he pulls me even closer to him and kisses me deeply.

Tears started to well in my eyes, but I push them down. I need to enjoy this moment. I kiss him deeper and hold him tighter.

I don’t ever want to let go.