Dimitris Part 2

“Different forms of mourning. There’s no worse or milder one, just different ways of coping.”
“What I mean is that I can’t fully understand your grief as a son who knew and loved his father, or as a brother. But there is another grief that I indirectly understand. I spent months hospitalized and was very close to dying. There were times, in my most critical phase, when I didn’t have the strength to open my eyes and my parents thought I was asleep. But I could hear them crying and begging for me to survive. My father is a huge, strong man; I always saw him as my superhero. But in the face of the fear of losing me, I saw him crumble. That was a preview for me of what it’s like to grieve the death of a child. You might think your mother isn’t doing enough, Dimitris. But believe me, every morning she has the strength to get out of bed, she’s pushing her limits.”
She released my hand to wipe her tears, and I stood there, completely mesmerized by that image blending fragility with strength.
How could Aris have gone through so much and still remain so sweet, so understanding, and yet so strong and determined?
And I couldn’t stop wondering how she could be so beautiful in a way that I simply couldn’t stop looking at her.
“I’m sorry for this…” she apologized, still brushing her face. “You poured your heart out about something so important, and I wanted to say something to comfort you. But instead, here I am, crying like a…”
I stopped her from finishing the sentence by taking her lips with mine.
It was an impulsive, unthoughtful kiss… But, at the same time, something I had longed to do for so long.
She wanted it too. This was clear from the way she parted her lips, allowing my tongue to find hers. She responded to the kiss, initially timidly, but soon seemed to relax.
I wanted to deepen that kiss. Certainly, I wanted to take advantage of the fact that the place was deserted to go much further than just a kiss and the light touch of my hand on her waist at that moment. I wanted to do with her everything I would do with any girl I was interested in.

In fact, not in the same way. The desire I felt for Aris was far beyond what I had ever felt for any other girl.
But with Aris, it wouldn’t be like that. She deserved much more than a scoundrel like me could offer.
So, at that moment, I needed to control myself and strive to be the best version of myself—a version I didn’t even know existed.
A light touched our faces and our lips parted, though they still remained dangerously close.
I found her eyes looking at me with initial confusion. Then she turned her face slightly toward the sea, and her entire expression lit up. Not only from the increasingly strong orange light but also from the beautiful smile that appeared on her lips.
“Oh, my God…” she whispered, enchanted. “It really is beautiful…”
I followed my eyes in the same direction she was looking, seeing the sun beginning to rise.
She spoke again, “I think this is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in my life…”
“It is…” I replied.
Though, in truth, I disagreed.
Nothing in that place could be more beautiful than Aris.