"Samantha"

After opening the door, I saw that the entire room was lit by small lamps scattered throughout. From the ceiling, there was a sea of transparent, pearlescent balloons filled with helium. Each one hung with a white ribbon, and at the end was a variety of photos of Heitor and me, notes with apologies or romantic declarations, or red hearts on cardboard. I went through each message and each photo of a happy moment we'd shared, and there were many.

I arrived at the living room with tears