As I watched your train pull away from the station, I felt as though the earth had stilled, and all around was silence. The only movement was you, fading into the distance. I understand why you felt you had to leave. I know the honor and sense of duty that has taken you away. And yet, my heart cannot quite conceive it. I keep tuning a corner, expecting you there, and there is only silence. The corners of our lives that once seemed bursting at their seams now feel empty, dull and dusty. At night I lie alone, never warm enough. I pile on the blankets, and still my tears chill me to the bone. I know it is fruitless to ask why, as I know why. So instead I simply grieve. I grieve what could not be. I grieve what will not be. And I pray the gold fields will return to me the man that I once knew.