Ninth.

     She had left his life as easily as she  had come.  The ripples in the water gave the only proof that he was sitting by the lake.  He didn't even realise he had slipped into the memories of the past while watching the swan move it's neck graciously towards him. He felt like reliving her scent,  her hair that tickled his face in the wind,  her smile for which he could die thousand times over. And still feel complete than any other person alive on earth.
     He let out a sigh. The swan moved a bit closer towards him.  As if it understood exactly his plight. Telling him to move on 'coz its a long life.  But he wanted to hold back everything they had together.  All that she did to him unknowingly when she looked at him. All those words she would whisper into his ear. All those words he never really heard. They merely left an entrail- a sound, which always managed to reach his heart.  He was always so lost when they met, he knew everything even before she said it. Those words, they hardly ever mattered.
     He thought the swan muttered something.  But there's no way the swan could talk,  he decided. Or maybe it laughed at his inability to forget. Or maybe it wondered how beautiful things that ended won't hurt. Or maybe it just got distracted by the sudden drizzle. But then, for the swan,  her love will always be a puzzle.