I’ll be gone this summer

I’ll be gone this summer. It’s just a fact of life. One day when the moon settles into the heavens and the hazy heat loses its grip on the day, I’ll walk to the woods and never emerge. I’ll become one with the earth, take my last breaths to the sounds of crickets and squirrels scurrying to their treetop homes. It’s not particularly something I want to do; some days, I even find myself scoffing at this possibility. But deep down, I know it must be done. My existence is a wrong that must be righted by my own hand, if by nothing quicker. I’m better off dead. No doubt about it. I’ll lift the weight off my loved ones soon. I just hope they know the last words on my lips will be a whispered I love you. I love you. I love you.