Heal Me

Chapter 3

"Uhm... May I sit here?" a sweet yet determined voice asked. He looked up only to meet a pair of deep, almost black eyes gazing back at him.  In a split second he noticed how they sparkled innocently. They danced over him with emotions he had not felt in such a long time... excitement, joy.

She was standing right in front of the Sun so it's warm light washed through her and her white blouse, giving her an ethereal appearance.

The girl smiled at him kindly, almost motherly...

As she sat down, she tucked her hair behind her ears, in which a pair of teardrop-shaped earrings hang beautifully. Everything about her was so warm, so pure and almost...angelic. And that scared him. How did she manage to disturb him so much, to cloud his attention?

How come she had this effect on him?

It frightened him in a way he could not describe nor understand completely. She was so different from him. Too happy... So bright, so satisfied with life that it made him sick, tired of everything around him. So he turned his head in the opposite direction; it pained him even more to see joy when he knew he could not bear his loss anymore...

She was smiling, showing her straight, white teeth, and, as she did, there was this sort of glow around her. It was more of a positive energy, an invisible force that drew him to her. But all he could think about was: 'Who is she? And why is she smiling at me?'

He rubbed his face again, still not looking at her. Yes... that was the best thing to do. He told himself to ignore her, no matter what she would say or do. So he kept quiet... but she so desperately wanted to know everything. Despite that, she knew she couldn't intrude so much... she was too shy anyway.

Five minutes had already passed since she came up to him and that's when she decided to take a deep breath and talk to him.

"The weather is nicer, isn't it?" she breathed out and turned to gaze at him, the sunrays making her squint her eyes slightly. Still, she could notice how his jaw clenched as he didn't utter a single word. He just kept looking ahead.

She was far from surprised by his behavior. From the moment she drowned in his mesmerising hazel eyes she knew it would be hard to get to know him... but she was determined to try. Just from curiosity... at least for now.

Her lips formed a tight line as she nodded to herself and exhaled. She then leaned back and closed her eyes, enjoying the Sun, while it was out of the clouds. Her whole body was so relaxed and she seemed so oblivious at the things around her that he couldn't help but gaze at her with the corner of his eye.

What he simply could not understand was how he was so sad and torn apart and she so ...blessed. The striking difference between them reminded him constantly of what happened, of what made him become the man he was now... hurt, alone, hopeless.

So why would she want to stay beside him? There were so many other empty benches in the park, as he looked attentively just to make sure. Why him? Everybody had rejected him...so how come she seemed so nice?

His eyes fell on her right hand, which was awfully close to his; so close that he could feel the warmth and the pulse of her wrist. It wasn't fragile, like Darcy's, but her fingers were long and delicate. He then noticed the gold ring gracefully engraved with an 'E', the same initial as his mother's, Edith.

That thought brought tears in his eyes, which he immediately blinked away. But the fervent question didn't leave his mind: Who on Earth was she?

She shifted a bit, running a hand through her hair, and he turned back quickly.

Why he was so intrigued by her he did not know.

"I'm Evangeline." she grinned again after a few moments and put her other hand forwards for him to shake. He stood still as she quirked an eyebrow at him and took back her hand.

Why should he even care? It wasn't like they would meet again. And even if they did, she would remain a stranger to him; she had to be just that... He knew nobody would ever want to fix a broken heart and everyone who would try would eventually give up and leave him... just like the others did.

"Friends call me Eva because...you know..." she shrugged and looked at him again. How he could be this hostile she had no idea.

It wasn't in her nature, but she decided to insist.

"Little kids are adorable, aren't they?" Evangeline murmured, gazing lovingly at all the children running around, but he tensed up. That didn't go unnoticed, though.

"Any brothers or sisters playing here?" she asked afterwards, fidgeting with her ring, making the small rubies sparkle.

This time, he flinched at her question. He should have been able to say 'Yes'...  He wished it; he needed and regretted it so much, every second and every breath, that his heart never ached more.

He inhaled deeply and silently the humid air and didn't say anything... Once again, he ignored her. But this time it wasn't because of his wish for peaceful loneliness, which he hated and needed at the same time, nor because of how blinded he was by his hurt.

 No... this time, he was afraid that if he said something he would burst into tears.

Evangeline's breath hitched at his reaction as she wondered what was wrong with him. She could see clearly how sad he was, but never could she guess exactly how broken. She could not imagine ...

"Uhmm, okay then..." she whispered and rubbed her hands in her lap. Her phone buzzed in her pocket and she read the message her mother sent. She was there.

"I got to go... err..." she muttered, fumbling with the phone.  "Bye!" Evangeline picked up her backpack and, waving once at him, she jogged up to the silver-colored car waiting for her.

What she did not know, though, was that after she stood up and left, he snorted at her naivety but looked as she got into the car anyway. He suddenly felt cold and abandoned, and, although he would never admit it, that was something Evangeline made him forget for the few minutes she sat beside him...