Snippets

Snippet #29

Part 1

He had just only left his room to get a glass of water when he saw her sitting there under the stars and the fireflies. Though, she shined brighter than any of them. Was it possible for the sun to shine at night? Clearly it was, for she existed. People say to never look directly at the sun, but what can you do when the sun won't let you look anywhere else?

Before he realized, his legs had started to move and there he was, standing right beside her, out in the night sky. She looked up to meet his eyes, and he felt the air instantly leave his lungs. How do people breathe again?

"Can't sleep?" It took longer than he wanted to admit for him to realize that she had spoken to him. "Yeah, you?" She nodded.

He sat down beside her. They sat in silence but all he wanted to ask her was is it me? Am I the reason you can't sleep like you are mine? Is it because of what happened earlier? But instead he said, "If you don't mind, do you want to listen to my story? I think I might be able to sleep better if I talk about it."

He saw the hesitancy in her eyes, and he knew why it was there. Did he feel guilty for cornering her like this? Maybe. But he had to take every chance he could get. 

He thought she was gonna say no and walk away, until she finally said, "Sure, why not?"

He let out a breath before he started.

"So, I've been courting this girl." He saw her breath hitch and continued before she could decide to run away again. "I first met her when... actually you know what? I don't even think she remembers when we first met. I think I was 10 at the time. Her dad was friends with my dad and came over to my place for lunch one day. My dad called me out to meet the guests and that's when I saw her. She kept sneaking glances at me from behind her dad's leg and I remember thinking "what's wrong with her?"" He let out a laugh and sneaked a peek at her. He knew she was confused, she still couldn't remember. 

"Honestly, I thought she was a quiet and shy girl until she finally opened up to me. It didn't take her that long and when she finally did, oh my God, she was the most talkative person I had ever met. The amount of times I wanted to ditch her and go play with my games..." He felt a bit guilty admitting this part, but he wanted her to know. He needed her to know. "When the adults finally finished their lunch, I thought "Finally, she's gonna leave!" But nope, our dads wanted to go for a walk to talk and her dad couldn't just leave her at my place and had to take her with him. Of course, I had to go with them so that I could keep her company."

"I don't know whether it was me who reached for her or whether it was her who reached for me, but the next thing I remember is holding her hand. I was holding her hand, this girl who annoyed me so much the entire day. And I didn't want to let go. Isn't that funny? Suddenly, all her ramblings didn't annoy me as much, I started to find it endearing. The things she wanted to do, it didn't feel like a drag to do anymore. I don't remember much about the meeting, but I remember the feeling. It was the first time I felt like that, and 10 year old me couldn't comprehend it. All I knew, was that I wanted to have more fun with her. In fact, when it was time for her to leave, our parents had to practically rip us apart. You know those movies where the main characters let go of each other's hands and walk in opposite directions but they keep looking back at each other with their hands still out? This is so embarrassing to admit, but that was how we were. I was only 10 and I think she was 9 but why were we acting like we were adults being forced apart like-"

"She was 8." It was only a whisper, but he heard it. He looked down at her. She was lost in thought, but she finally remembered. She knew.

"What?"

"She was 8." She repeated, this time looking straight at him. He almost got lost in his eyes, but he had a whole story to tell, and he wasn't going to give up this time. Not again. So he looked away and then he continued.