The Art of Letting Go

Prologue

It all happened so fast, the hand reaching to cover my mouth. I looked into his eyes to see the once forest green transform into a crazed look. My eyes were wide with fear as he tightened his slender fingers around my throat. Desperately thrashing and kicking to try to get loose, the face in front of me screamed there's no point of struggling. My head spun as I tried gasping to get air. As my heart, once quickly beating, slowed in tempo, his hands continued grasping at my throat, leaving me without air. I clawed my fingers at his hands uselessly and used my last breath to scream for help. But like I said before, no one would hear my screams this deep in the Heath.
I felt my life slipping away, nevertheless, I was screaming silently, gasping for breath.
His palms pressed against my throat; I could feel my esophagus closing and the last thing I saw was the vivid green eyes staring at me. All I wanted was a friend.

In the ancient time, men used the magical symbols above the night sky for navigation
In the ancient time, men used the magical symbols above the night sky for navigation. These star pattern saved a lot of lives in the old age. Some stars fade and some shine like a glowing light bulb. Each of them has its own unique shape, the level of brightness and size. Some stars are bigger than others and showing they are the king of the stars. Sometimes, many stars appear at once above the dark somber sky, and they look like rice grains flowing above out into the galaxy, into the alien world and feed them. As we watch these dust like particles slowly swimming above our head, I began to raise my hand, wanting to touch them.

Unlike how the night started with questions like what's your favorite color? What's your star sign? The questions began slowly becoming more brain straining. Heck, I didn't know what I wanted to eat for breakfast let alone what I want to be when I'm older. But didn't any other 17 years old truly know? What really made me re evaluate my life was the one simple question that comes from his mouth. It baffled me how that one sentence which compiled of overall 4 words and 19 letters could cause such a stir in my mind. The boy looked straight into my eyes and whispered,

"What makes you happy."

Not once did his eyes leave me while I thought about it. Have I really experienced true happiness? My mind instantly thought about what it felt like to complete a new piece I had been working for weeks or using the fresh, expensive brushes with the fine hairs for the first time. That's what made me happy. After a long stressful day, I would hide away in my makeshift studio and get carried away with each mindless stroke. I was never the social type, all I needed my brushes and paint.  A ghost of a smile slivered onto my pink lips.

Snapping out of my trance, I didn't realize that I didn't say anything when I looked up and saw he had a soft, knowing look on his face. This whole night time thing that was going on had made me realize many things. Things that I'd been too scared to admit without this boy, who somehow managed to obtain wisdom way beyond his years. Where he got it was as much a mystery as him.
"So what makes you that happy that just the thought of it makes you smile?" he questioned. Looking over at him, his body was facing me as if cornering me.

"Art..." I replied softly, barely a whisper. The boy's eyes twinkled underneath the glare of the moonlight. He gazed down then trailed his eyes back up to my face then to my eyes. His eyes left a trail of wildfire wherever they laid. I felt my cheeks warm up but not enough to be seen in this lighting. Or so I thought. He leaned in, hot breath fanning my already warm face and said,

"I find it strangely attractive when you blush." Which inevitably resulted in an even deeper blush on my face. The boy then laid back down while quietly chuckling and I let out a breath I didn't even know I was holding.

"Open you eyes, look within. Are you happy with the life you're living? He unexpectedly shouted at the sky. Okay, maybe it wasn't a totally smart idea to be in the empty park with this guy...

A small smile graced my lips as I realized who said that quote.

"I recognize that, wasn't it..." I turned to look at when and said "Bob Mar..." The incomplete sentence lingered like a bad smell in the air. I rubbed my eyes to make sure I wasn't hallucinating from sleep deprivation as I couldn't remember the last time I had a good nights sleep. Nonetheless, looked to the spot he had occupied the whole night to see nothing.

Poof!

He'd left before I could ask him anything. Typical. Somehow he managed to suck out all of my secrets and probably knew everything about me yet I didn't even know his name. I've never been so in awe or intrigued by someone. The thought of maybe never seeing him again made me feel like I was running late and the driver slammed the door in my face and drove away, leaving me behind.

Fed up I let a loud sigh releasing my pent up frustration. Getting up, I began brushing the grass off my clothes and tried to mask my disappointment, but just like every good thing in my life, he left.