We were walking along the beach on a cool August night. A comfortable silence had settled over us while we walked, the waves gently lapping at our feet. The ocean breeze was cool and crisp, and it nipped at my skin and gave me goosebumps. You saw that I was shivering and stopped in your tracks, took off your jacket, and put it around my shoulders. I protested of course, saying you’d be cold. But you smiled and shook your head.
“I’m from Michigan, I’m used to the cold”
I couldn’t help but smile back. We resumed walking and I breathed in the scent of your jacket around me. It smelled just like you, and I secretly wished that it was your arms around me instead of your jacket. We kept on walking in silence for what seemed like hours; the silence was just too peaceful, too comforting to break. But eventually, you did.
“You know, this beach reminds me of the one near my grandparent’s house in Florida”
“Really?” I asked, intrigued by every little detail of your past.
“Yeah. They retired and moved to West Palm Beach before I was born. My mom would take me down to visit them all the time. I haven’t seen in them in awhile though. I miss them”
You seemed so sad at that point that I began to wonder whether it was something else that was bothering you.
“I’m sorry,” I answered sympathetically. “I know what that’s like”
“But what’s worse is that my mom doesn’t even care that I don’t see them. Or talk to them, for that matter”
“Why not?”
“Because she doesn’t care about me at all. Never did”
I stood there puzzled. What did you mean your mom didn’t care about you? Aren’t parents supposed to love and cherish their children forever?
“What do you mean?”
“I mean just that. She doesn’t care about me. Not a single bit”
Now we had stopped walking and were observing the waves and the stars from the shores. You crossed your arms and narrowed your eyes as you stared straight ahead at the water.
“She wouldn’t care if I drowned in the ocean”
I found this very hard to believe; my parents are very loving and caring. I mean sure, we have our fights but what family doesn’t? Fighting is normal and healthy in a family; it shows that you care. You looked at me for a moment before looking back at the ocean.
“It’s a long story”
I stared sternly at you.
“I have time”
You sighed before sitting down. I quickly joined you on the sand.
“It all started from the moment I was born…”
Over the course of the next hour (or was it two hours? three? I lost count) you told me everything about your childhood and your past. I never thought such a person could experience so much in so few years. What you told me was horrifying, extraordinary, and just plain eye-opening. You finished your story with tears in your eyes. I sat there dumbfounded trying to find the right words. But I couldn’t. Finally the silence became unbearable for both of us. You turned to me and said in the sweetest, most innocent, most heartbreaking tone I’ve ever heard.
“Thank you for listening”
And then you broke down. You broke down sobbing into my shoulder, and I just held you like a good friend would. But were we really friends? Weren’t we more than that? I found it difficult to define our seemingly complicated relationship. But at this moment, that didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered was you. You and I, forever frozen in time. This moment forever frozen in time.
Your tears wet your own jacket as my arms encircled you tightly. Your arms came to wound around my neck as you buried your heart against my neck and let the tears fall. I stroked your beautiful blonde hair and whispered into your ear that I was here, and that I always will be and you’ll never lose me. We remained like that for what seemed like eternity but was really only a couple minutes. I wish we could have stayed like that forever. Eventually you pulled back but only a few inches; our faces were a breadth away. Your hand came up to stroke my cheek, and my gaze flickered from your beautiful, shining blue eyes to your lips, and back to your eyes. After another moment, you closed the minimal distance between our faces.
And then your lips were on mine. It was a soft, gentle kiss; clumsy at first but soon became comfortable and seemingly second-nature. It was filled with every emotion that we both possessed for each other, making it the most heartfelt and passionate kiss I had ever experienced in my life. You pulled back after another few fleeting moments, and looked at me straight in the eyes; it was as if you were looking into my soul.
“Thank you” You said again.
“For what?”
“For being you”
I don’t think my heart could have soared any more than it did at that moment.
