“I left it for you,” I say, taking it from him, breaking the silence.
His lips tighten for a moment and he finally speaks.
“Why?”
I’m surprised to hear him talk and it takes me a beat to respond.
“Well, read it.” I push it back towards him, but he doesn’t move.
“No.”
“No?” Seriously, what is wrong with this guy? What’s his fucking deal?
His shoulders lift in a deep breath.
“No. If there’s something you want to say to me, you can say it to my face.”
“You haven’t exactly made it easy,” I scoff.
“Well, I’m here now,” he shrugs. “What do you want to say?”
I blink. I feel like I’m permanently being knocked off my feet around him. And not just literally. He’s staring at me again, just like he was that first day at the ice cream parlor.
Piercing. Unwavering. Read your soul type staring.
My fingers curl and I feel the paper wrinkle in my hand. I will the words from the paper to seep into my mind. I’d spent hours writing that letter, choosing the right words, the correct phrases. But my mind is turning completely blank.
“I… I just want to say, I’m sorry about what happened, the other day with those guys harassing you. I – I didn’t know they were going to. They’re just fucking jerks. Anyway, I’m sorry. I didn’t want you to think I had anything to do with it.”
Not very eloquent, but I hope I’m getting my message across. He stands completely still for a moment and then just nods. Saying nothing.
For so long that it becomes awkward.
“So… um, anyway…” I say, my head hurting with trying to make sense of this strange guy. Strange. Compelling. Unforgettable guy. “That’s all I wanted to say.”
I take one last look. Something makes me feel like, if he doesn’t want to see me again after this, there’s no way I’m going to find him. “I… I guess I’ll see you around.” I reach down to pick up my backpack, swinging it over my shoulder as I turn back towards the school.
“Wait,” I think I hear him say and I almost don’t stop. But I know I’ll wonder for the rest of my life if I don’t. “Wait,” he says again, loud enough for me to know I didn’t imagine it.
And I do.
I feel a soft hand on my shoulder and I spin around.
“Are you game?” he asks. Simple as that.
“For what?”
“For whatever,” he replies, his mouth curling up into a smile.
I say the only thing I can in this moment, “Yes.”
His hand slides down my arm, the smile growing on his face. “Good. I want to show you something.”
***
We run for what seems like hours.
His hand started out wrapped around my wrist, and somewhere along the way, it slid down to meet my hand, our fingers entwining.
I don’t know where we’re going. And I don’t care. I don’t notice the city buildings giving way to houses or the houses giving way to trees. I just focus on breathing, and not letting go.
I don’t know where we’re going, but none of that seems to matter to me right now. Only who I’m going there with.
“How… much… longer…?” I gasp, when my legs feel like they might not last much longer.
“Not long. Just a little way to go.”
I save my breath and don’t reply.
I’ve lived in this city all my life, but I have no idea where we are. I can’t hear too many cars, but there’s a rushing of water, so I know we’re near the dam. The path under us is potholed and neglected, grass shooting up between the cracks, reaching for the sun after the long, harsh winter we’ve just had.
The street is lined with bushes and trees, thick with vegetation. An array of shades of green and brown.
He tugs hard on my hand and pulls me into a sudden gap in the woods. It’s instantly dark, the branches blocking out most of the sun. The air is cooler here too.
There’s a fleeting moment of wonder – what am I doing following this stranger into the woods?
It passes just as suddenly, as the forest opens up, and seemingly out of nowhere, the lake appears in front of me, in all its glorious decadence.
I stop instantly in my tracks.
What little breath I had is gone.
“Wow.” I can’t help but sigh.
The morning sunlight dances across the tips of the rippling waves like droplets of liquid silver scattering across the surface, giving it an almost ethereal gleam.
I feel myself reach out, wanting to touch it, but too afraid to shatter the illusion.
“Go,” he urges me, stretching my hand forward, and then letting go.
I walk the twenty steps it takes to reach the water’s edge, but I don’t touch it.
“I’ve… I’ve never seen the lake like this before, from here. It looks so different from the bridge,” I say, referring to the focal point of the town, the main road that crosses the lake. I can just make out the bridge from here, about a mile away.
It seems like it’s a different world over there, people and cars rushing about their business. I turn back and notice him watching me.
“This is amazing. Thanks for bringing me here. Is this what you wanted to show me?”
“Partly. But there’s something else.” He gestures with his head to the left and presses his finger to his lips. I nod and follow, taking careful steps as he leads me to a tree a few yards away.
He points to a branch about a foot above my head, and I notice a small nest made of twigs and dried grass.
Taking my hand, he helps me take a foothold on the tree stump and I hoist myself up, peering down into the nest.
Three little orange beaks attached to three baby birds reach up to greet me.
“Oh my gosh,” I coo, suddenly overwhelmed by the innocence of them. A knot in my throat blocks my voice and so I just stare at them as they squirm around in the nest, keeping each other warm as they wait for their mother to return.
“They hatched about three days ago,” he whispers as I jump back down to the ground and step away, not wanting to disturb the infant birds.
“So, so cute. What kind are they?”