Hazel

I still remember the day we met like it was yesterday. It was while we were in middle school. You were a year ahead of me, and had only been living in town for about a year or two. I had been living there my whole life.

We were on a fieldtrip. It was a convention for a club we were both in. Yet our paths had never crossed. We’d seen each other around campus, or during meetings, but it was always that kind of seeing between strangers. We never interacted, never knew each other's names, never noticed anything about the other person. It’s so strange to think how far we’ve come since then.

I can picture myself sitting on the school bus that fateful day, my purse on the side of me as I stared out the window listening to music. It was the same as ever - tree after tree, building after building, all of it looking drab and lifeless. All I could see were shades of black and gray rushing past. 

Then, we were at the event. There were hundreds, if not thousands of people there, all looking the same. They talked with their friends, ran about as if they knew the place like the back of their hand. It reminded me of a herd of zebras. I had no clue where I was going, what was happening. The herd quickly turned into a suffocating swarm.

Despite how much I didn’t want to, there was at least one person I knew there. You knew them, too. I stuck with them, following them between events and until we found our seats. Everyone was seated in a giant stadium. The lights were turned down, with spotlights shining about. Music was playing loudly, people were singing and dancing, there was even a wave going around. Still, it all looked… drab. Like every other thing. The music was hurting my ears, the lights boring and shining in my eyes. I was sitting next to that person. They were singing along to all of the songs and having a merry time. I didn’t even know most of those songs existed until that day. They were horribly annoying, as I’m sure you are well aware. But… There is one thing that they did that I will forever be grateful to them for doing. 

They introduced me to this friend of theirs. We exchanged names, did that awkward nod. I forgot her name immediately after she said it. At first, I thought she was just going to be some other person I could slap on a name to a face and never interact with again. But then I looked at her eyes for the first time.

Your eyes.

They looked different. They were brighter. They weren’t part of my grayscale world, but something else entirely. They had… color. I tried not to stare, I really did. I just couldn’t help it. And when you smiled, that color only became more vibrant. 

I didn’t want anything to do with it at first, I’ll admit. It was different and that frightened me. I had grown used to my monochrome surroundings, found comfort in the predictability of it. The day went on, and the three of us stuck together for pretty much all of it thanks to the buddy system. Minute by minute passed, and my curiosity grew stronger and stronger. 

And then you spoke to me. You made some kind of joke, and we both laughed. I’m not sure I even registered what you had said to me. All I could think about was that you had a nice voice, and you seemed really cool, being able to make jokes with a stranger like that. Let alone the fact that you joked with me. Me, of all the people in that stadium. It wasn’t because you had to, like that other person, to seem like a decent classmate. We could have ignored each other the entire time and nothing would have come of it. Maybe it was just a way to break an awkward silence, but gosh did it do something to me.

A song came on some time after that that you knew well. Your eyes lit up with that smile again, and you were singing. It wasn’t the same kind of singing I heard from everyone else. It didn’t hurt my ears. And then before I knew it you were telling me to sing with you. I have to be honest, I didn’t know the song at all, and I was so embarrassed to sing in front of anyone. I just smiled back at you, moving my mouth whenever you looked at me and silently hoping you wouldn’t notice. I noticed something different about the lights at that moment. They looked different, too. Brighter, standing farther apart from the black and white. They looked similar to your eyes, though not quite. It frightened me again, but the kind of frightening that fills you with excitement. 

We did that for what could have been anywhere between minutes and hours. Then the events started, and everything was quiet. We were outside a while after that, waiting for the bus to pick us up. There was a group of people joking around with us, they were some of your friends. I didn’t know any of them, but I still found myself enjoying it instead of shying away. 

That person was there, too. You two started talking about something, eventually getting to the topic of smoothies. They were convinced they were only a drink, and you were explaining how it is technically a food since they’re made of fruit. You two started arguing, and of course I had to side with you. They stormed onto the bus, and we went our separate ways.

I was in my seat again, my purse the only thing sitting next to me. I could hear you a few seats ahead, joking around with your friends. I started listening to music again, staring out the window. 

It was the same scenery, but also different. The trees and fauna had that strange look about them, like the lights and your eyes. So did some rusty spots on the bus wall. So strange, yet… so exciting. I remember looking at you after that, and trying very, very hard to remember what the hell your name was.

It wasn’t long after that that we started hanging out at school. You made me smile more and more every day, even on the days I never thought I could. And every time you did, my world got just a bit brighter. Day after day, you chipped your way through my walls. 

I’m not sure when exactly it happened, it was gradual really, but one day the world wasn’t the same anymore. I saw colors. I heard music and laughter. I smiled. And it was all thanks to you strolling into my life that very day. You were the one to introduce me to so many things that I now love and couldn’t do without. 

 How very far we’ve come since that day, so many years ago. I watch you now, I see how much you’ve grown. I remember sitting on a beach with you, seeing the sunrise for the first time in full color. Seeing a rainbow for the first time in all its glory. And you were there with me both times, you were the reason I was able to see those things. 

We’re both in college now. We’re living together, like we always dreamed about for years. I never thought the day would actually come, yet look where we are. We’ve both lost people and things, both struggled and cried. Yet I don’t see something broken sitting next to me as she paints, I see something beautiful and bright. Something that made my heart beat after I thought it was stone. We’ll have been dating for six years this year. I couldn’t be happier. I never thought I could be this happy. 

I’ll always wonder what was going through your head when I first looked into those hazel eyes of yours. And yes, I still think smoothies are a food. You’re always right, after all.