Blue and Green Meet Again

I'm stumbling along the street, weaving in and out of stands overflowing with fresh produce when a flash of bright green catches my eye. I consider ignoring the urge to look, because on some level I already know the sight that will meet my eyes, but as always, curiosity gets the better of me. Slowly, I drag my blue eyes away from the wrinkled pepper in front of me and force them to meet the bright green ones staring at me from across the street.

Our eyes meet and I suddenly find myself lost in those pools of flashing emerald. It's been so long since I've stared into those eyes. Memories flash in my mind of the days when they would twinkle with laughter. I remember the love that used to shine bright within in them. I remember how they could convey me so much more than the words that left his lips. Now, I look into those eyes and see emotions flashing through them, changing every millisecond. Surprise, shock, wondering, hurt, more shock, then desperation, and longing. After a long moment, the longing subsides and it's replaced with that familiar twinkle.

I lower my gaze to those oh so perfect lips and I watch as the corners of his mouth lift and a smile stretches across his face. I remember the way those lips used to press against mine. Sometimes they were gentle, soft, tender. Other times they were heated, passionate, urgent, but always, always full of love. Each kiss was a shared breath, a simple meeting of two lips. We were in love. We were in love, but both so lost. We were children who had no grasp of the meaning of love. Love. A word that can both end lives and start them.

I stare at his smile, his perfect lips, his perfectly white teeth. A smile flits across my face as I recognize the two fangs that it seems, he has still never filed. He would say every day, "I'm going to get these fangs filed, they make me look like a vampire," and yet everyday would pass with them never changing.

My eyes examine every tiny detail of his face, still the same, but different; older, wiser, and somehow emptier. I drink in every line and curve of his face, determined that if I memorize each detail then it's okay if I never see him again. Never see him again. The thought fills my mind, body, and soul with despair. But why am I bothered? Why do I even care? I tell myself it's been too long since I've seen him, loved him, to let this thought affect me so much. Hell, all I've been doing is staring, it's not as if we've even talked. Talked. That was what I missed most. The talking. Sure, the kisses were earthshattering, but when we talked, time didn't exist. No, time never existed in our perfect world. Not until it caught up with us and we were torn apart so suddenly.

Blue meets green and we both remain stuck where we are. Neither sure of what to do, both waiting for the other to make the first move. I barely register the movement and noises around me. Our eyes stay connected, the only constant as time passes around us. Then, his eyes start getting closer, bobbing up and down along the way. It takes me a few seconds to register that he's closing the distance between us. As I stare into those eyes, I realize he's crossing the street to get to me.

In seconds, the panic sets in. I haven't talked to him since high school and we didn't exactly end on good terms. So, the thought of him crossing the street, to talk to me, causes my heart to stop and panic to course through my body. What does one say to the person they loved so much? No, as I continue to stare into those eyes, I realize the correct word is love, not loved. I still love him. He's still etched in my heart and I miss him so much. The weight of it crushes me and I start to feel like I'm suffocating. I've been drowning without him. The worst part is, I didn't even realize I've been drowning for so long. No, I didn't realize, until the air I need to breathe is standing right in front of me again. It's been twenty years and I still love him just as much, if not more, than I did before.

"Hello." Although it's spoken at a normal tone it feels as if he has just shouted. He's really here, standing in front of me, speaking to me. I rack my brain for the right word to say, because a simple hello seems too trivial for this moment.

"Hey." I mentally smack myself as I hear how stupid I sound. Of all the words I could have chosen. I take a deep breath and offer him a sheepish smile as I feel the warmth flood my cheeks. I've always hated how easily he could make me blush. I wait for my embarrassment to settle and when it finally does, I raise my eyes to meet his again.

We both stare deep into each other, trying to decipher everything we've missed in the last twenty years. Then, to my astonishment, he laughs. His green eyes crinkle, he throws his head back, and laughs. I'm so shocked by this, that I suddenly find myself laughing right along with him. I laugh like I haven't in years. A real, genuine laugh. I think about the absurdity of this moment actually happening and I began to laugh even more. For a fleeting moment I wonder what people are thinking of us right now, how crazy we must look. I quickly chase that thought away so I can drift back into this perfect world with him.

We continue to laugh until we're both gasping for breath and out of instinct, I place a hand on him to steady myself. Just like that, the laughter abruptly stops. The weight comes crushing down on me again as I think about how long it's been since we last touched. I stare deep into those emerald pools and I know he's thinking the same thing.

My hand stays connected to his arm, and blue stays connected to green. We stand, rooted to the earth, the only sign of time passing around us is the darkening sky. We share every moment of each of our lives in the past years, just through our eyes.

I interrupt our connection as I reluctantly pull my hand away, but with some miracle we still remain in this world where only he and I exist. "Walk with me?" He murmurs the words, staring into my eyes, waiting for my answer that will truly, answer everything.

I don't even have to think before I reply, "always." He grasps my hand, interlocking our fingers. Right then and there I know my life is whole. Our hands fit together like two puzzle pieces clicking into place. Blue meets green again.

We were in love in high school, yes, but we were children. We made mistakes because we had no way to know what we truly wanted. Now, we have lived and learned. Like a shock wave through my system I remember there is one thing I have to tell him, "I was married, but we divorced several years ago."

He studies me, before slowly saying, "I dated, but I couldn't find anyone that- that felt right." A simple sentence, but I understand what he means, the exact depth of those words. I offer him a smile to show I understand, and he smiles back at me. With that, we begin to walk along the street. Neither of us speak because there is plenty of time for that later. Right now, it's just us. Two people walking hand in hand along the street. Anyone that might spare a glance for us would simply see two people in love.

Here I am, with my chance. My chance to finally let everything go, the hurt, the pain, and start over. So, I do just that. Holding his hand, staring deep into his eyes, I take a deep breath and I'm ready to start over again.