Her

The early evening sun descended lower into the dusky sky. With each passing minute, the hazy fog threatened to overtake its final beams. A lone silhouette disrupted nature’s image. The old man took his final, staggering step. Crisp, white roses. Delicately, they glowed in his shaking, rough, callused hands. He bent over with a grunt and laid them to rest. His eyes gazed upon the name he had cherished for years and years. As he turned his back on the grave marker and whispered her name, he could feel it echo in the breeze, eternal. 

“You’re my best friend and I love you,” he declared in his deep, gravelly tone. 

--

The church doors sprang open to reveal the new bride and groom. Midafternoon sunshine radiated down gracefully accepting the couple into the world. Her laugh echoed out, raucously. The crisp, white dress sparkled; a glittering diamond reflecting the fierce heat and glow of the sun.

The couple walked out in between the crowd of loved ones, but all he saw was her. The smile radiating out of her plump, cherry lips. Her windswept layers of deep, auburn hair cascading over her slim, elegant shoulders. His gaze landed on her eyes brimming with joy. His heart warmed at her happiness. He felt an overwhelming desire to overtake those plump, cherry lips. If only he could reach out and put that untamed strand of hair back behind her ear, tracing the long edge of her face and continue down, grasping his hand in hers. If only she would turn her gaze upon him and he would know. He would see it in her eyes. She felt it too. Every longing. Every moment. Every possibility. If only,...

If only he wasn’t a metre away, at the back of the crowd, watching her marry Ethan. His hand clung tight to the envelope in his hand. Inside, a run of the mill, cookie-cutter congratulations card. Within the card, he had written in his very best printing a heartfelt exclamation, “To my very best friends, I love you and wish you all the happiness in the world.”

--

“You can’t leave me!” she cried. Her voice filled the room, piercing his heart. 

“It’s only about an hour away. He looked out the window at the midmorning sunshine. He felt a growing conviction as the sun’s gleaming rays transferred a glowing energy within him. 

“You’ll still have Ethan. He’s going to Columbia so he’ll be nearby. Plus, I’ll visit loads. You’ll barely notice I’m gone.”

“You’re my best friend. What will I ever do without you?” she wailed, dramatically. “I guess Ethan will have to do. But, I really will miss you! Promise to write and call. Anything and everything.”

“Anything for my best friend!” he promised.

He turned away from the window, settling his gaze upon her. The image before him rivalled any one of his dreams. She was lying on her stomach on his bed, oblivious to anything other than the admissions letter he had handed her a few minutes ago. He watched her reading. Watched her eyes darting back and forth along the page. Watched her sweet, blooming lips move eagerly as she feverishly took in the words on the page. Watched her scarlett hair, tousled and unkempt, falling into her face as she read. Watched her kicking her legs lazily while the hem of her thin summer dress inched higher along her slender thighs. His cheeks burned and he looked away, catching a movement out the window. Ethan’s truck turned in and came to a stop in the driveway. 

Damn, he thought. If only we had a little bit more time alone, maybe I could have told her. 

--

“Race you to the dock!” she screamed with excitement. The early morning sun beat down vibrantly promising a long and lively summer’s day. The boys followed behind eager not to be the loser. He was the smallest and the weakest so he had more to prove. He willed his skinny legs to move faster as he got ahead of the other boy. He felt each ray of sunshine on his back and the heat propelled him forward. His eyes stayed fixed on her brilliant, beaming hair illuminated in the fierce lighting. 

“Aha!” he shouted. He had passed the other boy. He knew he could reach her if he just tried hard enough. Somewhere deep down inside he had the strength if he could just push a little bit longer and a little bit faster. He was within a foot of her when it happened. All of a sudden, he was face down in the sand. His body was frozen in shock. All feeling momentarily left him while his brain adjusted to the sharp change in position. He sputtered out a cough, blowing sand. His right knee pulsed in pain. As he lifted his head up to look, he saw them both sitting on the dock, laughing. After a moment, a look of concern washed over her face.

 “Hey, are you okay?” she asked. She sprang up and began walking back towards him. 

“I’m fine,” he replied. He lifted his weak body up and immediately felt his face burning red with embarrassment. Upon standing, he had a look at his right knee which was slightly red but the pain was easing away gradually.

“You had me worried there for a minute,” she confessed. “You must have fallen over that branch there,” she pointed to the offending stick jutting out slightly from the sand. He looked down and felt the remaining sting of his disappointment. Just once, he would like to win. Impress her. Impress them both. She walked the full way towards him and placed her hand on his shoulder. “Well, you are the loser. But, I will walk back with you since I’m so nice,” she teased. She removed her hand as they walked side by side. The impact of her touch shocked his body almost as much as the fall. His shoulder softly tingled where the imprint of her hand had been. A sweet smile escaped him. The disappointment he felt at losing the race had completely ebbed away now because, in that moment, he felt like a real winner. He had the victory that mattered. He had her. 

You’re my best friend, he thought. But, in his small, weak body he felt inferior and so he did not voice this proclamation out loud to her.