Percy

Percy loved the spring from the moment she was born. Her birthday was March 19th, often the first day of spring. Even if technically it wasn’t that year, she’d always mention that it was the first day of spring on her birthday, and it seemed like that to me too. It seemed like every year, when spring came, Percy brightened up, and so did the world around her. And every year at springtime, her energy was infectious. I couldn’t help but be happy when I was around her in the spring. I met her on her 10th birthday. She was having a party. She lived on my street, but I had never met her before. I was walking by her house alone when a flock of young girls ran out. They were all pretty, but only one of them stood out to me. Percy had a radiant smile and beautiful eyes. As soon as I saw her I immediately felt more comfortable. The group of girls walked towards me with Percy in the lead. 

“Hello,” she said with a gigantic smile on her face, “it’s my birthday today and we’re having a little party. Want to join?” 

“Sure,” I said, surprised to get that invitation. Up to that point, I didn’t really have any friends. People didn’t seem to like me, or at least they didn't like spending time around me, but Percy was different. She didn't seem to care if other people didn’t like me, she would spend time with me anyway.

After that day we were as thick as thieves. That spring, hanging out with Percy brought me a joy I hadn't felt in a long time. It was as if I was flying, and I never wanted to come down. I knew this was a direct result of being around Percy, so I never wanted to let her go. As the months passed though, I realized it wouldn’t always be this way. By the time it was November, Percy seemed to be a different person. She was no longer the confident girl with a giant smile that I had spent the better part of the year with, now she was a shadow of that. She seemed hollow. She smiled less and became quieter. I tried everything I could think of to make her happy, because if she was happy, then maybe I could be happy too. It was no use. It wasn’t until the 19th of March, Percy’s birthday, the first day of spring, that she brightened up again. I was overjoyed. I had missed my friend.

This cycle repeated itself every year. Percy and I eventually went to high school together, where we remained best friends. The first year of high school was the toughest. I was an outcast, and so was Percy by association. It only got worse in the when winter came. Just like every year, Percy didm’t seem like herself anymore. Of course I knew this was coming, but that didn't make it any easier. It was that winter that I realized how empty I felt without Percy. She was the brightest part of my life. I wish that that winter I could have made her happy. Of course, it was no use, but I promised myself that on March 19th, Percy’s birthday, the first day of spring, I would make her happy, and I would see her smile again, because to me, Percy’s smile was the most beautiful thing in the world. 

By the time Percy and I were graduating high school, I had grown used to her being sad in the winter and fall. Every winter, I tried as hard as possible to make Percy happy. It wasn’t until the middle of our senior year that I realized why. I was in love with her. I would do anything for her and she made me happier than I’d ever been. On the day that I realized that I was in love with her, I promised myself that on March 19th, the first day of spring, Percy’s birthday, I would ask her to be my girlfriend. 

That year on Percy’s birthday, the day she brightened up again every year, bringing back her radiant smile, I told her how I felt about her and I asked her to be my girlfriend. She was quiet for a moment, the most nerve-wracking moment of my life. After that moment had passed, to my surprise, she accepted. She confessed to me that she had loved me for a long time, since the start of high school. I couldn’t believe it. That was the happiest moment of my life, and I’d like to think that it was the happiest moment of hers too, but I have no way of knowing. What I do know is that I couldn’t stop smiling for the rest of senior year. 

Percy and I continued to date all the way through college. She got a degree in drawing and painting, something that she had been passionate about for as long as I’d known her. I shlepped her express her emotions in a way that words couldn’t. I loved watching her paint, because even in the winter it brought a bright smile to her face. After college, our relationship was stronger than ever. We were in love with each other. After we had both finished college, we moved in together. It was difficult, but we made it, and it only made me love Percy more. Spending every single day with her was the most amazing thing ever. That winter, though, things got worse. Percy smiled even less than usual. I knew that I had to do something to make her happy, something big. I promised myself that I would propose to Percy on the first day of spring.

For Percy, the first day of spring never came. That winter was the hardest she ever had, and she couldn’t get through it. It will always be my biggest regret that I couldn’t save her. She was sick, and there was nothing I could do, and now I will never see her radiant smile or her beautiful eyes ever again.