Heartbeat ~ a tribute

1.

"Close the window Nicholas."
"But there's someone screaming out there!"
"I said close it."
"It sounds like a girl."
"Nicholas, listen to your mother."
I sighed and got up to close the window, which drowned out the sharp whimpers from the house next door. I sat down with my mom and dad, still staring at the window I had just closed. The sound of my mom's dinner glass clinked against my dad's, both of then were drinking what was probably red wine. My mom and dad always ate fancy whenever my dad actually got to be home. It wasn't fair how he was always forced to leave for such a long time, to only see me and my mom for a few days before getting shipped off again.
"I want to go take a walk." I said. My mother clicked her tongue.
"5 bites. Give me five bites and I'll let you leave the table."
"Drop it down to three.' My dad winked at me.
I managed to finish my three bites, and then ran outside. Then I saw her. How lovely she looked in her yard, a memory that could never fade, although 8 year old me didn't think that way yet. I went to talk to the girl through the fence, it seemed like the perfect moment from a book or movie. I didn't even realize that her eyes were mismatched at first, since she looked at me with her silver eye. Her face was thin, and her hair was pushed up away from her face, but a few strands of long brown hair got caught in her eyes once in a while. That's one of the first memories I have of her, and one of the most lovely memories I have of her. When she introduced herself, it was simply Kat. She added her full name as an afterthought, but I knew it then, the breeze whispered her name. Kat. Three letters, but it suited her well. And that was her name from then on, I don't think I've ever called her by her full name more than twice. How lovely it was to spot her for the first time. It's much easier than the last.

♡♡♡