Open Your Eyes

*This is a complete work of fiction and any relation to another story or real life is purely coincidental.*

Have you ever heard someone say that when you look into a person’s eyes you can see all of their secrets? All of the emotions they may have been trying to hide with their smile?

I was never a believer of this. When I looked into a person’s eyes, all I saw was blue, green, brown, or maybe even grey with a little black circle in the middle. They held no emotions, no untold stories from an event in the past. They were just another quality everyone seemed to have.  Even so, being the curious girl I was, I wanted to know more about the people around me. So, I decided to try out this theory so many seemed to think was true.

The first time I tested this was when I was 4 years old. My best friend, Jared, had come into pre-school crying that morning but wouldn’t speak of why. Most 4 year olds didn’t hold back any secrets, so I found his lack of communication extremely strange and kept on asking him why he was hiding something from me, but he wouldn’t budge. I finally grabbed his face and made him look into my eyes, but Jared just closed them.

“Jareeed! Jared! Open up your eyes! Pweease!” I nagged and nagged him, but Jared kept them squeezed shut. As most little kids do, I got distracted after about 30 seconds of the incessant whining and went to build some Legos. Jared followed me and we went to playing like we usually did. I was 4, not 14, so I didn’t analyze what Jared was doing after our encounter or what looked different about him; I just played like we normally did.

The next year was kindergarten, and Jared and I went our separate ways. I went to the public school in our small town while Jared’s parents sent him to the private school. Although we rarely saw each other, our parents would occasionally go out to dinner together and have us stay at my house while my older brother watched us. Nothing was ever awkward or uncomfortable, he knew me so well I didn’t have to be shy or nervous, I could just be Lexis, the girl he had known since he was 4.

Our families gradually drifted apart and by the time I was in 5th grade, Jared and I hadn’t seen each other in about a year. But then Jared switched to my school. My parents told me that it was because the other school wasn’t fit for Jared and he “couldn’t be his best” while he was there. Although I didn’t understand this, I was so happy my friend was back I didn’t even care. My teacher knew that Jared and I had been friends in the past so she put our seats right next to each other. To say I was ecstatic would be the understatement of the century. I could have peed my pants I was so excited I had my best friend right back next to me. But when Jared came back, he wasn’t the same.

He seemed quieter than before. Using that beautiful laugh less, seeming darker and not smiling nearly as much as he used to. At first I thought it was just because it was a new school and that change could be hard for a 10 year old, but after some time, nothing changed. One day I caught up with Jared on our way to the bus, grabbed him by his shoulders, and forced him to face me yet again.

“Jared, why are you acting so weird? What’s wrong with you...?” Although this was very direct and not a kind way of putting it, I was 10 and being subtle was not a skill that was in my repertoire.

Jared just moved his head so he was looking up at the ceiling. “Lexis, why don’t we just get on the bus?”

“No Jared! Not until you look at me.” Jared looked me in the eyes and this time they were open. I tried to see something there, but it was impossible. All I saw was that beautiful, almost-black brown color with the darker circle in the middle. There was no emotion, no story, nothing that was there. So I just huffed and left Jared standing there, looking at a wall.

Surprisingly, things seemed to get better after that confrontation. Jared started smiling more and we would laugh together and always sit next to each other when it was reading time. Even teachers and parents started to note changes in the brown eyed boy’s behavior. Occasionally, I would hear them talking in the hallway;