perfect sokeefe

dreams

Keefe looked around the crowded classroom from his corner of the wall. Alphabet posters hung against the bright blue walls, and a chalkboard displayed simple addition and subtraction equations. Young children were running all over, rushing to find a friend to share their table with. The blonde boy didn't know anybody, and therefore sat in the back, hoping someone would feel pity for the lone child.

For a long time, no one cared. Then, someone did.

A blonde girl stood in front of him. She was shorter than him, with brown eyes that shone in the classroom's light fixture. Her hair cascaded down her back in a low ponytail and her hand was held out for a formal greeting. Keefe, already sickly familiar with the method, pulled the girl in for a quick hug.

For just a second, the two stood there and then rushed to secure one of the few remaining seats.

During the class, Keefe nudged the girl, "What's your name?"

"Sophie Foster. You?"

"Keefe Sencen." His eyes narrowed. "What's your favorite color?"

For a long time, Sophie just stared at him. It was as if she wanted him to answer his question. Finally, she whispered, "This shade of icy blue."

Keefe blinked, "Why did you choose me as your seat partner?"

"That's your question?" She looked down as if to hide attention from her face. "Because you're kind of pretty."

————

The scene morphed into another one. The colorful classroom's animated interior faded into a duller brown that matched one of a house's exterior. Strange black blobs formed and were shaped to fit the body of Keefe, Sophie, and her adoptive parents.

————

Both of the children had grown in a year, but their faces never lost their innocent gleam when they spent time with the other.

"I'm strong and mature now!" Keefe shouted, voice squeaking with the effort it took to swing the porch swing. "I need no one's assistance! I can do it myself!"

Edaline and Grady watched from afar, fond smiles on their faces. Keefe and Sophie had grown a surprisingly strong bond with each other in the year they'd known each other. It was clear from the way Keefe used only one hand to support himself with the beam of the wooden swing while the other tightly clutched Sophie's.

"Do you want me to help?" Sophie asked.

"No, no, no." Keefe shook his head vehemently. "You're my princess. I have to swing it for you!"

The sudden endearment made Sophie's adoptive parents laugh from their position on the porch. Following order, she giggled too, lying back in her seat. While she traced the ray of sunshine that peered from the cracks of the wooden boards, she had a thought.

"Hey, Keefe," Sophie asked innocently. "If I'm your princess, does that mean... you're my prince?"

"I don't know." Keefe shrugged his shoulders, giving up on swinging the swing. "Don't we have to be married to call each other that?"

"What do we need to do if we want to get married?"

"Ask your parents," Keefe said. "Aren't they married?"

The young girl turned her head towards her adoptive parents. "Grady? Edaline? What do you have to do if you want to get married?"

Grady's face contorted into a frown, but Edaline's was much more serene. Walking up to the children, she kneeled in front of them. Gently pulling their hands apart, she said, "Well, the first step is that you have to love the person very much."