Starry Eyed | Nalu Short Story

five

L.H.

Lucy wondered if love was in the grand gestures or in the little things.

She typed away at her laptop rather aimlessly in an attempt to fix her writer's block. To no avail, she found her eyes wandering around the diner, watching and learning.

A couple in the booth directly in front of her, chatting about their plans for the rest of the day. They reminded her of water and ice; refreshingly vibrant and cool, a pair that balanced each other out and could only make each other stronger the longer they were together.

In the far end of the diner, two girls sitting at the counter, each with a milkshake in front of them as they giggled over who would get a brain freeze first. Lucy smiled as the girl with blue hair in pigtails swiped the cherry from the other girl's milkshake. She found it amusing that the pink hue of the milkshake was similar to the other girl's hair.

Two seats away from the girls sat an old man, enjoying his novel about a fairy and a dragon, former enemies on their quest to save the world, with the underlying motif to get along and become friends.

And finally the boy with pink hair that oozed a determination and suaveness when working that she thought no one could ever rival. Save for the times he became awkward or dorky around her. Those times were like gemstones she never wanted anyone else to even get the chance to see.

But as she watched him, she realized it was in everything he did: love.

From greeting her when she walked in, to taking her order every time she was here, to offering his jacket when she got cold, to kissing her under the stars on their first date. She wanted to love him how he loved her. But a copy was never as good as the original. So she did her best, in sharing with him pieces of her heart to keep safe and protect when she could no longer bare the weight of the world alone.

She began to pack up her stuff after a few hours of ogling the cute boy she knew that worked here (and ultimately not getting any productive work done), said boy coming over to her briefly to kiss her goodbye and to tell her he'd be on trash duty tomorrow and to expect some residual stink.

In that moment, she realized the little things could add up to a lifetime, and Lucy smiled at the thought as she opened the door to the diner to go home for the day. She didn't have to worry about anything. She'd be back again tomorrow to order the same cheesecake and kiss the same boy she loved.