Writings

Poetry(?)

she was eight years old
when she first saw him.
he had brown hair, bright
green eyes and a sparkle
in his eyes that captivated her.

he was sitting alone on a
bench outside the elementary
school, waiting for his
parents to pick him up.

she thought to herself
how handsome he was
and how she wished she
could talk to him.

but she was nervous.
he didn't even know her.
surely he didn't want a
stranger approaching him.

so for years, she watched him.
they turned nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen years old.
they entered puberty.

he got a girlfriend, and she
watched from the sidelines.
she thought of how beautiful
his girlfriend is.
he must make her happy, she thought.

on her fourteenth birthday, her
grandma told her that if she
loved someone, she should
tell them. she told her she couldn't.
he was taken by another.
she did the one thing she could do.
she locked up her heart, telling
herself to get over him.

because, unfortunately,
he wasn't hers to love
out loud.
in her dreams, she could
play pretend.
in reality, though, she
tricked herself into
forgetting he exists.

as the years went by,
they got older.
they graduated high school
and went to college, a military college for him and
a college in New Hampshire
for her.
the universe would cross their paths in the future again.

he became a sergeant
for the Army.
she became a teacher.
the kids she taught were
her joy, but she wished
that she had a child to go
home too. someone to love,
who could love her back.

she adopted a dog, he married
his girlfriend from school.
she loved her dog, he loved
his wife, and soon, his son.

he traveled the world with
the military and his wife and son.
she taught school and came home
to her dog. still, she thought of him.
how her heart still wanted him,
wanted his love.
but he wasn't hers to love.

the seasons changed and
his wife passed away.
cancer stole her life, leaving
her husband a widow
and her son motherless.

he left the Army. he went back home to his parents.
his son had never met his
grandparents. they adored him.
she lived twenty minutes away
in a tiny apartment.
she could barely afford the rent.

her dog died, she buried him.
she was alone. all alone.
with no family to turn to,
she stayed inside the apartment,
until the bank forced her out.

he got a job as a janitor at the
elementary school he went to
as a child. he loved the job.
he could see his son throughout
the week, and could keep watch
on his grades.
she kept on teaching, until she saw him.

she hadn't seen him in years, but here he was, mopping the floors
before the kids arrived to learn
at school.
she set her bag on her desk and watched him work, a sullen
expression on his aging face.
she thought, could I say hello?
oh, but what if he doesn't want
to talk to me?

from the corner of his eyes, he saw a woman. her eyes were watching him.
he smiled softly. he had seen her,
noticed her.
years ago.

at eight years old, he saw her.
a bright, beautiful girl.
he wanted to say hello.
but she ran off.

at fourteen, when he started dating his girlfriend, he watched her
from afar. she was beautiful.
when he married his girlfriend,
he thought she would be the one.
and when his son was born, he wished he had a child with her.

it was always her. even now.
as he stood in the moonlight
and watched her, he approached her. her face lit up and they talked for what felt like hours.
really, it was only an hour and twenty minutes before kids
started arriving.
his son asked who she was, he replied, and he said she was
a friend.

years later, they got married. his son became her stepson.
they had a child of their own and a sibling for his son,
a son with brown hair
and green eyes.
as he kissed her head and admired the child they created together,
she smiled to herself.
the universe sighed in content.
their paths had crossed again.