Ruby

2

She always dressed herself in dark clothing. Long sleeves, denim jeans, and black scruffy converse everyday. But one day I remember she wore a royal blue sweater, it made her eyes sparkle. Or maybe her eyes always sparkled like that because after that day I payed so much attention to her stormy eyes and everyday they told a new story. She always hid behind her bangs that fell just above her eyes. She was tall, not lanky; just the perfect height. She had curves in the right places. She always wore sweaters that swallowed her and the sleeves reached her the tips of her fingers, but she never seemed to mind. She always kept her cold hands hidden.

One morning I sat on the curb on the corner of my street waiting for the bus like everyone else did. There was a small breeze that blew in the scent of freshly cut grass. The sky that day was a clear blue with no cloud in sight. When the bus arrived, I stepped on flashing the driver my pass and heading straight for the back of the bus where I planned on be left alone until the ride was over.

It had been five to ten minutes when the bus came to another stop. I watched as the bus loaded on more students and the bus gained more noise. The bus shifted gear and jolted forward causing the new people jerk. One of them, however, flew straight for the ground.

As I looked up I watched as she reached for the bar that was attached to the roof, missing by only a few inches before being thrown forward by the force of the bus as it continued moving forward. Her book slid and landed beside my foot as her knees collided with the floor. I watched her cheeks turn into a dark rosy color, her grey eyes widened and her dark hair gathered around her face shielding her from the crowd. She slowly came to her feet, carefully holding onto the cold, metal bar she'd missed before her fall. As she laid eyes on her book, I reached down and handed it to her. It was the same old book she always brought with her everywhere, never letting it out of her reach. I had always assumed it was just another boring novel I'd never be interested in reading. But little did I know it would give me every answer I desired. If only I knew it was everything this girl represented and held every beautiful thought that ever lived in her brain.

She looked up, her grey eyes meeting my brown ones. She had such deep, beautiful eyes. I could look into them all day; they were dancing stars. I wish for the days that those eyes would light up an entire room again. I wish that I had more time to appreciate them. They were a perfect resemblance of the ocean. They were bluey-grey like when the blue sky is transforming into a grey storm, so much emotion too. Such deep eyes and I swear if you tried, you could read the story that built them to appear so strong, but so fragile. But she'd never look you in the eyes long enough.

Her eyes laid on mine for a number of countless seconds before her cheeks deepened from a rosy red to beet red slowly and then she shifted her eyes towards the floor, stuffing her hands in her pockets, unsure of what to do.

Slowly, I gave back her book. Then she realized it wasn't within her reach and she quickly reached out to retrieve it, her sleeve falling slightly, and her cold fingers met my warm ones. She looked up, seeming surprised by my presence. She mumbled a small, "thanks," then moved away.

I started seeing things differently after that day. She was so much more than a shy bookworm than I thought she was. She was true and pure and to be more accurate, Ruby was an angel.