If Only

The Boy and the Girl

Let us do some imagining. Pretend you're on a back road in a small town in South Florida. All you see is a railroad parallel to the road and trees lining it. You're driving in a small compact car, perfect for the office bee you are. You're running to get lunch at your favorite spot, Chipotle. You're on lunch break from work. It's a nice gloomy Thursday and you really wished it was Friday.

You look outside your car window and you could see them, running along the railroad tracks. The girl was in front, her black hair whipping behind her in the wind. The boy was behind, in a chase. His golden locks were plastered to his face by the rain, but the rage there was easily decipherable. You would have noticed that they were keeping up with your car, going at least 40 miles per hour, but you didn't. The girl was facing forward, her face focused, while the boy was slowly gaining.

You turn onto the main road, still following the railroad. Trees and bushes are covering it, but in between them you see the pair still running along side your car. You come to a busy intersection. You see a yellow light and make the decision to slow your car. As you glide to the white line, you see the boy tackle the girl onto the tracks. They both go flying, tumbling into your line of view. If you had seen them, you would have seen the girl trying to talk to the boy, she seemed to know him. You would have seen fire appear in the boy's hands and slowly inch towards the girl's face. But before it touched her cheek, her fist summons lightning and punches the boy in the face, sending him into the street. They are both up and running again, just as your light turns green. Man, if you only could have seen it.

They continue following the tracks, and so do you. The boy is now tossing fireball after fireball at the girl, but they all miss. The wind seems to be pushing them away. As you drive, the weather seems to be getting worse. You begin to worry and turn your windshield wipers on. You arrive at a bridge, and just like all the other drivers, you continue you on your way, up and over. The boy and girl go up the bridge as well. Suddenly, as if out of nowhere, a gust of wind pushes the boy over the edge, into the depths 70 feet below. No one sees it, not even you. You're too worried about the rain, which is only a slight drizzle. The girl is only able to run a few hundred feet until the boy flies up over the bridge and back on her tail. She seems to say something under her breath.

Everyone crosses the bridge safely, even in the rain. You keep driving, but you get a little excited. Your destination is so close. But, oh no! There seems to be an accident up ahead. Traffic is stalled, even though you can see the Chipotle up ahead. The girl seems to stall too, her hesitation allowing for the boy to ram into her again, sending them flying into a parking lot. If you could see them, you would have a perfect view. They both seem out of breath, but neither is taking a moment to rest. The boy begins to walk towards the girl, his face screwed up in rage. She asks him something, and he yells a reply. You would've been able to read their lips.

The girl says: "Why are you trying to kill me?"

The boy says: "Because of what you did."

The girl seems to understand, but you definitely do not. What could this young girl possibly have done? You think. But the young girl knows what she's done. The boy continues his walk forward. The girl then sticks out her hand and he halts, like the traffic you're in. She says something you can't decipher, the rain blocking your vision. In response to her words, the boy raises his fist and punches himself in the head, which knocks him to the ground. You would have gasped if you had seen it, thinking, is the boy all right? He seems to be out cold. The girl thinks nothing of it.

You decide you'd had enough and you're going to take your closest U-turn. This accident is ridiculous. Chipotle isn't worth it today; you'll try again tomorrow. If you had looked to the side, you would have seen the boy rise from the dead, shocking the girl in front of him. He stalks towards her and she falls, staring the boy in the face. She seems to be accepting her fate. This is, until a car comes barreling towards the boy. He doesn't notice until it's too late, but it never hits. The car stops suddenly, as if it had hit a wall. The wheels were still turning. The girl had her hand up, as if blocking the SUV from 10 feet away. The boy looked at her, relieved.

Your U-turn spot his approaching, but you need to see who is in the SUV. The driver's window rolls down, the window facing you.

3 cars in front of you. A woman is inside, with platinum blonde curls and an older face. She yells something, sounding like: "Pie raw list! Molasses! Get in car!" You must have heard wrong.

2 cars in front of you. The boy gets in the passenger side while girl goes around to the back seat.

1 car in front of you. Before she opens the door, she searches the street behind her. You notice she has dark blue eyes and thick eyebrows.

You're next. You keep watching her, ignoring the honks from cars behind you. Her eyes keep searching, but finally light up when they meet yours. She nods a silent 'thank you' as she opens the car door. She shuts it, and the SUV speeds off, leaving you in the dust. Yet they never actually meet yours, since your eyes were never there in the first place.

The horns behind you get louder, so you take your U-turn, but you seem to be full of questions. Who was she? Who was he? You think these thoughts will haunt you for the rest of your life; that girl and boy you saw on that rainy day will be forever imprinted on your brain. But then you begin to think how rude all those people behind you were. You think about how you wasted your lunch break and how you'll never get your Chipotle, you'll just have to go to the Tijuana Flats by your office. You think about all the work you have and your next report that's due tomorrow. How rude of your boss, to assign you reports due on a Friday. You completely forget about the mysterious girl and boy, and that's just how they want it to be.