When China Breaks//Ed Sheeran #Wattys2016 #NewVoices

deteriorate

#welcomebackEd

January brought in the New Year. I was sad I had to bring it in without Ed, but after two weeks of loneliness, I got over it, took my shot, and decided that I would kiss him when he got here. On January third, the day he was due to come back, I remembered that I was supposed to meet him at the airport, but had absolutely no way to get there with Mary Ella, my main source of transportation, still on vacation. I wanted to ask my mom, but she seemed more MIA than ever, and it seemed useless anyways considering she drove like a maniac.

I opted instead to do something I had never done before, and that was to take the public transportation light rail, which went straight to the airport. Mrs. and Mr. Martinez were out of town visiting family members, so Ed was expected to get home on his own. I'm sure he could manage on his own, but there was no way anyone deserved to come back and not see someone waiting for them at the airport. So I did what any decent girlfriend would do and called the public transportation number and asked for directions on how to get to the airport.

It was five thirty in the morning when I left the house. Not only that, but there were about a foot and a half of hard, semi-frozen snow on the ground from when it has snowed two days before. I couldn't see all that well since the sun hadn't come up yet, so I managed to slip and fall ass first into a mound of shoveled snow.

"Ed is waiting for you," I repeat over and over again. "He's coming back."

Riding the light rail was a hassle all on it own. There was a man who sat directly behind me who talked on the phone as loud as he could. Every time I thought I was warming up, the doors of the train would open and let in a fresh breeze of crisp, cold air, and I would freeze to the bone again.

But true to its word, the light rail stopped at a station right next to the airport. The sun had started to come up, and by the time I reached the airport, it was sitting low in the sky with a pale orange haze. The airport was packed full of people leaving for home and returning as well. There were taxis and cars, and because I have never been out of state or flown on a plane, it all seemed a little too hectic.

If it wasn't for his bright orange hair that stuck out from the crowd, I have a feeling I would have had a hard time finding Ed. He stood, holding his phone, looking like a vision. In my head, and in romance, they always depicted the man, staring at his love interest from a difference, giving her "the eyes" but if I could have seen myself, I'm sure I shared that same expression.

I did my best with my frozen solid leg and artificial one to move as quickly as I could to where Ed was standing. "Ed!" I called. I was out of breath, frozen, and I felt as if I couldn't take another step. To top it all of, my foot caught an ice patch and I lost my footing. I fell on my ass, which was already cold and wet from my previous falls. I was grateful my ass was numb already, but I knew I would be feeling it later.

"Aaliyah?" Ed called. I looked up and waved meekly. He hurried towards me, weaving around the people who were giving me odd stares rather than ask me if I needed assistance. Ed looked panicked, shocked to see me sitting on the ground and not in a wheelchair. "Jesus, what are you doing?"

"Hello, darling!" I say sarcastically. "How are you? I can't feel my ass!"

"When I said meet me here, I was only joking about." He informed me, two weeks too late. He looked down at my legs. "What are those?"

"I was wrong," I laughed. "I thought to get a prosthetic leg would keep me on my feet, but apparently you can still knock me off of them."

Ed had the smile of a child being handed a twenty-five-pound bar of chocolate. He drops to his knees and took my face in his hands to kiss me. I held onto him, laughing against his lips. "You finally did it!" He said between placing kisses all over my face. "You did it, Aaliyah."