Radiate

0.2: o b s e r v i n g

[ o w e n ]

As I step out of my apartment

Onto the cracked sidewalk,

Everything floods my senses

At the same time.

Cars are honking loudly

And the air is filled with the sounds

Of chattering people.

Smoke and car exhaust

Assault my nose

In the midst of all this chaos.

The sun has fallen

Behind a swarm of clouds

And everything has now grown bleak.

But as swarms of people pass me by,

The sun comes out of her apartment

And begins heading my way,

Smiling widely and

Spreading warmth

To everyone she sees.

This is always my

Favorite part of the day.

I only see her

During this time,

For I recently graduated

But she is a year younger.

The ray of light comes closer,

Her dark hair shaping her face,

Blue eyes light and looking around.

Celeste begins walking by me,

Just as beautiful as her name implies.

Slowly, I extend my hand

To my old friend

And her warm fingers wrap

Around my cold ones

As she smiles

And my heart beats

So fast I can barely breathe.

"Good morning, Owen," she chirps,

And my smile grows wider.

"Good morning, Celeste."

These are all the words

We have time to exchange

Or else she'll be late.

But she notices

And she cares,

And that's all that matters to me.

Those three words

Mean so much more to me

Than she knows.

For when she comes by,

For when we hold hands,

For when she smiles,

It is a good morning.

As she walks away,

Still smiling and laughing,

The sun peeks out

From behind the clouds

And seems to shine directly on her.

The last thing I notice

Makes my heart sink in my chest.

Her hands have a tremor in them,

Shaking so badly she can't seem

To stop them.

It never seems to go away

But I never feel it

In those few seconds with her.

Slowly, I begin walking away

Still looking at her until

She fades away,

Taking the warmth with her

As the sun disappears behind a cloud

Once more.