Leave Your Mark

Pain

They used to think that the reason babies cry so much is because they're adjusting to a new, brighter, colder environment from what they're used to in the womb. But they were wrong.

The real reason is because from the moment it is born, an infant experiences pain in some part of its body. The farther away they get from their soulmate, the more intense the pain becomes.

I suppose that explains the intense migraine I acquired during the last day of school. My best friend, Chelsea, had a flight to Scotland for a few weeks in the early summer. I was just sitting in study hall, waiting for the final bell to ring, when all of a sudden I felt a horrible pain behind my eyes. It grew steadily worse over the next couple minutes, until I was clutching my head in agony.

I was rushed to a hospital, where the doctors gave me some serious painkillers that made my loopy and drowsy to ease my pain. Chelsea came home as soon as she could a couple of days later. Until then, they woke me up every hour to see if the pain gone away. It never did, until Chelsea got to the hospital.

"Hey, sweetie," she said in her lovely accent when I woke up. I was high on pain meds, but I knew the second I saw her beautiful, dark chocolate skin and rich caramel-gold eyes, that the pain had finally gone away.

"Hi," I rasped.

"How are you feeling?"

"I feel great!"

"That's wonderful! Shall I go tell a nurse?"

"Err, no. Just stay here, please?"

"Okay." She kissed my forehead, smoothing my hair and tucking my long bangs behind my ear.

"Guess what."

"What is it, hun?"

"I love you," I giggled.

She blushed. "Aww, I love you too."

I grinned and tried-and failed-to lift my heavy head off the pillow. "Really?!" I squealed.

"Well, yeah. You're my best friend."

"Psst," I hissed.

"What is it?"

"C'mere." She leaned over so her face was here centimeters from my own. I leaned up and pecked her on the lips.

She madly blushed and smiled. "O-oh, I didn't t-think y-you meant that kind of l-love," she stammered.

A tear leaked from my eye. "You don't love me?"

She frantically shook her head. "That's not what I meant at all." She pressed her soft, ruby red lips against my chapped ones, this time prepared to deepen the kiss. When she pulled away for air, we were both grinning like idiots.

"What if you're just doing this because I'm sick?" I said worriedly.

"I'll tell you what. Go back to sleep. Let the medicine leave your system. If you feel the same when you wake up, we can be datemates. Sound good, Izzy?"

I grinned and nodded, already starting to call back asleep. She planted a loving kiss in my hair, and stayed with me until I had been consumed by sleep.