Timeless

h.

2 May 2017

"You want me to play guitar for you?" He asked, sounding surprised.

Smiling widely, I shrugged. "Well... if that's not too much to ask?"

"Uhm.. No, no, I think not. I'll just put the phone down quickly to get my guitar ready, okay? Don't go anywhere," he told me.

"I'm not, don't worry, I'm staying right here with you," I assured him, smiling widely.

"Good. I'll be right back," he told me before I could hear him put the phone down. Even though he wasn't talking anymore, I still listened curiously. Who knew what I could hear? I reached for my earphones that I always kept on my nightstand. If he was going to be playing, it would make sense to get as much of it as possible. Just as I had finished plugging them in, I could hear his voice again.

"Okay, I'm ready to go. Are you still there?"

"Yes," I confirmed with a smile. "I'm still here, and I'm ready to hear you play. What are you going to play?"

"Uhm... I don't know, do you have any wishes?" He asked. While he was talking I could hear the quiet sounds of guitar strings in the background.

"Play your favourite song, maybe. Or one of your own, whatever you feel like." I crossed my legs and closed my eyes, wanting to focus only on the sound of his voice, and his playing.

"Okay. Ready?" He asked once again.

"Ready." I smiled widely. It didn't take long before I could hear him playing, and if I said it was beautiful then that was the biggest understatement ever. If I could listen to one thing for the rest of my life it would be his guitar playing, without a doubt. I didn't know how long he had been playing for, but when he stopped, it was very disappointing.

But then again, that he stopped playing meant that I would get to hear his voice again. And that was anything but disappointing. "So?" He asked quietly, hopefully.

I kept my eyes closed, picturing his face in front of my inner eye. It made it even more like a real conversation. "It was beautiful," I told him sincerely. "Absolutely beautiful, really. You're so talented.."

"You think so?" He asked happily.

"Definitely," I confirmed.

"Thank you.." He sounded genuinely flattered. "I'm really happy to hear that."

"Was that the guitar you built with your dad?" I asked curiously.

He hummed a little. "Yes, that was her. I'm glad you liked how it sounded, I'm still working on something."

"What are you still working on?" It was so easy to talk to him, about anything. It probably made me sound incredibly strange, but he had become one of my best friends over the past month, and I felt so comfortable talking to him. Actually talking to him, not just typing.

I could hear a few sounds in the background before I could hear his beautiful voice again. "Just a few things here and there, I always play them differently, I just can't decide on which version to settle on."

"Well, do you have to decide on one version?" I asked him, crossing my legs. "Because if not, I don't think there's no harm in being spontaneous, in having a little fun with the melody. It sounds like you can definitely pull it off."

He was quiet for a short moment. "Uhm.. well I guess you're right. It depends on my mood, you know?"

"I think I get what you mean, yeah," I told him, nodding a little. That was pointless, but still. "I definitely liked what you just played, but of course I don't know what the other versions sound like. But I'm sure you have some people who'll tell you their honest opinion."

"Yeah," he said quietly and I was pretty sure I could hear him sigh a little.

"Everything alright? Did I say something wrong?" I took a deep breath, pressing my lips together. Hopefully I hadn't upset him, because that would be the worst.

"No," he told me, just as quietly. "You didn't say anything wrong, don't worry. It's... it's silly."

"I'm sure it isn't. You know you can tell me stuff, right? Did something bad happen?"

He sighed heavily. "No, no... it's just... you know, I can't help but think about how great it would be if you were here, if you were one of those people I could play my different versions for."

Sighing softly, I nodded. "I know... I know what you mean, believe me. On the one hand I'm so happy that whatever made this possible, us getting to know each other, talking to each other, that it happened, but on the other hand I can't help but be sad about that this is all that can ever happen. Writing messages, and talking on the phone.."

Neither of us said anything for a moment, but then it was me who continued to speak.

"As much as it sucks that no more can ever happen, I'm really really happy that I have this chance to get to know you. We're lucky that we have this opportunity, you know?"

"Yeah," he said quietly. "I know. You're right. We are really lucky, and don't get me wrong, I love that I can talk to you and actually hear your voice, but at the same time all of that makes me wish that on top of that I could hug you or something to thank you for listening to so much of my talking. I know I'm probably annoying with all of my problems, -"

I cut him off before he could continue. "You're not annoying me with anything, I love talking to you, I love that we're messaging each other so much, really. I wish I could hug you too, but we're just going to have to settle for long distance hugs."

"Long distance hugs," he said quietly. "Yeah.. that's definitely better than nothing. You're right. You definitely deserve a long long distance hug."

Smiling to myself, I closed my eyes. It was so bittersweet between us. On the one hand we were both really happy that we did have the chance to get to know each other, but on the other hand exactly that chance left us so limited.