The Better Part of Me

prologue

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LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT

A person or character that feels an instant, extreme, and ultimately long-lasting romantic attraction for a stranger upon the first sight of that stranger.

I always thought that love was just a word, I always thought that love would be painful, that it would lead to vulnerability. For me, love meant that I had to open myself up to someone, that I had to get out of hiding and communicate with someone, but then I met her. She changed everything I knew about the world, she even made me learn some new things about myself. How can a human be so unique, so lovely; the complexity of her mind, the way she moved, the way the words rolled off her tongue when she spoke was so intoxicating, I couldn't get enough of it, I wanted more, but why? Maybe because she and I were able to hide behind a wall, the wall that protected us from any harm, the same wall that held as a barrier to anyone and everyone who tried to breakthrough. So I ask again, why?

Since the moment I laid eyes on her, I knew my life would never be the same, I knew I could never go back. She was such a shy child, her features so vibrant against her olive skin, so baby soft, almost glowing, just sitting there in the hot sun; her nose, her pink lips crinkling in the corners as she looked up to the bright ball of light in the sky, every detail better than the last. Even her fiery eyes seemed to burn brighter than anything I have ever encountered.

She always amazed me by the outfits she wore, definitely her sense of colors, from the pink bedazzle to the blue jeans that hung over her turquoise boots, she was too little to know what looked good and what was over the top, the fact that she didn't care was intriguing to me.

The entire world was passing by her as I stared at her, little kids running everywhere, momentarily blocking my view from the beautiful stranger across from me, she was pulling at me like a magnet to a fridge.

As I stared at her from the corner of the blacktop, my friends were chatting away in the back of me, my staring caught on and I hit eye contact, this feeling of embarrassment filled my cheeks as they began to become a little pink, I smiled and looked down at my bright colored sketchers. I then felt her staring, I look back up to see a familiar face looking back at me, it was almost as if she was calling me over with her eyes.

"What are you looking at?"

"Huh?" I looked up at the silhouette, squinting my eyes from the shining sun. I recognized the face that was above me, my friend, Madison. She was my first friend when moving to this town that I would be eventually called home. She wore her blonde pigtails proudly and strutted around in her plain outfits, she wasn't as colorful as most little six years old's, but I guess that's why I connected with her.

"Charlie, did you hear what I said?"

I looked up at her like a dazed deer in flashing headlights.

"I said, what are you looking at?"

"You see that girl over there?" I pointed in the alluring creature's direction.

"We should go and talk to her."

"Why her?"

The words echoed inside my tiny mind, never really understanding what it meant; I never knew the reason why she would act that way with her, throwing her dirty scowls almost as if she did something by just sitting there.

That was the first and the last time I saw her.

She changed me...she just changed me. This town changed me, not for the better, but the worse. The place I was supposed to call home, began to be called hell, the place I was supposed to love, began to be hated, but it was a hatred that began burning since I was a child. The smoke turned into a blaze; long-lasting.

It all started so early, an innocent child growing up too fast, what did she do? Did she deserve it? Why her?

Everything is so confusing.