SUGAR-CANDY [N. CHEN/SOCIAL MEDIA]

14 ~ IRL

*March 19, 2017*

Owen stood by the luggage claim, watching as everyone's bags traveled full circle on the conveyor belt. The motions were already at a slow pace, but her world seemed to be moving in slow motion. It was only a few days ago when her life was pulled from under her; when she realized that she would never feel the same about anything. 

No sound was heard and no movement was spotted. Everything was just...still. Almost frozen. Owen felt frozen. 

Maybe it was because she was stuck. She was stuck at a crossroad. She had already had her heart broken, so why would she be dumb enough to let it happen again? It was quite the difficult question for her to answer. Truly, it was. She is only 17 years old, and this was one heart break. Everyone has been telling her that things like this will get better over time. What did they mean by that? No, no. WHAT was the purpose of the statement, because it wasn't reassuring. 

Why would the fact that being heartbroken gets easier to bare over time be comforting? Owen doesn't want this to happen again.

The world is still quiet; the world is still frozen.

What time is it? Only 3:30. If only Father Time could speed up the clock.

But even if he could, the world would remain frozen, and Owen would remain stuck.

Oh, what's this? A breakthrough?

A touch, and a sound.

A tap, and a voice.

"Excuse me, Ms. Owen? May I get an autograph?" the voice called out to Owen as her shoulder was tapped. Expecting a fan, Owen turned to the source of the voice. Only she was meet with the face and figure of a boy she had only interacted with over the phone. It was Nathan standing there with a grin plastered on his face. Her eyes grew wide as his smile grew wider. He knew exactly what she was thinking; she wasn't expecting him to be here. Him of all people.

Owen felt her entire being filling with excitement, and soon found herself unable to contain it. Letting out a soft squeal, she threw her arms up as an invitation, and Nathan gladly took it. Wrapping his arms around the small girl's waist, he picked her up and hugged her tight. Owen wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck, hiding her face in his neck. She felt Nathan smile against her neck as she pressed a lingering kiss to his shoulder.

And this was the moment when Owen realized a very important thing:

She was at crossroad, yes this was true, but she was willing to choose a path. Yes, both would involve some type of suffering, there was no avoid that. But she realized that no matter what path she chose, she would ultimately be rewarded with something valuable: Nathan's love.

And that alone would be worth the pain.