Emerald Eyes

7 - Blue Eyes

When I woke up the next morning, the first thing I did was check my phone for a message from Martijn. I sighed in relief when I discovered the notification on the screen.

"My eyes didn't get to see a lot of sunshine those past days. Basically locked myself in my studio getting lost in music. But I know there was sunshine outside my windows. Just didn't feel like seeing it. "

I hurried to type a reply as I saw he was online at the moment.

"Will you let me show the sunshine to you?"

Just a simple question. But it required a simple answer as well.

"You really sure about this?"

Damn. So much for a simple answer.

"Yes I am. I care about you and I want to make up for my mistake. Plus I can't let you die in the darkness of your studio, Garrix. Will you let me pick you up today?"

"Alright. Good point. Just let me know when, and I'll be there. Same place as last time?"

"Thank you Tijn. I'll see you at 5pm."

After my lectures, I hurried back to my dorm to quickly change and then I was on my way to the park. I wore a dark blue dress and my favorite ballerinas. When I got to the park, I was happy to see that I got there before Martijn. He shouldn't have to wait on me. After a long while, Martijn finally came around the corner. He was late, but I didn't even mind at all. I made a few steps towards him and pulled him into a hug: "Hey... It's so good to see you Tijn. I... I'm sorry, okay? I was rude to you, which was completely uncalled for. Please, don't be angry, okay? I..." "Line, hey, it's alright. Don't.. don't worry. I'm glad to see you too.", he said softly. We started to walk across the river and took a stroll along the small canals in this part of the city, all quiet. None of us really knew what to say. After a while, I decided to break the silence: "So... Are you alright? I hope I didn't hurt you." He thought about his answer for a little second and then said: "Yes, now I'm good. I've been missing you, though. Especially your funny humor and sarcastic comments." "I'd love to get to know you further.", I suggested, "Because I refuse to read your Wikipedia article. That's like 5 pages or so." Martijn couldn't hold back his laugh: "You're amazing. You always make me smile haha. No one in the team can keep up with that haha. So, what do you want to know? I'm all ears." "Okay hmmm... It's hard to put it down into just one question. I've got so many. Do you want a deep one or an easier one?", I asked him back. "Deep.", he immediately answered, "Because you can just read the answers to the easy ones in my Wikipedia article." I laughed: "Hey Garrix, that was my joke!" and added "Okay.... So what makes the difference between Martijn Garritsen and Martin Garrix?" "Well, the pressure and the negative moments, I guess.", Martijn explained, "As Garrix, I'm always the happy and energetic guy on stage who makes the crowd jump and smile. As Martijn, there are no limits to my personality and feelings. As Martijn, I can also be sad or feel pressure or insecurity. That's not possible when you're a DJ in front of 50.000 people. But still, the happy Garrix persona is a huge part of myself. I like to smile." "That's beautiful.", I smiled, "Now it's your turn. I'm sure, you're curious as well." We continued the game for a long while, but then there was this one question he asked: "Soooo my last question, then it's enough. What was it like growing up in your family? What do your parents work as? And do you have siblings?" "Hey, Garrix, Those a three questions!", I protested, trying to escape from answering them. "I mean, you don't need to answer, but...", he offered. "No, it's okay, I guess. You will find out anyway, sooner or later. I don't have any siblings, but still I had a wonderful childhood. My parents took me on many trips to explore our little world together. But then, about a year ago...", I started and then tried to swallow the pain. Martijn looked me in the eyes and must've realized the small tear that was forming in there. He immediately pulled me into a hug and said: "Hey, it's fine. You don't need to tell me. I didn't know, that..." I shook my head: "No, I want you to know. About a year ago, my mum was diagnosed with cancer. Leukemia. I was just preparing to donate some of my stem cells... but then... She felt really sick, just suddenly, and in that night... Well she died in my arms.", I said and started to cry. First just a little bit, but soon I was sobbing uncontrollably. It all broke out of me again. Martijn wrapped his arms around me, pressing my head close to his chest. He kept caressing my back and saying: "Shhhh... I'm here. It will be alright, okay?" The warmth of his body spread onto mine and made me feel better after a while. I tried to wipe away my tears and looked at him from my still teary eyes: "I... I'm so sorry. I didn't want to.." "Line, hey, don't be. You're a girl with a story. That's beautiful. Thank you for letting me in. I appreciate that. You're really brave.", he replied. "I just have to add one thing.", I exclaimed, "My pops is world-class. Ever since, we've been the best team you could possibly imagine. I come to visit him a lot back home in Leiden. He's the best father and role model I could ask for." "That's amazing!", Martijn smiled, "I also keep a really close relationship with my dad. I wish I could be such a father to my future children like he was to me... But that's impossible I guess haha." "How come you're so good at cheering me up? I already feel so much better. Thank you Tijn.", I declared. "Ohhhh I am glad to hear that. It's my hidden magic, you know?", he said and chuckled. It was getting late, so I decided to get back to uni. Martijn, even though I was feeling better now, insisted on walking me home. Also, he begged me to show him how Anna and I lived, because he had never been in a dorm room like that and only knew it from the movies. Of course, I agreed.