I sat by the unused tracks the next day waiting for you. I decided to dress a little bit nicer, conscious of our meeting together. I checked my phone, noting the time: 11:36. I was early. Very early. I was too excited to see you again and ran out the door as soon as I could.
That morning, I woke up early on accident. The pale, winter sun lit up my entire room in a bluish-white and woke me from my dreamless sleep. I checked the time on my phone only to find that it was seven a.m. Groaning and mumbling, I tried my hardest to fall asleep again, failing over and over again. Finally, I gave up and rolled out of bed, making my way to the bathroom. Washing my hands, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. I looked tired. My eyebrows were unkempt and my hair was everywhere. There was a zit above my right brow, red and angry.
"Well, this is great," I muttered to myself. I turned off the tap and headed to the kitchen.
As I set some water to boil for coffee, I heard a soft, "Rowan" from the hallway.
"Tammy, why are you up so early?" I turned to face my little sister. Tamara's hair was messy and her face was thick with sleep. She had her blanket wrapped around her shoulders like a cape. "Did I wake you up?"
"Yes, you did. And I told you to stop calling me that! I'm too old to be called Tammy," She spat out her nickname with fake disgust, adding a little yuck for emphasis.
"Oh, please, you're only 11. Plus," I reached over to ruffle her hair, "you'll always be little Tammy to me." She swatted away my hand and sat down at the table.
"Anyway, why are you up so early? Are you finally going to church with grandma?"
"Um, no. Not really my scene. I love the sound of gospel music, but I don't think I'm ready for the rest of it." She laughed a little and rested her face on her hands.
"So what are you doing up so early?"
I shut off the stove and poured the hot water into my mug.
"I'm going out."
"Oh?"
"To see a friend."
"A-huh."
"A friend who isn't Hayden." I set my mug down across the table from her, the scent of dark roast filling the space. I looked over at her; her eyes were wide and her eyebrows raised in bewilderment.
Hayden and I have been friends since middle school. Before he and I became friends in seventh grade, the friends I had would flow in and out of my life like a stream. They would show up, chat for a bit, and move on to someone else. It was like I was everyone's personal pit stop. They were people who, to this day, will only give me a tight-lipped smile or a nod in the hallway.
In between friends, I found comfort in words. At first, it was with reading. I visited the school library bi-weekly and when I ran out of books that interested me there, I moved on to the public library. After a while, I started making my own books.
Two weeks after my last temporary friend, I skipped lunch to read on my own in front of my locker. My reading was interrupted by the sound of sneakers quickly smacking against the school's ugly tile floors, a thump followed by a grunt, and a loud crash into the locker next to me. I looked over and saw a mop of brown hair laughing despite the pain he was in. From that moment on, the bruised up boy with a bright smile became my best friend.
He's the only person to have ever come to my house, meet my family or really be considered my friend. Since I met him, Hayden has been the person I've gone out with, hung out with, talked to and that was exactly why Tamara had a quizzical look on her face.
"Okay, okay," she nodded and thought about what I said for a bit, and then: "I don't believe you."
"Whatever." I rolled my eyes. "You know for someone who's so young, you're pretty darn snarky."
"Well then, who is this mystery person that isn't Hayden--" she paused, waiting for me to confirm that it was, in fact, not him.
"Right," I nodded.
"-- and has you up this early in the morning."
So I told her about you. You probably wondered why she knew so much about you when you first met her.
"Do you think you like her?" The answer was far too simple.
"Yes."
I was ready and seated at the tracks by the time you got there. I watched as you parked next to Hayden's car, hopped out of your truck and made your way towards me. Your hair was down and in braids and you wore a yellow scarf and a matching backpack. You came up to me, shivering.
"Well, someone's a bit early." I smiled back at you and nodded. "How long have you been here?"
"Oh, just a few minutes." I lied. I didn't want to let you know I showed up an hour early.
"Right. So in just a few minutes all of that snow fell on your car?" I looked back at Hayden's sedan, piled high with fresh snow.
"Okay, so maybe more like an hour?" You laughed at that. I liked the way your laugh sounded. It rang through the sky like a silver bell.
We stood in silence for a bit, listening to the sound of the wind around us before I asked what you had planned for us. You smiled and asked me to follow you. We walked and talked for about a mile, leaving our prints in the soft snow; leaving our words in the cold air. Soon enough, you led me into the woods until we reached a small lake in a clearing. The ice glittered in the sun, a beautiful spray of gold danced across the surface where the light hit just right. In my admiration, I hadn't noticed that you pulled out two pairs of ice skates from your yellow bag.
"C'mon," you held out a pair for me, "take these." I took them and looked at them for a bit. Before I even formed the sentence in my head, you beat me to it.
"I'm not sure if they're going to fit you but at least try? I probably should've asked what size you were." I looked up at you, your eyes pleading.
"It's okay, you probably didn't want to ruin the surprise." And with that you were content. I put on the skates (which were a bit snug) and we went out on the ice. You were a fantastic skater. You moved on ice like a stream. I could barely shuffle across the lake without falling, but you danced as if you had a song in your heart. You pulled me along with you, helping me build speed, but every time I would lose my balance. To this day I don't know how you did it. All I know is that it was one of the best days of my life.
We stayed for a few hours. Slowly, pink replaced the gold on the ice as the sun made its way down. Streaks of orange peaked through the pink sky, washing into the blue of the evening.
"What a beautiful sky," you said to me.
"Not as beautiful as you," I thought to myself. "Not even close."
YOU ARE READING
Dear Holly,
Romance"I've missed you for what seems like an eternity. We used to talk so much. We would talk about everything. From your car to my family to whatever it is that's beyond our world. Without you around, I've found it hard to talk to anyone else. I try, I...
