Stories from an Empty Room

Hey Leona

"Don't you think the stars look like fireflies?" he asked.
Lucas and I were sitting down on his mother's porch, it was seven in the evening and the night sky was incredibly clear.

"Hey Leona.." he called "..how many years do you think It would take for us to reach one of the fireflies out there?"
He's always asking such strange questions, his curiosity amuses me. It always sounds so genuine too, he sounds so innocent even though I know he's not.

"Lightyears away, they've come so far.
Every tiny flicker will take a million or more." I wrote.

He read the phrase with a mocking look on his face, it's cute.
Though soon afterwards he asked "Where the fuck do you get all these words?"
I gave him a small smile, playfully punched his shoulder and went back to looking at the fireflies.

"Hey Leona.." he called "..do you think people will remember us? Even after we're dead? If not, how long do you think before they forget us?"
He's cute alright, but he also scares me at times. I love how his mind just wonders of into another world, but some parts of it are too dark even for me.

"Forgettable they may be, we live by the works of forgotten strangers. We will inevitably suffer the same fate. But is that really something to fear?" I wrote.

"Like the waves that once touched the shores, they will soon go back to the ocean where they began." he said.
My eyes got bigger than the moon itself, I never thought that he'd come up with something like that on the spot.

Lucas, full of surprises.

He saw the look I gave him and said "What? I listen, I learn... and I also listen."
His way with words sometimes sway me in all different directions. He's something, isn't he?

All of this feels like a dream to me. The fireflies perfectly aligned with our eyes, the moon's dim glow slightly lighting up the trees, the winter breeze disturbing the wind chimes, all of it is too surreal.
Where am I? How did I get here? All of these questions always running around my head, it's distracting. How can all this be true? I-

"You're spacing out again, are you?" he asked.
I nodded.

How'd he know?

"Your hands are cold..." he said.
I looked over my left hand and to my surprise, our fingers were intertwined.
How did I not notice?
"I love how you express your thoughts and all, but could you please live in the moment?" he exclaimed.

Not letting go, I tried writing "Time is constantly moving forward, wherein the past will have existed~" until he stopped me.

He took my notepad, and threw it to the side.

"Time is time, Leona.." he mocked "..it won't change. Maybe that's a reason enough to just hold someone and stop for a moment, don't you think?"

He stopped talking.

He closed his eyes, leaned back and took a deep breath.
With his long, brown hair all messy and his hoodie a bit scuffed, he smiled at nothing.

The universe has gifted me someone I'll never replace.

My grip tightened as I looked at him mesmerically. He reciprocated.

"Hey Leona.." he called "..do you like me?"

Is that a real question?

I stood up, and let go of his hand. He looked at me weirdly at first but then he saw me go for my notepad.

"Shit, I'm sorry about that..." he said.

Without thinking, I scribbled the first three words that came to my mind.

"I love you."