kis·met
/ˈkizmit,ˈkizˌmet/
noun
destiny; fate.
We were always fated to be in each others lives. It was written in the stars the moment we wrestled on the playground our first day of preschool. But it was easier to love him behind the veil of hatred...
I have been in love only once in my life. Well, at least I think I have. I count my lifelong crush on Derek Navarro as a relationship I have had. Not that he would ever know...or care for that matter.
My life intertwined with his when we were four. Unbeknownst to a four year old Amelia, she would meet the love of our life in the midst of the biggest tantrum. It was my first day of kindergarten and mom was basically feeding me to the wolves. I had three older siblings and she'd been through the leg holding tantrums of the first day. She wasn't about to go through it a fourth time, and while holding my two year old baby sister.
She pointed towards a little boy who was doing just that, crying off his head and clutching onto his mother's leg, begging her to take him home.
"You don't want to look like a baby, do you?" Mom had said with a stern tone. I looked at the boy, and instead of thinking he was pathetic, I actually felt empathetic. But mom was right, it was just a few hours and she would be right back to pick me up at noon.
It took two teachers to pry the boy from his mother, and she practically ran for the door when he finally let go. Yeah, okay, it was a little pathetic by that point. But I think even then I was a goner for that crying little boy.
His jet black hair was tousled, and his cheeks were flushed pink as he wiped away the last of his tears. He sulked in a corner, and put his hands on his face to cry some more in private.
I felt a tug at my heart. It was the same feeling I had when I saw my baby sister, Julia, crying because she lost her favorite pacifier. I wanted to hug him and tell him it would be alright, because I would fix it. But I didn't hug him, instead I sat next to him and poked his shoulder.
Begrudgingly, he looked up. "What?" He snapped. His face was all red and his eyes were puffy.
"Are you okay?" I asked. His lip quivered, and he cried again, angrily this time.
"Get away you stupid, dumb girl!" He screeched, shoving me away, pushing me off the chair. "Go!"
I fell to the ground with a hard thud. If I didn't have older siblings who punked on me everyday, I probably would've cried out of embarrassment. Instead, I stared at the boy and wondered why I even tried to be nice. It never worked with my older siblings either.
"I was just trying to be nice, you big freaking baby!" I yelled, shoving him from his seat. Before I knew it we were wrestling on the ground until two teachers had to pull us apart.
We sat in the principal's office, a perfect pair of destruction. He had a busted lip, and I had a cut on my cheek. It was right there that our relationship was solidified. We were destined to be lifelong enemies.We spent the next eight years tormenting each other. Always at each other's neck. Name calling, pulling hair, throwing punches, competing academically and physically to be better than the other. And no matter how much we detested each other and kept up our epic rivalry, life always had a funny way of throwing us back into each other's lives.
Our sisters became best friends and they always dragged us around with them. We went to the same church and even carpooled together. He came to my sixth birthday party and gave me a stuffed monkey, then broke my pinata before I even had a turn. I went to his and gave him a G.I Joe then let his dog loose and watched as Gordo attacked the birthday cake.
But underneath it all, I knew that I cared for him deeply. It wasn't until I was in fifth grade that I realized that I may have been in love with him, and that no other boy that would ever compare.
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Hey everyone! Thank you for reading and joining me on this new journey with Amelia and her family.
As a gift for remaining with me, I'd like to offer the first three chapters of this book right now!
