Dear Scarlett,
With every passing day, I am reminded of you. They are some days in which I cannot separate my life from yours. I feel as though I knew you before I knew myself. Your face, your smile, your entire being brings renewed life to every fiber of my being. In knowing you, I knew myself. Your amber eyes and warm smile gave me enough hope to face the world. Scarlett, do you know how I fell in love with you? It was during the intersection where the pathways met to reveal a whirl of colors that descended around you with the luke warm breeze. As I walked by, you looked up at an angle that left me speechless. Your red hair in contrast with the myriad of leaves that fell around you mixed with the bright yellow sun made you the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. In saying hello to me, I felt like you saw me when everybody else failed to see me. It was then that I started to develop this feeling that overwhelmed my heart. Scarlett, I am willing to accompany you on this journey called life. Across time and space. However, Scarlett, can you promise me the same?
With sincerest love,
Eli
"Eli, Eli, Eli...." I screamed as my husband shook me from sleep.
"Honey, are you okay," Gabriel said.
"Yes, dear."
"Who is Eli?"
"Nobody, Gabriel. Go back to sleep, " I said giving my husband a gentle kiss to his forehead as an indication that all is well.
As I tried to convince my husband to go back to bed on our royal blue covers, the words that never made it to my lips started to take form in my head: Where did my life go wrong? The night my husband and I both slept, he started to feel like the choice I wish I never made.
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When I woke up the next morning, I could not stop thinking of Elliot. Everything from the rustling of the leaves in my backyard to the lamp post in my bedroom reminded me of him. I have loved Elliot Jenkins since my father brought him home to leave with us on July 14, 1984. I remember the way his hair reached to cover his eyes. I loved when he reached to remove the hair from his eyes, the strands parted way to reveal hazel eyes with gold specks. The way he walked with long strides and spoke with such a confidence that was not befitting for a child that had just lost everything.
"Good Afternoon, Mayweather family," Elliot said with a grin. "Thank you for having me as a permanent resident of your lovely home."
"We are delighted to have you," my parents said in unison.
You see, Elliot had just witnessed his house along with his parents burn down to the ground. After witnessing such a horrendous event and having no living blood relative, he was shipped to Stockwell Orphanage for Lost Boys. When my father went to inquire after Elliot, what he found was a boy lost in a myriad of flashbacks that left him utterly devoid of any emotions. My father described his encounter with Elliot as speaking with a lifeless robot that although processed what he said, could not give him back the same level of emotions he emitted nor bare to withhold a conversation. Before his parents died, Elliot was full of life and spoke with a voice that commanded attention. When his parents brought him to my father's office for his weekly general check-up, as my father recollected, he would come into each check-up saying "hello, doc" then he would proceed to tell my father about his day with such vivid animations.
"Doc, guess what my father gave me today," Elliot said.
"What Elliot?" My father questioned. "Could it be the red and white AIDC AT-3 model airplane in your hand"
