An Endless Day

Chapter- 12

He kept reading and I kept completing every quote. His calculating gaze changed to one of understanding gradually. By the time we covered the last quote, he looked like he completed a research. To be honest, I never expected him to read half of them, but he did. And as he did, he closed the book and closed his eyes. I've no idea what he was doing, but he enjoyed reading. For the first time that I've let someone read one of my diaries, I didn't feel the invasion of my privacy. It was a bliss sharing it with him. The crackling fire kept me company until he came out of his trance. The sky was a lighter shade of blue now, sun still a couple of hours away. I looked back towards the road, still empty. 

"You've put a lot of thought in these quotes." He said after a while ago breaking my trance. 

"They're not mine. Why would I think on them?" 

"The diary is yours. Whatever is written is what you thought the best. By the choice, I know you've contemplated for every one of them, to decide if they belong or not."

I never realized that. Not surprisingly, yes I've sat for hours deciding which one should go in. He doesn't need to know that. 

"Why do you think I chose this one?" He pointed to the diary and then to the number of choices he had.

"I'd never know what goes in your brain." I said, suddenly feeling conscious of the interest I had raised.

He smiled, didn't answer. The kind of person who waits until you ask, sometimes the habit irritated me, sometimes it feels like the best one. I wan't sure if I wanted to know, so I looked for a change of subject. 

"Which of them did you like the most?"

"Can't choose one, I love them all. I'm never forgetting any of these again. Also I've become a fan of this John Green guy. But I love the others too."

"I'm glad." I smiled. 

"You lost someone close?" He questioned suddenly and I was, of course, taken aback. I looked at him startled and understanding flashed across his face. 

"I didn't mean to be so blunt. I'm sorry."

Surprisingly enough, I wasn't as uncomfortable as I've always been with the heart talks. Not very surprisingly enough, he still looked at me with the expectation of an answer.

"I did. How did you know?"

"I did too. That's why I came here.", his voice changed to the low one again. He no longer was the kid I was seeing moments ago, but a broken man. 

Vulnerable, that's the only word that could've defined him. Even a feather dropping would have broken him into pieces at that moment. And then the smile was back, and the distant look lost as soon as it came in. 

But before he caged himself back, I went to him and sat next to where he was. He kept his head on my shoulder and closed his eyes. It took 120 seconds for his tense shoulders to loose and then he was asleep.