When I First

by KikkoPirate

Brook peered at the small leather-bound journal, sprawled wide open and vulnerable to any wandering eyes, or in this case, sockets that might wish to sneak a peek. "A poem?" He teased the edge of the page with a bony finger, mulling over his own morals of privacy. He probably shouldn't pry...No! He wouldn't!...even if his name was the title of a most curious looking passage...

Brook

When I first caught sight of you, I can honestly admit a flicker of fear entered my heart, though as you boarded our ship with the demeanor of a child and a sense of humor as lousy as Zoro's capability of direction, I couldn't help but smile at your enthusiasm. When I first heard your laughter, as odd and unique as it was, it rang out with such jubilance and life, I could hardly believe you a dead man. When I first laid my hands upon you, upon your battered bones, I remember thinking how small they were as one supported your head, disappearing into that mess of black curls you claim to be your hair, while the other held your hand, barely being able to match the size of your palm. When I first fought by your side, you glanced my way, and while most would have only seen a skeletal facet, impassive and incapable of emotion, I saw your smile, reassuring and radiant like that of the man who forever dwells within your wanted poster. When I first heard you play, not only did I feel the sorrow tinged within the hollow notes your fingers seemed to deliver so deftly, but the joy and bliss which radiated from the memories and voices of all those who had ever come to sing the pirate's melody. When I learned of your past, the fifty years of loneliness, pain, and suffering in which you endured, not long after our departure from Thriller Bark, I cried for your sake, though I am unsure why…