Going to town is a treat because there are not many people that live close to our house. The ride to town is a very short one. It was the mothers' turn with the radio today. The twangy, soft, melty love song floats around the car as we watch the trees go by. A man's voice as smooth as honey for my mom and Ms. Cora to swoon to. Nothing but trees and road pass us on the way to town. Long tangly gray moss swaying in the breeze, dangling from the old majestic crooked oaks, mesmerizes me, and then I see him.
He stands out from the green shades of the landscape like the sun lighting up that shiny coin in my shoe. There he is. His blonde curls reflect the sun like the ocean reflects a sunrise. He looks right into my eyes and holds them until our car passes by him. That familiar sensation grips me, only this time it is all flutter, no fear. His clear eyes pierce my soul and rouse the butterflies in my stomach.
Who is he? Why does he look at me like that? Why have I never seen him before?
Reeling from the encounter, I guess I was smiling because Clem notices.
"Auri, what are you doing? Why are you smiling like that?"
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Crossed Stars | J.C. Blow
A little embarrassed by my display, I play it off. "What? Like what?"
I do not want to mention him to my mother. The stabbing, painful memory attached to any detail connected to the day I went into the water leads my mind to an image of my mother's soaked eyes and her desperate pleas for my life. The dark emotion created in that moment floods into my head right after the image leaning over me plays. Anything about that day must not be mentioned. Not to her. So I sit, and enjoy the thoughts of him looking at me, and the warm sensations pulsing like electricity through my insides as a result of this eye contact.