Marco's P.O.V.- (Seven Years Ago)
"Come on, bro. She's not worth it." "Yes, she is."
When did I realize that there was this something special to Elle? It was back when we were in high school, just before the kissing booth happened in senior year right after the dance competition.
School was supposed to go out for the long weekend; it was Thanksgiving weekend. Late that Friday afternoon, I was climbing the school stairs right before the last bell rang. I turned a corner into the long, narrow hallway. Despite it being November, some of the windows were open, letting a few pink flower petals float on in. Halfway down the hall, I paused to stare out one of the windows at nothing in particular. The breeze just felt so good and I was in no hurry to get anywhere.
A sudden bump caught me off guard. Mildly curious and thinking I wasn't the only one up here- I would be surprised if I wasn't, considering I come here to practice my music- I softly tiptoed over to the classroom where the noise came from. Discreetly, I peered inside, only for my eyes to progressively light up.
Elle! She was inside there alone like that. Standing by an open window, she was propped up against it and looking outside. My heart dropped at the sight of silent tears dripping down her face. Oh, that's right; I slowly began to remember. She's been having some trouble with her boyfriend recently. Bet he'll be coming home for Thanksgiving…. That'll be awkward. Thinking about it made this steel bar coil tight around my heart. Elle….. Something told me this wouldn't be a relaxing long weekend for her.
Still oblivious to my presence, Elle wiped her eyes with the side of her hand. She let a sigh and dug out her phone. I listened as she put on this pop song I couldn't be bothered to know the name of. I guess she was listening to music to drown her sorrows in; I could relate. This didn't surprise me. What did surprise me when her suddenly shaking her head and snatching her phone back up. "Oh, who am I kidding?" She spat. Then the melody coming off her mobile device wasn't pop music but Smetana's "The Moldau". Wait, she knows this song? And what's more, she listens to classical music? But it was a pleasant surprise to say the least. I knew she was deep- a lot deeper than people gave her credit for, I'm sure.
I watched Elle like that for I'm not sure how long. It must have not been that long, since the bell interrupted us soon enough. But for those few seconds….. those few precious seconds…. Both of us wordlessly listened to the music, my eyes growing wide as tears swelled up in hers once more. Elle….. That steel bar coiled ever so tighter. The longer I watched her, something started coming over me.
Elle…. This beautiful woman; this beautiful, beautiful woman. I always thought she was gorgeous, but for the first time, I was beginning to realize why. Just look at her. She's the kind of person you can look at and watch, and just learn so much from. Without even trying, she conveyed so much to me. Behind those shining brown eyes of hers was this deep ocean, spanning miles below the surface. You could dive into her, and spend an eternity exploring the depths of her soul.
She had such passion about her, such life. I knew right then that no ordinary life would be for her. No, she was made for such bigger, greater things. She's the type of girl who will travel and make a difference to the collective human consciousness. She, unlike so many of us, would really live. I could see all that just by looking at her now. Those few precious seconds taught me so, so much…
And I never, ever saw that in another person- let alone a girl- again.
I watched Elle and had to remind myself to breathe. Yes, I knew her; she reminded me so much of myself. Even more of myself than me…. She's meant to be free, like a butterfly or the fleeting tide. She is no bird meant to be caged; she is no flower planted to the ground. Freedom became her more than anyone I'd ever seen. I knew her…. I never realized it before but I unconsciously knew from the first moment I saw her. She showed me that just now; she proved it to me. And she could not help it. Everything about her betrayed herself; there has not been a movement- not one single movement which has not. A pace, a glance, a turn of the head, even the flash of her throat as she breathed. They were all my spies. They revealed her to me, and I could not look away.
"I'm the one who's impressed here, Elle. But then, I knew I would be." "H-How's that?" I leaned back in his chair with this wistful glint in my eyes. "I could tell, back when we met in high school. I've always been able to tell about people; it's a gift…. And from the first moment I saw you, I knew." "Knew what?" Her eyebrow raised slightly. My smile grew in its edges. "That you were in for an extraordinary life. And looks like my assumptions were right. How many graduates from our class are traversing the world, researching and adding to the vast body of human knowledge?" "Haha, that sounds really cheesy," She giggled. My eyes lowered onto her. "Heh, cheesy but true. Most girls back home are married and living fairly basic lives. But here you are, in South Korea working on a PhD thesis. Yeah, I was right; you proved me right."
Those brief minutes profoundly changed me. I never looked at anyone the same way again. I was always looking beyond what they presented to me, subconsciously searching for that depth. And while I have met some very brilliant people before, I never got that same feeling from when I watched Elle that one afternoon. Watching her breathlessly, my hand raised up to my pounding chest. My muscles felt all tight and tense all of a sudden. My heart was racing, and it didn't slow down. I couldn't calm down…. And I had no choice but to get used to it- especially whenever I looked at her. Yes, she's freedom in carnage; she's everything I want to be, everything I admire….. everything I could see myself loving.
Even though Elle and I spent such a short amount of time together, it has made me all the better knowing her. It has made me wiser, and easier, and brighter. That's what being so near her does to you.
Elle's the type of girl that when she looks at you, you change.