He remembers the first time he saw her. He had been driving around trying to clear his head after another heated morning with his parents when he saw a park. He got out of the car and found a nice table to sit on. He grabbed a cigarette out of his pocket and set it on the table while he searched for his lighter. The wind blew it right off the table onto the ground. He turned around and reached down picking up it. Fate had turned him toward the other side of the park. He brought it to his mouth and blew the dirt off of it, shrugging before he placed it between his lips. After he lit the end, he sucked in a deep drag, the exhale was what he had needed. His muscles relaxed and he surveyed the area. That's when he saw her. He dropped his bottom jaw, stunned by the beauty before him. His cigarette fell from his lips as he sat froze that way.
She was sitting outside under a willow tree. The sun flowing through the leaves surrounding her in this gentle light. She looked like an angel. Her blonde hair was cascading down her shoulders. Her back up against the tree as her soft hazel eyes were fixated on a novel held in her small, delicate hands. Her tan legs exposed modestly below a knee length white skirt. Every few pages she would pause to write a few notes in her binder that was next to her on the grass. There was a small breeze and her pages began to turn themselves until one ripped free. He ran after it for her. When he had recovered the escapee, He walked back to her and heard her voice for the first time. It was like every word came out as a beautiful music note, forming a song as she spoke.
She had thanked him and called him her knight in shining armor, protecting her English grade from the evil wind. They laughed together and she invited him to sit down and share some fresh fruit with her. He joked with her about doing homework before school started for the year. She just said she like being prepared. He told her to enjoy the last day of summer, as she could finish tomorrow when it was actually assigned.
As they talked, they realized they went to the same school and had quite a bit in common. They just talked for hours under that tree. She was beautiful, but despite what they had in common, He could tell she was out of his league. It was the things they didn't share that made him feel that way. Her perfect family and perfect life v.s. His screwed up family and checkered past. As the day went on their friendly conversation deepened. She just made him feel so comfortable that things just started pouring out. He told her everything about his family and his past. He could believe it when she opened up and revealed that her life wasn't so perfect either. But she didn't challenge his life, she was just sharing her demons with him. He felt like he had met his soul mate and started to feel a connection with her that he couldn't put into words. It was when the sun started to set that he realized they never even introduced themselves.
"I just realized I never told you my name and you never told me yours" he had said to her
She smiled and laughed. "It's-"
"Emma!" a voice had yelled in the distance. They both turned and as a male rushed over to them.
The male kissed her softly and said "Emma we're really late! I've been trying to find you for almost an hour."
"Oh, my god! Sean!" She said looking at her watch "I'm so sorry! I lost track of the time." She scrambled to get her things together and Sean helped her. Then just like that they ran.
When they had made it about ten feet, Sean asked her who she was talking to. She spun around, she had forgotten to say goodbye. But when she looked back at the tree, no one was there.
"You know, I didn't even catch his name." She said
"Should I be jealous?" Sean had asked
"No, He was just a stranger who grabbed my paper that had blow away. He was no one." And with that she kissed him again, grabbed his hand and started to run again.
