The sun shone dimly above them and the sky turned into a palette of colors. The clouds began to dissolve into the sky and the stars peaked out from under it. Her hair danced with the soft wind as his fingers slipped through it. As she stared into his deep green eyes he held her face and whispered softly “I love you…” A great silence followed those three words. That was the first time in a long time she had heard them. She smiled under his shadow and in soft sincere tone she replied “I know.”

She was a country girl and her name was May. She grew up in a town with the population of 2,003 beings. It was a small town. Her mom worked double shift at the local supermarket. After work she would usually go down to the bar up the street and wouldn’t come home till four in the morning. May rarely saw much of her mom. It had been this way since her dad ran off with some twenty year old super model that he met at work. May was in high school. Almost done with it too. She planned to move into some big city and leave this place to exist only in her memories, but even that didn’t seem good enough. She had a boyfriend, his name was Tom. He hit her occasionally, leaving bruises of blue, black and green on her face and legs. She didn’t do anything because nobody cared. Not in that town.
He was a city boy and his name was James. He grew up in the big city of New York. Population: Eight million. His father was a big time lawyer and his mother was working full time at the hospital. He rarely saw much of them either, not because they didn’t want to, just because they weren’t around. Once James got into the top school in Manhatten, they all suddenly became too busy to be a family. He had a big group of friends who partied one too many times. James often felt alone and displaced from everyone around him. At night when he got lonely, he would go for a walk. He had no destination but always found himself in the same spot every night. The cemetery. Where his little sister was. “Will be missed by Mommy, Daddy, and Bubba Jay” engraved on a stone above the ground. This angered him. His parents didn’t care about Amy. They had no right to put their name on there. They didn’t deserve her. He sat down and cried. That’s all he could do. But he didn’t tell anyone how he felt because nobody cared. Not in that city.
May became tired of her life. She didn’t want to “just be” anymore. After school was over, she packed her bags and was ready to leave for good. It was sad for her to see that her entire life, everything that mattered, fit into one faded floral suitcase. She stopped by her mother’s room and there she was. Asleep at three in the afternoon. May left a seashell on her nightstand. Her mother had given her this when she was eleven. It was a reminder to her that maybe one day things would go back to the way they were, but they never did. Not for May anyways. Maybe if she left it for her mother, she could find hope with it, maybe even happiness. May closed her front door for the last time and headed to the train station to find a new door.
James was on summer break. His friends had been planning a trip out to Europe and urged James to go. Three hours before they had to leave and he was still undecided. His parents hadn’t been home much this week. He figured if he left, they wouldn’t even notice he was gone. He packed his bags and was ready to go. But he wanted to go and talk to Amy before he left. He wasn’t sure he would come back this time. The day got darker and James was still with Amy. His alarm went off, warning him that in twenty minutes he is supposed to be on that train with his friends but he couldn’t find it in his heart to leave Amy. He was all she had left. A cool breeze swept across his face, and for one moment he felt her there beside him. Telling him it would be okay. He stood up and said what would be his last goodbye. He reached the station right on time but his friends had already gotten their seats. He searched the train for an open seat and found one in the corner. He walked slowly, debating in each step if he should run out of that train and go home as if nothing happened. He sat down. Beside him was a girl who had a look he would never forget. She looked broken. And her name was May.
TO BE CONTINUED.