Company

"You are so beautiful." The words only travel to the tip of my tongue. They wouldn't leave my lips. I suppose I'll always be the shy guy that just blends into the surroundings. But, she is so beautiful. Her flowing hair resembles a hazel mountain spring. Her eyes are ponds of utter perfection, ponds I could dive into and live out the rest of my sad life. Her face is the definition of flawless and her smile, the sun on a rainy day. Her smile is the ray that pierces the storm transforming the crepuscular scene into a sunshine sanctuary. Oddly, though her beauty crosses all boundaries known to me, she rarely smiles. Her days are spent under a sycamore tree, caressing veins of fallen leaves and watching the wind possess the grass. She has earbuds in her ears and nods her head to the beat of the drums. There is no one with her today. There hardly ever is. I must have moved in her peripheral vision because she pulls out her earbuds and lets her eyes range the compound. She spots me several yards away.

“Hi stranger.” She says in a musical soprano.

I emerge from my quiet spot. “Hi.” I almost stutter on the two letter word.

She smiles as if sensing my unsureness. “You’re away from everyone else.” She gestures to the crowd of people gathered at the cafeteria.

“Don’t like crowds.” I simply say, shoving my hands in my pockets.

“Same here.” She says. She pats the grass beside her. “Last I checked, two is company.”

I give her a wistful smile and comply.