And so we may follow a stranger home, no words spoken, just creeping into the night. And so we may walk some lonely streets and climb some empty stairs to their living room or bedroom in a house where everyone is asleep. And so we may act on the heat that still swells within. That dancing keeps us warm and warm through the night.
...
There was once a boy that sat on a cliff and watched the horizon. Below him was a girl he liked dearly, and she liked him too. But he wasn't there with her, he was up above sitting there in the red sand and looking off. She was with another boy and that boy was the boy on the cliff's best friend. They were in a shack kissing and touching. She would stop every once in a while and yell up at that boy who sat on the cliff made of red sand. She would say things like, "What are you doing up there? Why don't you come join us? You look so lonely up there, come down." The boy would sometimes look down and give a smile. He felt very strong when he did muster the strength to look down and just smile. He knew his heart gained a sharp pain as soon as the thought of her, what she was doing, and how alone he felt, but he tried very hard to keep that pain away. He was always lost in his thoughts and perhaps it was because in his thoughts he was able to escape that moment, that feeling of being alone, and believe that he was no longer in some small and forgotten town in the middle of nowhere in a state that some people didn't even know exist. And in his thoughts he was able to gain in something else, something that he felt made him make up for the fact that he wasn't down there with that girl, kissing her, maybe even touching her.
This isn't supposed to be a sad story. That boy who sat at the cliff does not grow to be a sad person who has to lose himself in his thoughts in order to cope with the reality of his life. That boy eventually grows older and though he can never escape that company of loneliness he stops pushing it away as if it was a stranger, as if it wasn't a part of him. And over the years he grows peaceful and eventually even content. There is heartbreak and many sad stories that come and then go. Some linger for longer and some even define him. But to spite all of this he learns what true love is.
It has been months. It is now a new year. He and this girl have been through many beautiful moments and have felt many wonderful things. There has been a lot of sleepless nights, lot of frustration, and cracks at sanity as well. There was something he realized in an eureka moment. His heart has been speaking so loudly to him lately and he has been a good listener. What his heart said stopped him in his tracks like hitting a brick wall at full pace. He needed to see her, he needed to tell her. But it would be days before he can. And so his mind was in one place. Thinking about one thing. There are many feelings and even more words he needed to say. He decided there was no way to say it right and so he wrote it down in a letter. He typed away and beat at those keys of an old typewriter. His fingers weren't unable to keep up with his heart. Words almost fell off the page until it felt done. And so he finished and finished with the line, "...and now it is time to put this paper down and for me to say the rest."
There was a pause, he knew it was time, but that boy on the cliff, that red sand, that nowhere place, were suddenly in the room with him.
When he said those words he wished he was suddenly alone. That she was not there in front of him. And that there wasn't that look on her face that was neither confused, frustrated, mad, happy, relaxed, but somewhere between not-sure-of-what-to-say and sad without being sad. That something stirred within her, something that felt wonderful at that the same time made her feel guilty. One tear fell, eyes were locked and what felt like hours went by. Those were the hardest words said. Those were the hardest words said. But they were said.
It didn't matter what happened next. What she said or didn't say in response, it wasn't important. He just needed to say how he felt. That he was no longer sitting at that cliff, looking off, lost in his thoughts, looking down, and seeing love, seeing something he couldn't have. That wasn't him, he was down in the valley, looking straight at her, and told her exactly how he felt. That was enough for him.
This is where you come into this story. Perhaps I'm not the best with words, that sometimes what I want to say I can't figure out how to say it without it sounding wrong, without it asking for a response, or asking for too much. It may seem like only a few weeks have gone by, that we have learned about each other, and have had a few first steps into friendship. But I have learned so much about myself in such a short period of time. That you woke something up in me. You have inspired me more than I allow you to realize. That your presence is and has been one of the most refreshing and rewarding experiences I've had with someone in a long time. That your acceptance, your kindness, and what you share, and learning of how hard you work for what you believe in has touched me. I am working harder, I am learning how to accept others better as well as myself. I have a fire within me.
There have been many things that I have kept to myself, that I thought I had forgotten but have always been there that you have helped me realize. And not only did I realize they were there I was able to accept them, share them, and that you were there to listen. I am never content with just saying thank you, that I come from a house where if someone does something for you you do it back and you give them no choice. That I need to return the favor, that I want you to realize that I am here as well.
...
Now the sun is setting and the girl and the boy below take off. The boy sitting on the cliff looks off and sees something that never gets old, that is always beautiful, that no words can dear describe, that is absolutely everything, and that can calm the saddest of hearts, the loneliest of loneliest, and take it all away in its presence...
(Again, this time with more enthusiasm) Shine on.
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