Epiphany

A very short story

Ten minutes into my lunch hour, I was almost running out of the school. The welcoming cool air of spring was ignored as I pulled my bag over my shoulder and shoved the door open; getting home was the only thing on my mind. On the way out I saw him; he greeted me with no more than a short nod. That’s fine with me, I thought. The less I talk with him the less awkward I have to feel about what happened. When I walked out the door, I heard him laugh, and turned my head to see him following some girl up the stairs. I frowned. You would never know that just two days ago he broke up with the girl he apparently loved.

The sidewalk was filled with people and their baby strollers and walked dogs. They were taking advantage of today, no doubt; it was the first decent day of spring. More obstacles between me and my apartment. I somehow always managed to get stuck behind the slowest people on the street when I had a time restraint; this time it was a younger couple clinging together. They weaved back and forth across the sidewalk like a disoriented bumblebee looking for its hive. I managed to get past them and continued at my full speed again.

I finally reached my door and found it unlocked. Walking inside, I heard music playing from my living room and shut the door behind me. I crept down the hall, thinking of what to say, and as I reached the doorway I saw her, curled up in a ball on my couch. The TV showed a picture of some famous singer with his name and the playing song’s title. She looked up as I came in.

“Hi,” I said.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, sniffling. Her eyes were green pools and her cheeks reflected the sunlight from the window. She looked pretty even when she was upset.

“Well…I do live here,” I said, giving her a small smile.

“But it’s your lunch hour. You should be eating.”

“I wanted to see how you were doing.” I looked at the TV again and shifted my weight. “You seemed pretty upset when I talked to you last.” She looked at the TV too. The song faded out and there was a moment of silence before the next song started playing. “How are you listening to music?”

“Your cable has music channels that just play songs all day.”

“Oh.” I sat down next to her and placed my bag on the floor. She uncurled and sat up, rubbing her eyes with her sleeve. I watched the TV for a while not knowing what to do. She seemed embarrassed that I had seen her upset, as if she thought me seeing her vulnerable would somehow sway my opinion of her.

“You know you can talk to me if you want,” I said, looking at her. She looked back, sniffling again.

“I know.” She smiled, just for a second. It flashed on her face and was gone, but I saw it. I guess that was all she needed for now, to know that someone was there for her. She seemed content with just sitting and watching pictures of the artists pop up on the screen.

So I stayed there, sitting next to her, watching and listening with her for as long as I could until I had to walk back to class. The fact that she was able to hold it together when I was around intrigued me. She seems so much stronger than me, I thought. I would be a complete mess even with other people around.

I thought about her for the rest of the day. I pictured her curled up in a ball, crying alone on my couch, and I ached for class to end. I wanted nothing more than to hold her in my arms and tell her that everything would be alright and let her know that someone loved her.