~

     I had taken a seat in the chair at the end of the table, my eyes instantly darting to yours as I couldn't hold the temptation back for any longer. The other family members varied from race and ethnicity, young and old, blue-eyed and dark-eyed. But your eyes, they were as bright and friendly as the final day of spring, where all nature was lively, colorful, and finished in its phases of blooming. They were kind and beautiful, far from mine, the bland hue of chocolate spread commonly in most of us.  And with that observation, I noticed you had always been an undeniable outsider among the other house occupants, as well as quiet, introverted, and utterly mysterious.

     Which is what I found most interesting most about you.

     In the very moment you managed to slip away, whilst the others chattered and smothered their mouths in the despicably unhealthy desert, I noticed the quickest of glances you'd shot me in a while.  And your eyes meeting mine, well...

     It was beautiful.

     Hoping I could go just as unseen as you had, I tried standing to experiment how the family would react.  Fortunately, they payed me no mind, and carried on with yet another blabbering over my brother's brilliant school performance or my sister's achievements within playing basketball.  Either way, I wouldn't have cared; as did they to me.

     I knew your favorite place of comfort was the graveyard out back.  Your diary had mentioned the peace and tranquility it brought you as a lonely child, and that you still felt like it was a ritualized ideal to lay down on your mother's grave and just write for countless hours in the coolness of the woods... until supper time, of course.

     But here is where I become aware of my wrongdoings.  Because at this time, I'm tiptoeing out onto the damp forest floor, debating whether or not to approach you.  Sure enough, you were there, humming an old nursery rhyme to yourself, completely oblivious to the soil beneath you unknowingly and desperately pulling at your bones through your thin, pale-white skin, clawing and dragging you as far as your soul would allow in a hopeless attempt to set you free, free and away from the misery of your dark, lonesome and internally painful, unloved life.  The sun had fallen moments ago, yet a dim layer of light still hid somewhere above the clouds, asking if you wanted to stay alive.  In hopes to affect your decision, I walked over and laid down next to you.

     Your head turned, and I looked right up ahead through the dark trees and confused emotions churning the dying sky.

     You said not a word, but instead stood up, looking down into my eyes.

     "Why?"

     "Why?"  I echoed, staring up at him.  "Because you deserve to live your life."

     You were silent for many moments, and then spoke one final time. 

     "Will you walk with me?"

     I smiled, standing up.  "Of course."

~