|| ɴᴏᴛ ᴇᴅɪᴛᴇᴅ ||

The cerulean sky blanketed the day as everyone rushed onwards with their daily chores. For Elizabeth, watching the sky had always been therapeutic. The horizon would stretch beyond the human gaze. How small were we when compared to the infinite sky? One would simply not know. 

Yet, we loved to imagine, to dream how endless the universe was. Whilst the inner gravity ground Earth, the universe was an all-flowing colossal. There was no stopping to the sky above us. 

We chased and chased until we reached the end of our time, but the sky above us never reached its end. It was timeless. 

Elizabeth was leaning against a tree and looking at the clouds slowly drifting in motion, and for a quiet second, she wished to be one of those clouds and drift away. But sadly, she realized her flesh and bones were a reminder that her human body could never transform into a gaseous state, at least while she was alive and breathing.

"Such a shame," she mumbled mournfully. 

"What is?" a voice spoke behind her, and Elizabeth flinched. Her heart beat wildly against her chest as fear clawed its way into her veins. 

She turned around and looked at the person observing her. His eyes held an inquisitive stare. 

"Uh-um, nothing," Elizabeth spoke softly, yet her voice held a certain sternness, not knowing when this stranger would become someone she'd need to run from. 

"Alright," He shrugged, and then suddenly, a small smile made its way onto his lips, and briefly, Elizabeth noted how handsome he looked with that smile. 

Before Elizabeth could speak further, the boy started introducing himself. "I am Ethan, by the way, and you are?" 

His eyes brightened in a way that reminded Elizabeth of a warm sunny day where everything inclined to be perfectly all right. This unnerved her a little, but she shrugged it off. No one should know how one feels inside, always.

"You do know you're a stranger, right?" Ethan's grin widened more. Elizabeth chose to ignore it and continue. "Why will I tell you, my name?" 

Ethan beamed at Elizabeth and shrugged once again. "Yes, but so are you, and I told you my name."

"I never asked you to," Elizabeth looked at Ethan pointedly. Ethan nodded while placing his hands in his pockets and leaned on the tree where she was leaning moments before he had rudely disrupted her peace.

The thought almost made Elizabeth pout. Almost. 

"I wanted to. You can either tell me your name, or maybe a fake name? Something to call you by." Elizabeth stood silently for a few seconds, observing the stranger who was standing in front of her.

He was tall, probably around 6'1 or 6'2 feet. Eizabeth's eyes trailed down from his neatly styled raven hair to his bright blue eyes, almost resembling the sky she had been busy watching moments before. His cheekbones lacked a fully defined or chiseled appearance; instead, they looked gentle. A look which heavily suited him, Elizabeth concluded. 

His body was lean with muscular shoulders and an overall fit appearance. Elizabeth tilted her head to one side, almost unconsciously, and wondered how a guy could look so clean and approachable. Or was her mind playing tricks on her?

"I feel objectified right now," Ethan spoke teasingly, but Elizabeth felt her cheeks heat up in embarrassment. To save herself, she blurted out the first thing that came to her mind. "You look really approachable. It surprised me."

Elizabeth could not help but slap her forehead, knowing she embarrassed herself more with what she said. A deep laugh made her look in front of her, and Ethan, for his part, was half leaning and half falling off the tree, laughing hysterically. 

Elizabeth looked lost at Ethan as he kept on laughing, and her lips betrayed her and twitched into a small smile. Elizabeth noticed how his smile was like warm morning coffee, earthy and filled with a rich aroma of life, adding a touch of refreshment to her moments. 

"Are you done?" Elizabeth asked, a small smile on her lips. She was still weary of this person, but she could not help but want to have a conversation with him.

She looked at Ethan, who stopped for a second and raised his left hand, motioning for Elizabeth to wait for a few seconds, while his other hand clutched his stomach.

His very toned stomach. 

Elizabeth quickly looked up and hoped that he did not notice how she had ogled him and waited for Ethan to control his breathing.

"Here I thought, you would have given some excuse like, 'No, I was not watching!'" Ethan spoke and Elizabeth smiled, although the smile was still present on her face.

"What is the point of lying?" In response, Ethan nodded and stepped a little closer, but left enough space between them, respecting her personal space. 

"So, name?" 

Elizabeth could not help but give in. "It's Beth. Nice meeting you, Ethan." 

Ethan smiled again, a small smile lighting his features, "Nice meeting you too, Beth," but before Elizabeth could say anything else he spoke up again, "Let's hope we can be friends till the day you feel comfortable enough to tell me your full name."

Elizabeth, who was leaning against the tree, stood up straight and raised her eyebrows. "But this is my name, Ethan."

Ethan furrowed his eyebrows as if she had told him something unacceptable. "You don't look like Beth." A laugh bubbled out of Elizabeth for no reason, and she wondered why she kept on laughing in front of him.

"Maybe, but unfortunately, that is my name." Ethan still looked unsure but nodded regardless. "Alright, Beth, I believe you."

Elizabeth gave him a small smile and leaned back on the tree again, looking at the sky again. For a brief moment, she pondered if Ethan had believed her, but then why would not he? 

If not, believe the words that laid on one's tongue, what was one to believe?

Diamonds were a girl's best friend, but how often would a girl like a diamond in their purest form? None. The layers of skin blanketed over us where everyone saw what protected us from the storm that always brewed outside. But that skin was never who we were, or maybe we were those layers.

After all, that was a part of us too, as much as the broken pieces of imperfection inside us were. It was a thoroughly interesting ideology, in which Elizabeth had often found herself lost.

The guy was a momentary distraction for Elizabeth, but distractions were temporary. When it leaves, everything returns to as it was, but sometimes with vengeance. 

The breeze flew against Elizabeth, her hair flying with the current, and it was the wind dancing against her cheeks that reminded her of the person who had been beside her.

But when she looked towards the place where he had been standing, no one was there. Except a small note attached to the bark of the tree with a small pin. 

A small push pin. Elizabeth did not know what to feel or think. She scrunched her nose and spoke in a mere whisper, "People carry push pins with them?"

Nonetheless, she walked towards the note and a small laugh bubbled out of her throat. There on the piece of paper was a 10-digit number and four words.

"If you wish, call,

    - Ethan"