Summer Just Within Reach

[Semi-autobiographical and realistic, no melodramatic angst, dual perspectives, based on true experiences]

Our parents always said, “Wait until college to start dating. You’ll meet someone more worthwhile then.” So I listened and waited, tucking every flutter of my heart away in a drawer, like letters I would never send.

But when I finally stepped onto a college campus, I realized

People flowed past me, their eyes clear and empty, devoid of anything at all.

Suddenly, I thought of the girl from middle school, and that indescribable glimmer in her eyes.

It wasn’t a light. It was the seven o’clock morning sun slanting through the window, the curve of her lashes as she looked back, the moment the whole world fell out of focus as I stole a glance at her.

It turned out that glimmer had never been in her eyes.

It was in mine, that midsummer…