Lost

It was a quiet day in a quiet life. Grey skies stretched overhead, and a cool drizzle fell onto the warm earth, absorbed thirstily by the parched ground. The sun was hidden, but a small portion of the sky was lighter than the rest, giving reassurance that it would appear again, when the rain stopped falling. A tall tree spread out its branches, almost leaning forward to catch a few of the small drops. Under one of its lower branches, a silent figure sat, a teenager of no more than seventeen years, clutching onto a small fragment of paper, an envelope crumpled at his side. His soft brown eyes stared at the solitary word written there, reading it again and again, his face distorted with sorrow and love.

"Goodbye."

The note crumpled in hand as he rose, his eyes now staring desperately, his bare feet leaping forward in panic, and he screamed just one word, over and over.

"Nooo!"

"Why not?! What's your problem geek-butt?" The group of guys who loved targeting the weak were surrounding the unpopular kid, cornering him in beside a few lockers. Jovan sighed as he walked passed, wishing that he could do something about it. He turned around his last corner, just before the exit, when he saw her. She was walking towards him, and he wondered what was up. It wasn't that it was something new, but these past few days...They met in the middle of the corridor, and for a few moments, neither spoke, they just looked at each other's eyes. It was kind of a tradition of theirs, they had always been able to tell what the other wanted, just in the first few moments. He was scared by what he saw, the pain and...something else he couldn't quite get a grasp on. It made his stomach turn, though. He finally knew it had been a mistake not to talk to her, even if it had been only three days. She knew that he saw it, and she lowered her gaze, and started fumbling in her purse, whispering something about a note. He forgot about his fear, and his heart started to race with expectation, hoping against all hope...She passed him an envelope, decorated with silver stars and ridiculous caricatures. Her face smiled at him, her lips parting very slightly, and she told him to wait, to open it under their tree, the one that they had claimed as their own just a few months ago. He smiled back at her, and promised that he would. But her eyes...

"Will you remember me?"

They were walking together along an old country road, just the two of them, walking for the sake of walking. The sun's rays stretched lazily across the ground in front of them, and a gentle breeze stirred the branches of the tall trees that stood guard for them as they wandered past. Her hair, long, straight, light-brown hair, rippled as the wind breathed through it. She really was beautiful, her light brown eyes, almost matching his, dancing with a playful spark of happiness and adventure, echoed the joyful spirit that he knew lived in her heart. The question startled him.

"Of course I'll remember you...you're not leaving, are you?"

"No. Not right now, I mean. I don't really know."

"Is there something going on? Is it your family again?"

She turned slightly, facing away from Jovan. He wished he could see her eyes.

"No. My family is cool for now. I'm just...tired, that's all. Not just sleepy, but really tired. Tired of everything. I need something to happen, Jovan, something that will wake me up."

Jovan slowed his pace, and turned towards her, and she turned her head to look at him. Their eyes met, and Jovan almost started crying.

"Tianna, don't." Jovan's voice had an almost unnoticeable tremor. "I need you here. Something will happen, don't worry! Hey, I have an idea." Jovan's voice grew stronger. "Let's sit by this tree, and just wait together. Maybe, just maybe, something will happen while we're there."

She smiled at him, and they sat there together, and talked of many things, of girls and guys, and men and mice, and as they sat, the sun sank beneath the horizon, leaving a streak of orange and pink across the vast canvas of the sky, and the stars arose from their slumber to cast their twinkling light upon the two that sat there, waiting. And as they rose to part ways, a streak of fire lit up the sky above for a brief moment, and they dedicated that tree to their friendship at the same moment, and they felt that the world was at peace with them.

"Tianna, wait!" Jovan's panicked voice echoed across empty fields and silent forests, as he stretched his legs to the max, dirt flying up behind him. His heart pounded in his chest, all the fear that had been growing over the past couple of weeks that he had pushed aside was finally confirmed, and the guilt of it tore him into shreds. He barely even slowed as he reached her driveway, and leaped up the few steps that led into her home. He didn't have time to knock; he knew there would be no one home anyways. Her bedroom door was open, and as he slowed his pace and entered, the first of many tears trickled down his cheek. The letter was there, as he knew it would be, and with trembling hands he unfolded it, and started to read:

"Dear Jovan,

I'm sorry. I had to do this, you know. I was just going to go crazy here, and I didn't want to take you down with me. I really do love him. Whenever I'm around him, he lets me know how much he cares for me, and I know that I'll be happy with him. Please, don't miss me too much. We had so many good times over the past few months. You were the best friend I ever had. You were like a brother to me, and I tried to be a sister to you. Maybe one day, we'll see each other again, and we'll all be happy. Goodbye.

- Tianna"

The tears stained the page as he read it, and somehow, he knew that she wasn't happy, and that she was not ok. He never told her, he never could have, and he knew it was better that he hadn't. But somehow, reason wasn't good enough, and he knew he had lost a treasure, and it had fallen among the swine. He should have held her tighter, helped her better, loved her more. He was on her bed now, her pillow wrapped around his face, and he thought of death. And on a back country road, far away, a car was parked at the side of the road, and unheard screams echoed all around.