Sing for the Moment

The first time you met her, her smile was brighter than the sun. She was so full of innocence and confidence and you, in your equally innocent state of being, never realized that smile would break your heart one day. You were too interested in watching the specks of dust dance in the sunbeams with her as she hummed a song you knew all too well.

Somewhere out there...

She was yours and you were hers from that moment on. You would make her laugh and she would sing the songs you could never put words to. When things went wrong, you offered what little you could to make take her pain away. If you ever needed anything, she gave it without a second thought. There was just something about her – something about you.

There's something about us...

It was like living in a Wonderland. She was the dreamer and you were the dream come true, the missing piece that made her complete. Of course, you never expected your pretty little dreamer to one day wake up. The one thing you were sure would last forever ended far too soon. You never saw the end coming until it was too late, until she was beyond your reach and growing up and out of the phase of her life where she actually needed you.

There's someone reaching back for me...

You were both kids then. Stupid, foolish children who liked to play pretend, thinking they could touch the sky if they reached high enough. However, you understood not long after she left you that the heavens weren't yours to grasp, but that was alright. You didn't want the sky, you just wanted her – and even if she didn't notice you, you were there. Always watching, simply waiting.

Don't forget about us...

You lingered in the back of her mind, a fleeting memory that surfaced rarely. She would still sing your song and she'd smile while doing it. She didn't know why she smiled, but you did. She avoided looking at pictures of you, telling herself what was passed should not have been dwelt on, that she was too old for the likes of you anymore. But that wasn't true. She was afraid you'd come back and she was afraid she'd love you more than ever.

It's easier to be broken...

She grew into a young woman and when you were suddenly caught in her line of sight for the first time in fifteen years, she just stared. She didn't smile the way you thought she would, but then again, Little Miss Sunshine wasn't five years old anymore. The smile she gave you was weak and forced. She started to shake and you weren't sure if it was out of rage or joy, but she started to quiver like a cornered mouse in front of your meager presence. You found it amusing and her awestruck, wide-eyed gaze narrowed into a glare you can tell she had practiced too often as a defense mechanism after you boldly laughed at her.

“Yeah, I missed you, too,” you said with a smirk and her glare melted into something soft and kind and familiar. You swore you saw her eyes glaze over with tears she couldn't bear to shed in front of you now, but then she smiled at you. It wasn't so forced, and wasn't that sunlight smile she used to wear so well, but you could see a little ray of light sparkling in her eyes, and you knew it was shining just for you.

It's all coming back to me now...

Now you're not quite sure how long you've been sitting here in the dark with her, but the silence is killing you. You can remember a time when getting her to shut up was the trick, but it seems now she doesn't even speak on command. That just won't do.

“Hey,” you say, and her attention is all yours, just like that. “I got an idea.” You love that look on her face, the one that says she doesn't trust whatever it is you're planning. She never did, even when you were kids.

“Ok. What is it?” Her voice is quiet and unsure.

I'm patching up the holes...

“Why don'tcha sing with me?”

And she's on her feet in less than a second, backing away from you until she's able to sit on her bed, shaking her head. “No way.”

“Why not? We used to all the time.”

“That was then,” she says and you can see a blush on her cheeks. “This is now.”

You chuckle. “Don't tell me you're shy.”

“I've always been shy, you know that.”

You fist your hands on your hips and cant your head to the side. “Not with me you weren't.” You make your way over to her and sit with her. “Come on. We did it all the time.”

“We were kids.”

“So what?”

“So...” She fights to find a way out of the corner you're backing her into.

“So, quit bein' a baby and just do it already.” There's that glare again, that see-through mask of hers. She sighs and runs a hand over her face. Her mouth opens and the sweetest sounds roll off her tongue because she can't deny you. She never could. She sings your song – but it's not just for you this time, it's for the two of you.

Somewhere out there...

-End