The lamp. Charcoal black, standing still towards the back of the field. The sky. A calm gray, covering the world around. The grass. Covered in white flakes of snow, piled up in a symmetrical manner. Footprints melt their way into the grooves of the grass. Me. Laying on said snow, on said grass, gazing up at the sky with my back to the lamp. Life comes to a standstill when I lay here. Life is perfect when I lay here. Life is…
“Crystal!” A voice shouts from a distance. I internally groan. Perfect, washed away at the drop of a shout. I intend to ignore the voice, but it repeats. “Crystal!” I don’t give them any attention. Hearing the footsteps grow louder and louder by the minute, I close my eyes and cover my ears, as if to erase the person’s existence from my mind. Suddenly, I feel a tap tap tap on my shoulder. My eyes pry open, and my ears become uncovered.
“What?” I sneer, not glancing at the person.
“What are you doing out here? It’s 4:00 pm, in the middle of winter,” the person questions.
I shrug in response.
“What, are you not going to answer me?” the person demands.
“What do you want, Kahlen?” I shout, echoing my voice across the lands.
“I want you to not be mad at me,” they murmur, dropping to sit beside me.
“Well, I want to be left alone,” I say, turning away from Kahlen as they glance at my hair.
“Look,” they start.
“Don’t even,” I interrupt.
“I’ve been trying to get a hold of you. I’ve been showing up outside your window on your front lawn every night.”
“That’s not my room anymore,” I whisper.
“What? Since when?” Kahlen glares at me.
“Since forever ago.” I shrug.
“Why?” they ask, keeping up their glare.
I turn my head to the side, desperately trying to ignore their question.
“Crystal, why’d you switch rooms?” they repeat.
“Why does it matter?” I shout, finally having enough of Kahlen’s chit-chat. “Why are you here?”
“I…” Kahlen starts.
“I didn’t ask you to be here! In fact, I don’t want you here. I never wanted you here!” I scream right in their face, smoke practically steaming from my ears. Tears flood in my eyes, threatening to let loose.
I can’t give Kahlen the satisfaction of seeing me cry. Not now. Not ever.
“You did want me here,” Kahlen remarks.
“That was until you rejected me.” I keep my gaze fixed on an evergreen tree in front of us. Who knew evergreens could be so fascinating? Their pointy emerald leaves, sharp tips, candle-like smell…
“Crystal,” Kahlen starts again. “What do you want me to say? ‘I’m sorry for not liking you’?”
“No. I just want you to leave. Me. Alone,” I state, annunciating every syllable.
“Well I guess you don’t care about what I want,” they sneer.
“Huh?”
“I want us to be friends!” they shout.
“We can never be friends,” I remark, keeping my gaze fixed on the evergreen. Why are evergreen trees so tall? Some reach nearly 50 feet. Maybe that’s exaggerating.
“We were friends,” Kahlen says as they thrust their hands out.
“Never again,” I shudder, slowly backing away from them until I break into a sprint, running towards my house.
Running away just like before.