Yearning

• Rebecca Wouters, Grade 10
• Short Story
• 2009

People have a habit of forgetting the obvious. Namely, Me. I can sit in a room full of crowded people, unobserved. And unnoticed and ignored as I am; I watch. And listen. And learn.

I watch as people work.

I listen as people gossip.

Bit I look closer, at the little things that slip by.

I watch the little frown that graces her face, speaking her unhappiness, though she’ll not say a word of it. I watch the twitch that runs through his finger, as he restrains himself, resisting the urge to start a fight.

But mostly…I watch you.

I watch you as you work. The way you frown of concentration as you work something out. The triumphant smile that spreads across your face when you have solved the puzzle.

I watch you as you chat amongst friends. The smile you smile though I know you are screaming in frustration inside. The way you politely laugh at the jokes they tell, though they just aren’t that funny.

I watch those rare moments when you smile a genuine smile. I wish I know what put that on your face, so I would do it a thousand times over. I would do anything to see you smile like that.

I wish I could approach you, though I wouldn’t know what to say. I wish I could just touch you, caress you, even to just hold your hand. Yo tuck a piece of hair that has fallen astray behind your ear. To pat your back while your team mates cheer.

You are more beautiful than I can say. Your hair, your skin, you are beautiful in every way. But what I think is the best, the part that tops your beauty off, is your eyes. You glance at me, unintentionally, and your eyes meed, just for a brief moment. I could stare into your eyes all day, drowning in their depths.

But you and I shall never meet. You are far too beautiful and I too plain. You are a Goddess and I a worshipper. Both of us living in two different worlds and never the two shall meet.

But I shall still watch…

…and hope.

…and dream.

Of a life that will never be.