When I first saw you, I felt a rush of nostalgia. Memories fluttered in the corners of my mind, out of reach but within eyesight. Perhaps our paths had collided once before, in a different lifetime.
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Before I had even learned your name, I felt a connection to you. You reminded me of a story I had read once, one about plot twists and betrayals. The story also spoke of stars, love, and redemption. I wondered about you then, curious about what fate had planned for us.
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At first, you were only a daydream. You were unattainable, someone I could watch but could never approach. I knew you were here in this world, but you were ethereal in my eyes. This changed, however, when you first spoke to me. The illusion broke, and suddenly you were no longer a fantasy. You were here with me for the first time, for once not otherworldly. Simply just human.
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I remember when I asked you if you believed in physiognomy. I expected you to crack a smile ocean wide and burst into fireworks of laughter. Instead, you fixed your gaze on me, your eyes holding a playful gleam in them. No, not playful. Childish. You answered that you might believe in it. You added that practices like physiognomy should be considered before being judged. 99Please respect copyright.PENANA49R8B5zKAm
Is this true, then, of practices that don’t hold a grain of logic in them? 99Please respect copyright.PENANAySCN3piQfW
Logic is irrelevant. 99Please respect copyright.PENANArUyBZaEgcd
Irrelevant, you say? How curious! You’re a strange one, challenging logic so easily.
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I admire you for it. You remind me of the stars, you know. You shine so brightly, so brilliantly, and yet you’re too far away for me to ever truly reach you.
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When you’re with me, I feel euphoric. Light sparks within me when our hands entwine. Yet, when you let go and leave, it flickers out. I am lonely without you, stuck in a world of monochrome where I stay stagnant. You are the sun, and I am just a moon. While you illuminate the galaxy, I am only a mere reflection of your light. I am nothing without you, and you are everything without me.
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If I were to be a physiognomist and compare your face to that of an animal’s, I would choose the face of a fawn. You have small ears and a long nose, both defining features on your face. A smatter of freckles covers your cheeks, painting a microcosmos upon your skin. Your eyes are like those of a doe, wide and pure. Almost too pure.
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You certainly share the personality of a fawn. You think everything is an oddity, treating each experience as if it’s your first. When I questioned why you were so carefree in such a cruel world, you grinned and told me that you wanted to live life to the fullest. You treat every breath as if it’s paradise, as if just being alive is enough to be happy. When I voiced this thought aloud, you stared at me with considerate eyes. Happiness lies in small things. If you try to grow up too soon, you’ll miss out on all the minor details.
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We’re sitting on your rooftop when I ask you something that I’ve been pondering for years.
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Do you ever wonder about youth? 99Please respect copyright.PENANAK74nwQpYyy
Youth? 99Please respect copyright.PENANA1z0rDiwdnS
Do you ever wonder why youth is portrayed as something so beautiful? 99Please respect copyright.PENANASKvSL9hAqd
Perhaps when we’re younger there is a type of exhilaration when we experience things that fades as our innocence dies. Perhaps when we’re older, we look back and realize the most beautiful moments in our lives were in our youth. Maybe that’s why we yearn for that purity for the rest of our lives, chasing after it until the last echo of our hearts resounds. 99Please respect copyright.PENANAOZUnnx4amE
Hey, promise me something. 99Please respect copyright.PENANA4yJgAhgivH
What? 99Please respect copyright.PENANAm055S40BIZ
Promise you’ll always be by my side. 99Please respect copyright.PENANAA689F2LpYP
I promise. Let’s waste away our youth together.
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Raindrops started falling then, covering us in a layer of mist. You jumped up in delight, running around and trying to catch the rain in your palms. At that moment I finally understood what happiness was. Through you I felt free, my heart beating with child-like glee. After a few moments, you turned back to look at me. You beckoned me with your eyes, a silent dare hidden in your smile. I grinned, standing up to join you. We spent the rest of the day dancing on the rooftop, filling the sky with laughter. I didn’t notice your tears until afterward.
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On a different day, we strolled through the beach, both of us barefooted. The waves lapped at our heels, our toes bathing in the silky texture of the sand. All of a sudden you sat down by the shoreline, pulling me down with you. A beat passed. Then you started to speak, your voice barely a whisper.
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Do you ever wonder what it would be like to read a story that stopped mid-sentence?99Please respect copyright.PENANAuThmsYvMfS
A story that doesn’t have an ending?99Please respect copyright.PENANAfXwSTBdJ9q
Exactly. Wouldn’t that be intimidating? 99Please respect copyright.PENANAf8ua9O3ApO
Would it be?
An incomplete sentence leaves too much room for error. The blank space after the last word breaks off is ominous. The unknown of what happens afterward is frightening. A writer should finish a story so that it is whole, and so that the reader receives the closure they desire.
A second went by before I responded.
I disagree. The blank space after the last word of an unfinished sentence is not empty. It’s filled with all the things left unsaid. When a writer cuts off a sentence, that leaves an expanse for you to interpret. What emotions still echo within your soul after the last word? What words are still left on the tip of your tongue? Each reader would build pillars out of the emptiness, constructing an ending only they could truly understand. That would be their closure. The unknown is not something to fear, but rather to challenge.
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You were staring at the horizon when I finished talking, the sunset painting your eyes shades of scarlet. Something that looked like contentment danced in them as you turned your head toward me. Our eyes interlocked and you smiled at me. We held each other’s gaze before you tore your head away. Your hand started to rummage through your pocket before you pulled out a forked bone.
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Check out this wishbone I bought. 99Please respect copyright.PENANAzq6hD1AZEE
Why did you get it? 99Please respect copyright.PENANANXNKHvH7DM
I’ve always wanted to use one. 99Please respect copyright.PENANArf4xet0J2R
Why am I not surprised? 99Please respect copyright.PENANAh6DnmVZEbW
As if you haven’t wanted to try to use one before. 99Please respect copyright.PENANAVwhEOXBFPd
Okay, you caught me. 99Please respect copyright.PENANAV6skw0cHrY
I knew it. 99Please respect copyright.PENANAjHssm7nUDE
Yeah, yeah. Can we hurry up? 99Please respect copyright.PENANAmYJER09eX8
Okay, let’s break it together. 99Please respect copyright.PENANA6WVkvgSbEV
On three? 99Please respect copyright.PENANAOjGVfgY4gL
One, two-
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The bone snapped. You held the bigger end. I watched as you closed your eyes, murmuring your wish under your breath. You looked beautiful in the dying light. Once you were done saying your wish, your eyes opened and you grinned at me.
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What was your wish? 99Please respect copyright.PENANAdK7qs4LS9n
I wished for an epiphany. 99Please respect copyright.PENANAQNAPAWp3kI
An epiphany? 99Please respect copyright.PENANAcSvjxw2yym
Yes. That’s all I’m telling you. 99Please respect copyright.PENANAz4mCVr33E4
Why won’t you tell me anything else? 99Please respect copyright.PENANADU1Ls5Irpu
You’re not supposed to share your wish, otherwise, it won’t come true. 99Please respect copyright.PENANA6Wsd1AKYvj
Is your wish worth the burden of a secret? Is it that important? 99Please respect copyright.PENANAXgdgqnNsuQ
It’s that selfish. Look, I promise I will tell you what it was when the time is right.
Okay.99Please respect copyright.PENANAThOdB340Tx
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A beat. The silence between us was deafening. I wondered what you were holding back, but I didn’t dare attempt to find out. Hope was a dangerous thing to flirt with. After a few minutes, you spoke once more.
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Sunsets are so beautiful. I wish I could stay in this moment for eternity. I never want morning to come again. 99Please respect copyright.PENANAMDPpLINy2A
You would be content with never witnessing another sunrise? 99Please respect copyright.PENANA867FbnJEgY
Yes. 99Please respect copyright.PENANA0i8hh6iqj9
Sunsets signify the end of a journey, you know. A type of death. 99Please respect copyright.PENANAxGXXGRKExb
I know. 99Please respect copyright.PENANAoJDhpF5R8y
You’d choose that over the promise of rebirth the sunrise offers? 99Please respect copyright.PENANAsvFkxbJQO3
Forget rebirth. All good things come to an end. Death is inevitable, but that doesn’t mean we should fear it. Through death, a wounded soul can finally heal. Death offers a type of peace that life can never give; a final closure to a beautiful piece of art. The moment before you die is the most beautiful moment you will have in your life. As you take your last breath, you will re-experience every memory you’ve made in your lifetime. It’s death that makes life so thrilling. Without death, our lives would lose their beauty. The concept of youth would no longer apply to us.
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I stared at you in wonder, startled by your words.
Wow, what a sophisticated statement. You should be a philosopher. 99Please respect copyright.PENANAg9R5sGCGkN
Pfft, as if. 99Please respect copyright.PENANAAh67B7CMhC
I’m serious! 99Please respect copyright.PENANAIIpyJCnZpv
So am I. 99Please respect copyright.PENANAiE65o69EFd
You have an interesting view on death, you know. 99Please respect copyright.PENANAkcgFOfHsta
Yeah, well I spend a lot of time thinking about it. 99Please respect copyright.PENANAGJe3BA32CQ
See! That’s something a philosopher would do. 99Please respect copyright.PENANACJOKaTaQ2m
It’s something everyone should do. You haven’t truly lived until you’ve wasted enough time thinking about death. 99Please respect copyright.PENANADTL7IZOE7D
Your inner Nietzsche is showing. 99Please respect copyright.PENANAsJ0HHY6yEC
Hey, don’t compare me to Nietzsche! You know I don’t like his works. 99Please respect copyright.PENANA5ZGpE2kDpJ
I know, that’s why I compared you to him. 99Please respect copyright.PENANAb20r8XYXlF
That’s it, come here! 99Please respect copyright.PENANAULRo7O1zlR
No thanks! Gotta go!
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I lept up and started to sprint across the shoreline. Your footsteps followed behind me, drawing closer as you gained speed. I whooped at the sky, the sound echoing across the beach. The wind blew past me, whipping my hair out of my face. I almost felt like I was flying, the exhilaration of running taking me on a high of euphoria. My feet splashed against the bank of the seashore, causing me to be showered in droplets of water. You caught up to me after a few seconds, your outstretched hand catching mine. I whirled around, my eyes meeting yours. You looked heavenly, the traces of laughter etched into the corners of your eyes. I pulled you in close to me, your body colliding with mine. The force of the impact sent the both of us spiraling, our arms wrapping around each other as we twirled around. Our laughter filled the vast emptiness of the beach, the colors of the sunset blurring behind us.
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After a few minutes, we stumbled down onto the beach, neither of us letting go of each other’s hand. My head laid next to yours, our bodies parallel to each other. Together we watched the sunset bleed into twilight. After a minute, I glanced at you. You turned your head toward me at the same moment. Our eyes met. Your eyes reflected the constellations, holding a thousand stars in their depths. The rising moon bathed you in shades of silver, your skin turning luminescent. My breath left me as I stared at you, starstruck. You looked back at me, your smile fond. I was about to speak when you broke out into a yawn.
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I think I’m going to fall asleep. 99Please respect copyright.PENANAAJeKkky3aW
Go ahead, I’ll wake you up if anything happens. 99Please respect copyright.PENANAoVGhklSTYP
Okay, good night. 99Please respect copyright.PENANAxbAqcyIoql
Sweet dreams.
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You closed your eyes, your hand slackening in mine. I stared at the moon as I listened to your breaths even out. After a few minutes, my eyes darted over to you. Your expression was peaceful as you slumbered. I reached my hand out and brushed a strand of hair out of your face. Once I was certain you were asleep, I whispered a confession I had been too afraid to utter out loud before.
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I love you…
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The soft call of an owl was the only answer.
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Over the next few weeks, my love for you blossomed. Every moment we could spare, we spent together. Our footsteps covered the streets of our town, leaving behind memories we created.
Every time we were together, my feelings grew. Eventually, my love for you flowered into a rose, its scarlet petals flourishing. I knew it was time.
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You had called me the night before, telling me to meet you at the tree we liked to eat picnics at. I raced there the next day, bearing my heart on my sleeve. I was ready to risk it all if it meant we could be together. You were there when I arrived, your legs dangling off one of the tree branches. Behind you lay the ocean, vast and endless. You turned toward me, our eyes interlocking.
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Hey. 99Please respect copyright.PENANAVhossvTTLA
Hey. Why did you ask to meet up today? 99Please respect copyright.PENANAgVYT79wu5B
I needed to tell you something. 99Please respect copyright.PENANAhmHjhkqGwX
Okay, go ahead. 99Please respect copyright.PENANAFs1bgTYhZC
I love you.
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I stood there in disbelief, my heart skipping a beat.
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You love me? 99Please respect copyright.PENANAZe3jN8Hu6w
Yes. 99Please respect copyright.PENANA3Go7Uqe6IX
Romantically? 99Please respect copyright.PENANA5CaA3Zex8f
Yes.
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My heart burst with joy, and I laughed out of pure relief.
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I love you too.
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You grinned, jumping down from the tree. I started walking towards you, and soon we were embracing each other. Your arms felt warm and comforting, and I melted into them.
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I know. I heard you whisper your confession on the beach. 99Please respect copyright.PENANAd903DnTptm
You did?! 99Please respect copyright.PENANAnnbg3fGVvP
Yeah. 99Please respect copyright.PENANA4bVMd8rY23
Oh. 99Please respect copyright.PENANAJYCWmAneS2
It's okay, I found it endearing. 99Please respect copyright.PENANA8VU8CF9UUl
Shut up. 99Please respect copyright.PENANAz416qSxfB7
Ha, okay. Oh, and I guess I should tell you what my wish was. I almost forgot about that. 99Please respect copyright.PENANALaihMAs1KN
What was it? 99Please respect copyright.PENANA66cP7xhH2v
I wished you would realize that you loved me back. 99Please respect copyright.PENANAxG63gWt1TJ
Well, wish granted. 99Please respect copyright.PENANAyMZgnOWk2C
Yeah, I should use wishbones more often.
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I shoved you playfully, and you burst into a peal of laughter. Emotions were flooding my senses, a mix of contentment and euphoria filling my heart. Everything felt too much and yet too little at the same time. I grasped your hand, ready to leap into the unknown.99Please respect copyright.PENANAEjCRtm9jWq