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August 24, 2002
June 12, 1997
It was a beautiful night. The temperature was perfect, the sky was clear and starry, and the merest hint of a breeze came from the west. Everyone was outside, frantic not to waste these precious moments before they had to part ways, uncertain of whether they would see one another again. Our hero was no stranger to such feelings. The urgency of the moment took some time to settle in, however.
She could be found under a flagpole sitting on a bench, tears flowing. From someone else the young man found out the reason for her tears. Family problems had been troubling her that night. So he decided to refrain from bringing his own pressing matter up. Behind a mask no one could penetrate, he tried to be as best a friend as he could for her, but it was getting so that it was becoming difficult to contain, to act normal. He smiled through it all, and only one other person, a graduate from last year, knew what he was going through.
"I know what it's like to have your heart ripped out and stomped upon, and she doesn't even know she's doing it," his friend said. She couldn't talk of anything else but herself. Who could blame her? But she had a boyfriend--it started only very recently. And when she found out that he had gotten into trouble--well, she started talking about him. All the while, the poor young man sits next to her, doing his best to contain the emotions he was having.
He had done such a convincing job of hiding it that she had no idea of the hurt she was causing him. Finally, when she decided to go to her boyfriend's room to spend the little time there was before curfew check with him, it became clear that he was running out of time. He went with her as far as the hall commons.
Dejected and resigning himself to fate, he sat sullenly on the armrest of a chair. She came briefly to say goodnight, but she could see by the expression on his face that something was wrong. "Is anything wrong?" she asked. "No," he sighed. "Are you sure?" she continued. "Yes," he said. But his thoughts were different. He desperately wanted to tell her right then, but his restraint prevented him from doing so. This was the time to be selfish! You're running out of time! he thought. Do it. Pull the trigger. Let it out.
But he continued to glare downward, towards the floor, his legs swinging. He couldn't look her directly in the eyes, let alone say anything. Seemingly unsure of what to do, she gave him a quick hug and said, "Well, I'll call, or something." She went away then.
Later that night he was fortunate enough to see her again. It seemed as if he was doomed to brief encounters with her from now on. Wih a quick kiss on his cheek, they swept into an embrace, the young man reluctant to let go.
It was to be a night most remembered and most questioned. He lost a lot of sleep cursing himself for the decisions he'd made. And he still wasn't happy.
So quoth tony at 03:08 UTC
BITTER traces
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