She approached the boy after school. "I know who you are," she stated.

  The boy looked up from the shapes he was cutting out of wood. He squinted at her, blinked a couple times, then shrugged. "Yeah, so what. I know who you are, too. But, you're with Darkly there. And I'm busy with this." He pointed to his creation.

  The girl took another step forward, then said, "You're thinking about loving me."

  Again the boy shrugged. "So, so what if I am? It's not that important right now." He focused again on his work, trying not to look at the girl.

  She took a step closer. "Thinking about love and doing love are two different things. I've already learned love from being with Darkly Handsome. I can teach you what I learned."

  The boy looked at her, then down to his work. He knew he was supposed to work on his project, the voice inside him told him to. But he looked up at the girl, curious.

  The girl leaned forward and kissed the boy on the lips.

  As the roar of warmth spread throughout his limbs he heard very faintly from the Voice, "Beware, be careful, you will be bewildered." But then the Voice was gone, and there was only the girl in his ears, eyes, thoughts, and soul.

  "See?" she said. "Now you're mine, and I am yours. Can't you tell that this is meant to be?"

  The boy stood back a moment, rubbing his lips where fire had burned him. The warmth spread through his body, until it reached his heart, and he felt it crack open. Looking at the girl, he knew she was right. She was the one for him. Love was wonderful.

  The boy knew the girl was the One the Voice had told him to expect, but he hadn't expected her to be so helpless. But maybe, this was what falling in love was like, and needing someone so badly was part of it.

  But, he didn't need her. He'd gaze at the project he had been building, longing to work on it, except the girl was holding his hand.

  "Don't you have any projects?" he asked the girl, half hopeful that she did.

  "My project is loving you. Really, you should pay more attention to me." Then she squeezed his fingers, and kissed him so deeply that he forgot about the hammering, sawing, and building he used to do.

  But, the vision would always come back, and he would stare at the unformed work before him, longing to love it as he had been loving the girl. He caressed his tools.

  "Can I help you with it?" she asked, coming up beside him, her hand once again slipping into his.

  He blinked. He hadn't thought of that before. Why would she want to help on something that was solely his? But, looking down at her, he saw that her helping him would make her happy, and give her something to do. So, he handed her a hammer, and began directing her work.

  And the girl seemed genuinely content, happily working on one corner of his project. He saw that he'd have to rework it later to get it exactly the way he wanted it. But, sharing his work with her was more thrilling than he realized, especially when she looked up at him with her sunny smile.

  But, soon, the boy became tired of sharing himself with the girl. "Something is wrong here. I need to work alone. You should work on your own things, too."

  She looked up at him with hurt, big eyes, then away, but not before he could see the tears escape. Guilt gripped his heart. What was he doing? He loved the girl, and now he was making her miserable?

  "I'll go back to Darkly," she said, sobs wracking her voice.

  "Back to Darkly? You belong with me," he protested, not believing her.

  "It hurts to be with you," she said. "I can't do any of the things you can do. I'm nothing. But I need something."

  "But, what can he do?" the boy asked, confused.

  "He can make me feel whole," she said.

  The boy stared at the girl. "But, you are whole," he stated. "Everyone is whole. I don't get it."

  "Not me," she replied. "There's something wrong with me."

  The girl got up and walked away.

  The boy watched her go back to Darkly, but he couldn't believe it. He didn't believe it because the Voice said she was the One. But, he couldn't force her to stay, could he? No. He couldn't. So, he shrugged and went about his projects, finally feeling release and happiness in building them.

  The next day, he walked up to the girl to say hello like always, but she walked passed him as if she didn't see him. The boy felt as if a fist slammed into his gut, so hard that he sat down. Was he suddenly invisible to the girl? What had he done? Angrily, he decided never to speak to her again.   

A small hand slid up his shoulder. He turned. There was the girl, looking contrite and unhappy.

  "I am sorry," she said. "Please don't be angry with me."

  At once all his anger dissipated. Darkly couldn't really have any hold on the girl. She couldn't really love Darkly because he knew that the girl was the One, just as he knew she knew that he was her Prince. He immediately forgot that she was now once again with Darkly.   Weeks passed. The girl grew more unhappy. "I can't go on like this," she said on the day he found out he would be going to the master building school, far away from the girl. "I must go with you, too. I can be a builder. I know I can do anything I want."

  The boy stood back. "But, why would you want to? You're not a builder."

  "But, I want to be with you. I need to be with you."

  The boy held his breath for a moment. Suddenly he knew that was that the girl couldn't be allowed to follow him. Or else he wouldn't learn how to build. And that was his life's work.

  "I'm sorry, but you can't come with me. I don't want you to." He said this firmly. Tears filled her eyes. He inhaled sharply, trying to master impatience.

  "But, what am I to do? I love you," she replied. "We're meant to be together."

  "I love you, too. But you can't follow me. You have to go alone."

  The girl's eyes widened as she grasped his determination. She stood back, wound up one arm, and cracked him across the jaw. "Damn you!" she shouted. "How could I have ever trusted you? You're telling me to go alone? You know I can't be alone, you know I love you. If you loved me, you'd let me be with you. You don't love me. You love no one but yourself. There's no room for you to love anyone else. Fine. If you want to be alone, you're alone. I'm going back to Darkly!"

  He stared after her, rubbing his sore jaw, tasting salty blood from a cut lip. He knew he had to travel without her, alone for a while. And he knew he loved her, too. Now, she was gone, determined to hate him. How could he deserve so much pain from the one person that he knew he was supposed to love? Better to travel alone, he thought. His heart winced at the approaching solitude, but he hardened it, sealing the crack the girl had opened with that first kiss.

Click here to read more...