Time Passes By

WINTER

The park was closed during winter. Doris only saw her beloved Keyren at school. She yearned to hear that ringing laughter that made her day. Doris went to the orphanage to stalk Keyren but stopped after the lady in charge told her to suck it up and tell Keyren she loved him or she will tell Keyren that Doris was the stalker.

She was too afraid to come clean yet. Instead, she watched her love walk back from school, his nose turning red due to the cold. At times Keyren would turn back and see Doris following him, but Doris doubted that Keyren thought anything of that since they lived a street apart and followed the same route to school anyway.

The whole of winter Doris longed to see her love as she did before, not him grumpy at school. Doris dreamt of that smiling face every night, waiting for spring to come so that she could see Keyren at the park again.

SPRING

Spring came with a burst of color. The flowers in the park grew and the park was a bright, cheery place. Keyren was at the park again, at his favorite tree every Saturday tending to the animals. Doris, ever the faithful stalker, resumed her favorite hobby.

She got slightly braver though. With no dried leaved to write on, she left lengthy letters in envelopes for Keyren at the base of the tree he sat at every week. She watched as Keyren read her letters aloud to the animals, a faithful audience ever willing to listen.

She watched Keyren’s reaction, delight, surprise, confusion and drank it all in. Keyren always brought art supplies there, so he wrote his replies, sometimes with colorful scribbles and left them there for Doris to find.

They talked about everything except school as Doris felt that discussing teachers and the classes she attended was too dangerous as she shared four classes with Keyren that semester and Keyren might figure out who she was. They discussed their favorite music, movies, food and even remarks on what stupid things celebrities did.

They had become sort of friends, writing sarcastic comebacks and passing jokes. Sometimes Keyren pleaded with her to come out, he was dying of curiosity to know who Doris was.

I feel so comfortable talking to you. I never felt this way about anybody. I’m sure it will be fine, I know you and like you already. I just don’t know your name. How you look doesn’t matter to me. I’m beginning to love you too. I wanna go out with you somewhere.

Still Doris was racked with doubt, afraid out showing herself. At the end of spring, just before summer, Keyren sent her an ultimatum.

This isn’t fair. You know who I am and watch me and I don’t even have a name to the person I have come to love. I am so hurt that you think I will be so judgmental of you. How do I know you are not just playing with me? Like those people who enjoy making fun of other people’s feelings? Either you come out and meet me or stop talking to me all together. You decide.

Doris’ stomach clenched tightly at that. She cursed her cowardly nature but she sent her reply with a heavy heart. She saw Keyren’s face fall as he read Doris’ reply. Keyren sat at the tree with a pained expression on his face, his cheeks splotchy and eyes watery.

Fine. I won’t talk to you anymore. You don’t understand.  I am not worthy of a person as perfect as you. Not in the slightest bit.

Doris didn’t wait until noon that day. The moment Keyren finished the letter, she turned around and ran as hard as she could. If she stayed, she would’ve run to Keyren to wipe away his tears. She hated being the reason why Keyren felt sad. She hated being as low as those people that bullied Keyren at school all those years ago and hurting his feelings.

SUMMER

The summer holidays came as a shock to Doris. She stopped going to the park because it hurt so much to see Keyren there and not be able to write to him and see his reaction as he read the words Doris so lovingly wrote for him. She had stopped writing to Keyren but she still satisfied her yearning heart by watching her beloved at school.

But now, she could not see her beloved at all. School was closed and Keyren’s family sent him and his younger brother Kenneth to their grandparent’s house for the summer. Doris missed Keyren with such intensity it hurt. Somewhere in the middle of summer she cried, she cried so hard because she had come to realize one thing.

She was completely and utterly in love with Keyren. Every day that went by that she couldn’t see her beloved was torture to her. She cried and cried until her sister got annoyed and threw a pillow at her, asking her to shut up as she was not getting any sleep with all the crying she was doing. 

She made her decision. This started in autumn and when autumn came again she will meet her love, face to face. She swore to god she will.