Desirable Reality (Short Story)
My life has been a rollercoaster since childhood, but if there’s one constant amidst the chaos, it’s him—the boy with dark brown eyes and hair.
From the moment I first glimpsed him at the kindergarten gate, a strange sensation washed over me, as if we were two souls entwined in a previous life. That feeling ignited a fascination within me, an inexplicable desire to claim him as my own.
Destiny conspired time and again to weave our paths together. I dismissed the coincidences at first, but when I found him in my elementary school, and later, in high school, it felt like the universe was playing a grand design.
During those tumultuous teenage years, he emerged as the most handsome boy in school. Girls were infatuated with him—captivated by his charm, his height, and his role as captain of the football team. I often felt a pang of jealousy as I watched him with his various girlfriends, especially with Cherry, his most recent flame. Yet, in the depths of my heart, I clung to the belief that “every cat has its day.”
Though he was a year ahead of me when he graduated, our silent moments lingered. He would smile at me as he passed, and despite the chaos swirling around us, my lips would betray my feelings with an involuntary smile of my own.
We shared fleeting memories—moments woven into the fabric of my life—without ever exchanging a word. He was a constant in my world, lingering in my thoughts, no matter where I went.
People often labeled my feelings as a mere crush, a habit I had developed for claiming handsome boys, even my school principal, who had briefly caught my eye. But those infatuations faded with time, except for one—Hector Miller.
I had never had a boyfriend, nor did I plan to. After my mother passed away and my father remarried, I lost faith in the idea of true love. The concept of soulmates felt like a distant fantasy, and my desire for romance dwindled.
Yet, as the saying goes, “When you really want something, the universe always conspires in your favor.” And so, the universe smiled upon me once more, reuniting us at my best friend’s wedding.
In that moment, my long-buried desires awakened, rekindling dreams that had once seemed impossible. Suddenly, everything I had wished for began to feel within reach, and I could finally see a path leading back to him.
~ Marilyn Knight
