He rode on a bicycle in the middle of August with a sunflower between his teeth.
He ran through a field and sang to the stars, and I swear, they heard him.
He looked like an angel, that is for certain.
He smelled like the aftermath of rain.
He decided to love me with all of his might.
He then said that it wasn’t a choice.
He was scared of the world, the one that I faced.
So he guarded me with his collection of books.
Kept me safe with his never ending stories.
Locked me away with his brilliant smile.
He picked me up in a Beetle at the end of November with a smile on his lips.
He loved me deeply.
Spring came and so did we.
Summer came and so did we.
Fall came and so did we.
Winter froze and so did we.
And then it was painful and heartwrenching.
Then it was too long and too cold for me.
Then he loved me shallowly.
Then there was an inch.
Millimeter.
Gone.
And then Summer came and I wept.
Fall came and I wept.
Winter came and my tears froze.
Spring came with him.
He showed up on my porch wearing a tie and holding a vase.
I unraveled.
He smiled.
I kicked him.
He laughed.
And then he dived right into twelve feet of water.
And he didn’t even hit his head.
He waded in and out for an eternity.
Leaving with a letter, appearing with a grin.
I could tell it was wrong.
I loved him so.
He always knew when to give me a sunflower.
He’d always keep them between his teeth.
To him, it was always August.
To me, it was always him.
Darci Gold is a sixteen-year-old student of Haverford High. She has loved literature from a very young age, and frequents old bookstores to find hidden treasures. Darci loves writing poetry, short stories, as well as longer pieces to express herself and engage with others.