I Met My Sister on Valentine's Day

Once again, I listened to my heart, and it was telling me to rush out to the parking lot so I could look for her. There was a chance she was still there... Just a feeling. Just a glimmer of hope.

When I got out there, still looking like a crazy person, I saw her car and I ran towards it. No one had even told me what kind of car she drove but I just knew it had to be her. I felt it in my heart.

I got there in the nick of time. It looked like she was just about to put the car in drive, but she stopped and got out once I tapped on her window.

There was so much to remember, so much to feel, as she stood before me and we stared into each other's eyes. She looked like she was back to normal, the same woman protected by her own hardened shell; not the vulnerable May my heart had intertwined with the previous night.

In a cold tone, she simply asked, "What do you want?"

Still breathing heavily, I gathered myself and asked, "Were you just going to leave without saying goodbye?"

"Did I owe you a goodbye? I only came here because I was tricked, remember? I just wanted to get away for Valentine's Day, and guess what... It's not Valentine's Day anymore."

"Of course you owe me a goodbye," I refuted, as my voice cracked a little. "I'm not asking for much, but you can at least say something to me before you disappear from my life again."

Her eyebrows slightly furrowed. "Is this what you're going to do? You're going to try to make a thing of last night?"

"Is this what you're going to do? Act as if nothing happened at all? Because that's really stupid."

"Obviously, I know what happened last night," May admitted, rolling her eyes. "But what is it supposed to mean? It's nothing. It can't be anything. We'd destroy your dad's relationship, and that's important to you, remember?"

"I know, I know..." I conceded, throwing my hands up in defeat. "There are so many things that are complicated about what happened... but I'm not going to ignore it. Everything I felt was important to me. And you can't blame me for wanting you to say something before you leave. I can temper my expectations, but I can't choose the things my heart wants."

May just stared at me for what felt like forever. Had my message gotten through to her? I could never tell when she glared at me so coldly.

Finally, she let out a sigh. "I guess you're right, but what is it that you want, exactly?"

I thought about it for a second. My brain didn't know, but I spoke from the heart, unable to predict what was about to come out of my own mouth. "I don't know what I want to be honest. But what I don't want is for you to be this stranger I never see again. One I only hear your mom talk about, and never actually see. I don't want to go back to that."

"So you want me to stop by again? When?"

"Whenever... I'd just like to see you again..." I started before I thought popped up into my head. "Wait, how about spring break? It's coming up in a month. Will you come home?"

Letting out an annoyed sigh for some odd reason, she answered, "I usually don't... but I'll think about it..."

That was all I could really hope for. I didn't know what the results would be, but at least I spoke from my heart and told her what I wanted. The rest was up to her, and to be perfectly honest, I was at peace with that.

With nothing left to say to me, May shrugged her shoulders and motioned towards her door handle. However, just in the nick of time, I remembered the gift I had gotten her. It was small and unimportant, but I didn't want her to leave without it. I already bought it for her, might as well let her decide which trash can to throw it in.

"Wait, May..." I said, before running over to my car and opening the passenger door. From there, I returned to her with a bag in my hand and pulled out the small gift; a little stone bracelet that said, "Big Sis."

"What is this?" May asked, staring at it as it lay in the palm of her hand. "Big Sis?"

"It's just a cheap little bracelet I found... I thought it was kind of cute and funny.., but it doesn't seem so funny anymore... You can throw it away if you want, but I just thought I'd give it to you..."

She just stared at it a bit longer, shaking her head before her eyes eventually met mine. I really didn't know what that meant. It was hard to get a read of what was going on in her mind. Then, without another word, she just got into her car and drove off.

I didn't know what she did with the bracelet, nor did I think I'd ever find out. It didn't really matter to me, anyway. I was just glad I got the chance to give it to her.

I stood there in the parking lot for a moment, the wind was blowing in my hair. I wasn't even upset about the way she left me. I guess the truth was... instead of being bitter about the way it ended... I just appreciated that it happened at all. My heart was content, and I even smiled as her car disappeared into the distance. However, I maintained that I did, in fact, want to see her again.

***

I expected to miss her, but the days that followed were even harder than I anticipated. Every morning, every night, I'd spend hours just staring at the bed we once shared. It's like she was a ghost, the way her presence remained after her body disappeared.

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday... they all went by so slowly. The hours of my life crept on while I wondered what could have been...

There were no more dreams at night when I slept by myself. However, every minute that I was awake, I was consumed with daydreams about her...

Perhaps I was the one now absent, just a body going through the motions while my brain was somewhere else. All I could do was hope that she'd consider my proposal to visit during spring break, but even if she didn't, I would have been content knowing she at least thought about me every once in a while.

By Friday, I had pretty much accepted our fate. Things could have been better, but I was okay... I just had to get through a few classes, and I could go back to sulking at home like I did every weekend... except the one...

Once my short day was over, I hopped in my car and traveled in silence towards the apartment. I had gotten into the habit of not listening to music while I drove. I guess I preferred pretending that May was in my passenger seat again, sitting with me in silence.

I somehow welcomed the empty feeling, and the void of noise when I drove home. It represented me somehow, like a symbol of my life.

That empty feeling persisted as I left campus. The sun was out and the weather was nice. I wondered, If I wait until dark, could regain that feeling I had with her if I stare out into the night sky?

I really didn't have any answers. I didn't even know how to feel. But then, as I approached the parking lot to my apartment, a spontaneous jolt occurred in my chest.

What's going on with me? I silently wondered as I grabbed my bag and stepped out of the car. It was like my heart was racing, trying to communicate something to me.

I didn't know what it was, but my theory was that I looked forward to going home every day and imagining May would be at the door again. It was just a silly thought that I knew wasn't probable. However, I guess my mind hadn't escaped that fateful moment when I first met her.

Rounding the corner, I looked ahead to the door so I could calm my suddenly anxious chest. When I gazed down the stretch that led to my apartment, however, my heart skipped a beat as my eyes confirmed what the world was trying to tell me.

Standing there at the door, just as I had seen the previous week, there was a beautiful girl with long and shiny black hair. Her clothes were different this time; a white turtleneck, a very short black skirt, and thigh-high stockings... but everything else about her, including that mysterious aura, was exactly the same.

She was just as intense and beautiful as she was the moment I first met her, when we knew nothing about each other. And even now, after seeing her vulnerable side, I loved nothing more than recapturing the feeling in my heart when I first laid my eyes on her.

"May...?"

She turned and looked, freezing me with those encompassing eyes of hers. With that same monotone voice she liked to use, she just looked at me and asked, "Can you open the door?"

I laughed, still fighting off tears, because I knew she, herself, was also hiding behind a wall of pride. It didn't matter how she acted. All that mattered was that she was there... with me.

Placing a hand over my heart, I asked, "May... what are you doing here?"

For only the slightest second, I could see the vulnerability in her eyes as her heart spoke to her. She then answered... "I couldn't wait until spring break..."

We just stared at each other for a moment. The wind blew through her hair; the wind blew through mine. She stayed strong by keeping a straight face, yet I displayed my strength by allowing my eyes to water.

My heart only became heavier as I saw her reaching into her bag. The bracelet I gave her was on her wrist, and there was suddenly a little box in her hand.

She walked over and presented it to me. Taking deep breaths, I opened the box to see what was inside, but once I laid my eyes on it, I could hardly even breathe.

Presented to me was a bracelet, matching the one I gave her. Engraved in it were the words, "Lil Sis."

I looked up at her in disbelief, with my heart fluttering and a tear coming down my cheek. "I'm not here to visit my mom..." she said, sliding the bracelet onto my wrist. Then, holding both my hands with hers, she finally allowed her mouth to speak what was coming from her heart.

"...I'm here to visit the sister I met on Valentine's Day."

End