Even though she never wanted to go to that party, when the party finally ended, Gem was sad she had to go.
It had nothing to do with the party itself since it was just a regular party she disliked. The reason she didn't want that particular party to end was John.
She couldn't understand how a guy with such an ordinary name, could be so extraordinary.
They kept on talking every chance they got at, and it felt better than anything else.
Although they were just talking, she found that she was enjoying chatting with him much more than she liked anything else. It was a unique opportunity for her to be herself, without being judged.
He listened to what she had to say, and saw her as a whole, complex person, not just as a part of her personality.
Most people chose one of her characteristics to focus on, but he seemed to appreciate the whole package.
For the person who grew up misunderstood, and neglected, that was the best feeling ever.
People tried to be nice towards her, but as long as she wasn't too different from them. The moment they noticed some trace of uniqueness or something they didn't understand, they backed away. Or even worse, they told her that her opinions and feelings weren't normal and that she should try to be more common.
It was like saying that she had to kill who she was, to become like everyone else, which made no sense to her.
For her, the true beauty of life lay in its diversity.
At the end of the party, they said goodbye to each other, the way two strangers would, but it felt like they were so much more.
The moment she got home, Gem logged in to her email, already regretting that she gave him THAT email address.
It was the combination of a few things she liked, and even she knew it was ridiculous.
Nevertheless, John didn't seem to mind it, because she already had an email from him.
Unlike her, she could see that he was using his regular email address. Still, it didn't matter, not between the two of them.
She didn't tell anyone anything about John, because she knew they would all find it weird that she felt so strongly about someone who might as well turn out to be a criminal.
With her heart beating a mile a minute, and nervous sweat wetting her palms, she opened the email.
She couldn't stop the huge smile that started spreading across her face. The email didn't say anything special, but she couldn't stop grinning like a fool.
Every time she even thought about him, she couldn't keep a straight face.
They exchanged emails for a long time before they both realized it would be better for them to get some sleep.
They didn't write about anything important, and yet it felt like the most meaningful conversation she had ever had.
It was strange to Gem how people who understood each other so perfectly, could find each other.
After all, the world was a vast place, and the chances of running into an exact right person, at the precisely right time, didn't seem that high. However, it did happen.
She started to realize that it probably happened more often than she knew. But before two people who can be so open to each other, could find one another, they had to go through some difficulties to better be able to appreciate the good things.
If she hadn't met so many bad guys, she wouldn't have been able to appreciate John and what they had as much as she did.
It was that realization, that the world could be a terrible and cruel place, that made the moments of happiness so much more precious.
To find the kind of connection they shared, and to find it so unexpectedly was a gift. It wasn't conventional, it wasn't what people would describe as normal, but for the first time in her life, Gem honestly didn't care.
All she knew was that she wanted to spend more time with John, to get to know him better, and there was nothing anyone could say that would change her mind.
It felt so good to her, to finally be free to just be herself, and not worry about people judging her.
She finally realized the terrible truth, that some people would judge others, no matter what, so instead of worrying, she decided to just live.
Before they said goodnight, they did agree on meeting each other.
They decided to meet at the public square of their city since there were usually crowds of people there, and no matter what Gem thought or felt, she didn't want to be the naive girl, the one that many horror movies seemed to revolve around, the one who fully trusted a stranger, and in turn, got herself killed.
It wasn't like she thought that John could be dangerous, but she wanted to be on the safe side. She blamed it on too many horror films she had seen, but maybe, it also had something to do with the fact that she had never been in that kind of situation.
She suffered from a complete lack of dating life, and it was a chronic problem.
As far back as she could remember, she would start liking a guy, and then find out he was a complete jerk, or he found her too strange. Once she started revealing some of her secrets, they would run away in search of someone who was not so much different from them.
Of course, Gem didn't blame them, but she did wonder if she would ever have a real relationship.
Trying to avoid destroying what she and John were trying to build, she decided it would be better to be surrounded by other people.
She thought she could use them as a distraction if she did something completely dumb.
It was clear that John was different, and that they had something unique, but that didn't stop her from worrying.
Comments (2)
See all