I’ve seen her before, the girl in the corner; she was always by herself and never with someone else. As I was hanging out with my friends on the cafeteria, I saw her. Something about her had drawn my attention.
She seemed to be listening to her iPod as she just stared at the crowds surrounding her. Her hair was sort of blonde and was cut short, she wore all black, her eyes were a hazel green and she was absolutely, and without a doubt, beautiful.
The next day at school, I was roaming the hallways, looking for a decent drinking fountain. Once I had found one, there she was, sitting next to the fountain in a curled position, and crying? What was wrong? Why was the girl in the corner here, crying her eyes out? I crouched down next to her and ask: “What’s wrong?” She ignores me… but I didn’t let that stop me.
I came in closer and put my hand on her shoulder, and she continues crying. “Hey I’ve seen you around school; what’s your name?” She looked at me with a tear streaming down her left cheek. She replied reluctantly. “I’m M-melody…” She blinked twice and another tear rolls down her cheek. I smile slightly and I greeted her back. “Hi Melody, I’m Craig.” She smiled and wiped a tear from her cheek.
She slowly uncurls herself as I help her up from the floor; she wiped more tears away as I helped her from her corner. She had told me about how her boyfriend had cheated on her and how he had told her and dumped her so brutally. She treated her like nothing and I was thoroughly repulsed at this guy. I don’t know what came over me but something made me want to hurt the guy who made her cry; but she told me to promise her I wouldn’t go after him (well practically made me). So I listened to her and stayed out of trouble. Soon enough we became good friends; and we were practically inseparable.
During the summer of junior year, I had asked her out; I guess you can say that I fell pretty hard for her… happily she said yes. Honestly that was one of the happiest day of my life.
After graduation in senior year, we moved in together. We had found a place downtown; rent was low and we had a new start in life.
The month following our move-in, we had sex for the first time. It felt amazing, and was even more so, because it was with her; my beautiful girl in the corner. She wasn’t my first but she will definitely be my last. Afterwards we had this funny conversation about “protection”; she had a dry and sarcastic humor with sex, which I loved the most about sex with her. She always made the act more enjoyable.
After a few months, on our anniversary, I had asked Melody to marry me. She had leaped into my arms, crying tears of joy and without hesitation, she shouted yes. I swear she couldn’t say yes loud enough; I was so happy and so was she.
After the wedding, we went to Boston for our honeymoon (It was her parents birthplace); the sites and the city were so beautiful. But of course, we weren’t there for the sites…
We had sex the first night of our honeymoon in a fancy hotel. We had stayed at the Hilton; it was nice but after what we did to the hotel room, I don’t think they will let us back in there again.
Five years later, me and Melody were about to have our first child. She was 9 months pregnant and was ready to give birth. The last few months have been hard; we were so worried about losing the baby.
The first time we tried to have a kid, we lost it in a car accident. She was bruised up from top to bottom and I was cut up from the windshield glass. At the hospital where we recovered we discovered the baby was lost in the accident. The months that followed were horrible; however, we held on and we didn’t give up.
Now we are here, she’s ready when the babies’ ready. I was hesitant at first because I thought I would be a lousy father. But Melody pushed me through the doubt and I got over my fear quickly and I was more than excited to be a dad.
We are now in the hospital around 2 am; she awoke me in bed after her water had broken. Almost immediately we were up and ready to have a baby. It’s not long before I am at the hospital bed holding her hand as it squeezes mine in pain. Soon enough we were able to hold our baby girl in our arms. She was absolutely beautiful and looked almost exactly like Melody. “Oh, my God, Craig, she’s beautiful!” She exclaims in joy. “What should we call her?” She asked, honestly I wasn’t prepared for it, but out of my mouth came one word: “Heaven.” I say, she looks at me and says “Why?” I reply, “Because that’s what it feels like when I look at her.” That was cheesy I know but we both loved it.
Days, weeks, months, hell even years went by as me, Melody and Heaven enjoyed a family life together. We had our ups and downs, yet, surprisingly, we hardly ever experienced too much of the bad. Me and Melody always stay faithful and we always stayed playful (wink, wink).
When holidays and birthdays came, we were always the happiest. During the winters we would all snuggle by our fireplace as a family and build snowmen. Hell, we even had little snowball fights. Heaven would always tag team with Melody and go against me. We each built a fort and would chuck snow at each other. I would always lose since I was so outnumbered; because of this conclusion, girls were better than boys as said by Heaven. We were so happy; by the time Heaven was five, we welcomed our second child: Johnathan.
Pretty soon, when Heaven was ten and Johnathan was five, the playing field was even… and us guys still lost. Johnathan thought it was cheating because Melody would always make big snowballs and they would destroy are thin snow wall.
Before long, Heaven was in college and Johnathan was graduating high school. Our kids have left the nest and have run off with their spouse just as we did when we were young. Now it was just me and Melody, we enjoyed the peace and quite for a while. We sometimes got calls and letters from Heaven and her boyfriend Timothy, who reminded me of… well, me at that age so I approved of him. They would often travel across the world just for fun.
Johnathan had started his own business in mechanics with his girlfriend Veronica. Once again, our kids have a taste for people who look exactly like their parents so in an instant, Melody was fond of her.
Overtime we got tired of the silence and took in a ginger tabby cat called Tabbs. Me and Melody had raised two kids and a cat was even more than we can handle at fifty-six years old. Melody however loved the cat and Tabbs practically slept with us all the time.
Time flies by when love is there to fill it; this was especially true for us. Even after all those years together; I’ve never stopped falling for her and she never stopped falling for me. Our fights were always small and easily resolved, and surprisingly, our best moments always outweigh the bad. Soon enough we had grandchildren, age wasn’t a burden to me and Melody, but damn, did we feel old!
Once we were in our seventies, things started to change. Doctors started prescribing some serious medication; but we didn’t pay no mind to it, so we just continued with our lives.
On the eve of Melody’s 86th birthday, she collapsed in the kitchen of our home in Boston. Shaking in fear, I called 911 because she had stopped breathing. I was so scared that I was shaken to my core.
The Doctors didn’t waste time, they came right out with it: she was dying of stage two lung cancer. I had burst into tears right there in the hallway of the hospital, knowing that Melody, MY Melody, was dying. This was unbearable and it took nearly an hour before I could pull myself together.
From there I swore to myself I would make her last week count. I walked into the room where she lay in the bed; she was attached to a breathing mechanism that lay beside her. It was all so difficult to take in; my girl in the corner, was now the girl in the hospital bed. She notices my presence as I sat down in the chair next to her bed. She reaches for my hand and I slowly grab on to hers. For the longest time we were inseparable.
“We both knew this was going to happen.” She told me weakly as her hair drapes over her left side. “I know, just wish it didn’t have to.” I say as I lean over and kiss her hand and rub it gently. “I love you… and I will always love you.” She tells me slowly while lifting her hand that held mine to touch my old wrinkled cheek. “Forever?” I smile and ask in hope. “Forever” She confirmed; a tear rolls down my other cheek as I hold her hand in its place. “I’ll love you forever as well.” She smiles and looks at me with those hazel green eyes that haven’t aged a single day, since the day we met.
For the majority of the week, we had visitors, our kids and grandkids stopped by, and we all laughed and cried; I never left her side except to eat at the hospital cafeteria or to go to the bathroom. I stayed by her side no matter what. Through the courtesy of the hospital, we even had a candle lit dinner in her room. By Sunday I had spent the day helping the nurses to take care of her.
As I was wide awake, guarding her bedside, I looked to her and her heart monitor. I cried while I watched the mechanical beeps of the monitor slowly dissipate. At her last moments I clutched her hand and looked to her while she was sleeping while sitting up. Her hair was gray and to me she wasn’t weak and old, but flawless and absolutely perfect. I remembered the young 17-year-old in the corner, my girl in the corner, and I remember every waking moment and every happy moment we had together. Tears poured down my cheek as she utters four small words under her breath:
“I love you, Craig.”
Just then the heart monitor flatlined and I sob in her still lap, shouting for her to come back. Nurses tried to pull me away but the head nurse said to leave me be. I was given a few hours with Melody, and by morning I had left.
I had told this story countless times; to my children, to my children’s children; I even told this story at her funeral. And for the rest of my days and perhaps for the rest of eternity, this story will be remembered.
So from here on and to eternity I will remember the Girl in The Corner who was crying, only to meet her on the other side and continue to make her happy.
THE END.
Hells Reject 