Friday, January 21, 2011

second look

He was a wild, beautiful boy--but the knowing of this came slowly. It snuck up on you suddenly, because he seemed quiet and his face could, at best, be called plain and unremarkable and usually serious. But if you ever once saw him light up, and come alive, like I did, you could see how extraordinary he really was. I remember once, it was storming and the thunder shook the entire world, it seemed. And he stood in the middle of it all, and I watched him throw back his head and laugh, just like that. It was like he shone, even in the pouring rain, and he was fearless and wonderful and I remember thinking he was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.

--Calypso

6 comments:

Robby Van Arsdale said...

This is

stunning

If I had the words to express how amazing I found this, I would give them to you.
This post shakes my brain.

Alyssa said...

That makes me happy. :)

This was back before I really posted random "creative" bits for fun, so I always put those under Calypso--that way, if anybody thought they were strange or not very good, I didn't have to claim them.

Hahaha I'm so weird.

Robby Van Arsdale said...

Well, this resonated so clearly with me.
I read this post and I wanted with all of me for someone to talk about me the way this narrator talked about the boy she saw.
It is very powerful.

Can I send this to my sister?

Alyssa said...

Of course you can.

Actually, when I wrote this, I wanted with all of me for someone to talk about ME the way (I) talked about the boy she saw. So I get it. I think we all want that.

Robby Van Arsdale said...

--What Katy said--
I've been contemplating why this piece is so resonate. She manages to capture a certain number of things everybody wants in love without saying "And he loved me for me and he was a smart person and he was interesting and I thought he was cute." She conveys the desires and feelings through something else...secondary description is the only term I can make up.
The speaker and the boy are in love, but it's real love because it "came slowly." You know it's more than infatuation because she spent time realizing it.
He's no Mary Sue -- she sees his face and she sees the flaws there but she also sees past them. That's so incredible because everyone wants to be loved for themselves, but they want to be beautiful too.
Also, he is a little bit crazy and dangerous. That is the best kind of man. :) haha

--I thought you deserve to know--

Alyssa said...

Thank you so much.

Actually, seeing it through you and Katy's eyes makes me fall in the love with the idea even more. But dagnabbit, I don't want to fall in love with an idea. I want to fall in love with a person. A person just like that. I want a person like THAT to fall in love with ME.

If you can't tell, I'm having a moment of senior-graduating-and-thinking-that-singleness-is-charming-but-getting-old.