End
“I thought you liked him,” my friend said. “I thought he liked you.”
“It’s over,” I said loudly, willing my voice not to tremble, and I watched
him in the front of the classroom, solving math questions. His hand
stopped. Then slowly, slowly, his hand began drawing tiny, concentric
circles in the margin of his page.
“He was a bitch to you,” she said. “Don’t give a damn about him
anymore. Do you hear me?”
His circles grew smaller and smaller. He was listening. I stared hard at
those hypnotic circles, mute expressions of feelings neither he nor I could
speak about. When I stared at them hard enough I could almost forget
his hurtful sneer. His harsh words. My broken fuck you. My tears. His
bitter smile. His calm grow up. The circles spiraled into an infinity where
I could almost forget reality. Where I could almost forget him. Me. Us.
But not quite.
“I hear you,” I murmured.
Beginning
/
Middle
/
End
Beginning
He came over to me as I sat watching the snow fall. Round, white drops of
snow.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
I didn’t look at him. Gathering the white powder between my fingers, I
let the sparkling pixie dust glitter on my fingers, on my lips, and fall
cleanly to the ground. He caught it and sat down next to me.
“Yujung?” he said.
He watched me, and began to speak again.
“I didn’t mean it, Yujung. I’m sorry. I thought you wouldn’t—”
I looked up, and my arms went around him, encircling him. Then I said,
“You’re beautiful.”
And without beginning or end or anything in between, his palms, hot
and gentle, touched mine, and we were beginning again. Full circle.
56
End? And...
57