It was warm that day, really warm for late September. I guess I was okay with the way things were working out. I'd been in college for a while, getting used to the proverbial daily grind, and then I meet her.
Always a her, isn't it.
Kate Guyot. She usually calls herself Katie but I prefer Kate. She's a Kate to me. I met her at the end of my Japanese class back then, on that day. The excuse I made up for talking to her was that her pronounciation was really good. The more I reflect on that the more foolish it sounds. There was something more, a reason for me to talk to her that I couldn't vocalize, so I just talked to her. That was the beginning of me learning how to just say things.
We talked as we walked out of the building. We talked as we walked toward my dorm. I live on 11th Avenue. She lives on 3rd, off campus. As we reached 11th, I kept walking with her. 10th. 9th. King. 8th. 7th. 6th. 5th. We turn on 4th, and go down to Michigan where we find her apartment. She lets me in.
The hours go on. Two o'clock. Three. I realize I've missed my math class. I don't care. She misses hers. She doesn't care. Before we are aware, it is now 11PM, and I do not wish to walk home. I sleep on her couch. We awake, and go to Japanese again the next morning. Then, she goes with me to my dorm. We spend the rest of the day together, and she sleeps in our chair. Japanese again, and we depart. A total of 50 hours. This is not due to pronounciation, certainly.
We talked that night she stayed with me. I talked about how unhappy I was with my life. A cliche topic, but it was met with her concern. She told me about herself. Her life. She knew pain well. Not my pain, but her own. And she told me about how I could live more. How if I just stopped worrying about it, it would go away. It would stop bothering me. These were words I had told myself a thousand times but as they came out of her mouth, I had only response to her.
"You know, congrats. You've successfully made me want to curl up in a ball and cry, and I do not hate you for it. I thank you."
Kate revealed to me that my life was more. This is what I realized today. She has shown me how to walk the path. I see now what to do, and I do my best to do it. I have never been this happy, this energized. I want to share it with everyone. This is a feeling I want every human to have.
So as I sit here, I worry about her. I have not seen her for five days, when for three I ought to. She is a point of heavy concern, severe fear in my heart. And yet, I am not crying. She has taught me much.
Kate, if by some miracle you ever discover E2, find this node. Read this, and know that I feel what you've done is something worth professing from rooftops.
Update:She's fine, thank Gods.