Crimson Eyes

I could see his eyes across the horizon, yet was I imagining this man here? He seemed to have emerged from the sea, his gaze calling out to me, beckoning me over. But what was I to do? He almost appeared as a ghost, and he seemingly floated on the water towards the golden sand shore. What did he want? Why did he seem so different? My brain spun with all these questions, causing my head to feel heavy and wanting to fall off.

It was just this morning I woke up and decided to take a stroll to the beach. Putting on my best swimsuit, which was a beautiful blue and green swirled bikini, and casually made my way to where the ocean met the land. I had no plans for the rest of the day, and planned to take today slowly as I had a rough weekend. The beach near my home rarely has others feet's walking about on its glistening sand. As such, I was not prepared for someone, especially someone like this man, to appear in front of me.

He continued to come closer, he was now crawling on the floor inspecting me from a distance. Like an animal finding something new, and exploring in the midst of it's curiosity. His hair was a dark chocolate, his posture of an alien, his clothes of a homeless man, his skin of an olive tree with flakes of dead cells, yet his lips something someone would long to touch, and his eyes as red as the blood that drips from one's cuts. I could not run as I felt physically stuck to the ground. Although, did I even want to run?

He crept on the sand, his intimidating yet somehow caring face not leaving mine. I could now hear his breathing over the waves moved by the racing winds. I could see the salt in his eyebrows and his hair, as if he spent hours on or in the clear salty sea. He gently sat down next to me, not speaking a word with his tongue, but telling a story with his eyes. They were a crimson red, and they seemed to be calling out for help. As if he was trapped inside his own skin, pleading to be let out by anyone he could find. He stared at me with those eyes, making my heart almost melt for his hurt.

"Hi," I say blankly. What else was I supposed to say? What was I even supposed to do? He seemed almost familiar to me, but I would've remembered someone like him with the way he moved and acted, right? To my dismay, he gave no reply, he just continued to give me that look that could make the most heartless soul experience the true meaning of sympathy. He eventually broke our gaze, and looked out at the open ocean. I followed his movements, and saw the beauty of the world right in front of us.

I looked out at the crashing waves saying hello to us, moving gently with each other. I saw a few seagulls cry in the cloudless blue sky, searching desperately for food, even though they probably just stole a slice of bread from some unlucky passerby. I saw the dolphins playing in the distance, I could imagine their clicks and whistles as they talked with one another. Eventually, I was pulled from the beauty of it all, when I felt something warm slip it's way onto my hand. I glanced down, to see the mystery man's hand on top of mine. His fingers cautiously curled around mine, and his thumb glided over my hand delicately, as if comforting me. Now it may have been minutes, or it may have been hours, but I never wanted it to end.

A sudden voice was heard, causing my head to jolt to the source of the sound. I see another man, tall and lean, but fit and obviously took care of himself with his hair combed to the side, and his clothes that were completely free of wrinkles and old staines. I knew this man all too well however, he was an old bully back in high school. His name was Spencer, and I have seen him here and there over the past couple of years, but he was nothing like me, and I was nothing like him. We never got along, yet no matter how hard I tried, I could never stop watching his every movements when he's around. Was I in love with this dimwitted, insolent person? Absolutely not! I quickly shunned that thought away. But even now, I couldn't stop watching him.

Why was he even here? He was probably just taking a casual stroll on the beach, right? I took a quick glance at the mystery man who I assumed was still holding my hand, but to my surprise, he wasn't there. I looked down, and there was no mark in the sand that would've shown his presence from before. I shifted my eyes back to Spencer, as he closed the gap between us, I could see his face more in detail. I then audibly gasped as I swore that his eyes flicked a tender shade of red.

My legs started to move, now standing, I was just a few feet from Spencer. He smiled at me, it was a sweet smile, showing a glimpse of his pearly white teeth. He then ran his hand through his hair, messing it up a bit in the process. He asked how I was doing, I asked him the same question as well, and as the conversation progressed, I couldn't help but notice how we both slowly inched our way closer to one another.

Even though we both had little in common and didn't "get along" in most aspects of life, I knew for a fact we both enjoyed each others company. But how could I like him like this? Did I truly like him like this?

As we got closer, he began to stutter in his sentences, looking away from my eyes and down towards my lips. I tried not to notice the way he adorably played with his hair, or the way his face glowed when mentioning things he loved. I've known this man for years, knowing us, how could anything work between us? Yet against all odds, he closed the gap completely, as his lips met with mine. My toes sank comfortably into the welcoming sand, and my eyes closed as I felt the gentleness of his lips, the way they tasted like the ocean made my stomach flutter with butterflies. His hands tenderly wrapped around my waist as I moved mine to the back of his neck. We pulled away and I saw his sweet smile, and his compassionate eyes. He then gingerly kissed me again, so of course I kissed him back. The world was peaceful, my life was seeming to make a turn for the better as I realized that for certain I was in love, and I never wanted to let go.

It's funny, I've been told that for some people, it's a slow journey until they find the person right for them. For others, they say they had a revelation that caused them to discover who it was. Maybe today I saw an angel, maybe a ghost, or something else that we do not know of had come to visit me. I could never tell a soul of what I saw, who would even believe me? I could still feel those crimson eyes burning into mine. It may never leave me, or I may just be feeling the eyes of Spencer, who may even be the same thing I saw that day. Either way, the ghost I saw will never leave my mind. That was one thing I never expected to happen to me in my life. Marrying Spencer? Just last year I would've laughed at the idea because of how different we are. He a man of wit, brute, a man who loves to play the villain, and yet is admired by well. Then me, a small shy person, who’s barely even noticed by her peers. I've known him for so long, how could it happen?

All I have to say now is thank you, to that bizarre being I saw that day on the beach. Maybe it was a ghost, maybe an angel, maybe a creature we have not yet to discover, or even maybe my own mind creating a story for me to watch. I say this however, I still wonder why and how I could feel it when he touched my hand.