Transplant + Stranger
When I saw the girl coming over the hilltop, something inside me knew. As soon as I saw her, I felt I knew her, as though her face and her very self had occupied my dreams throughout my life. I was as if she had always been there, her face obscured in silhouette, hidden behind the curls of her hair. I felt like I had been waiting to see her for my whole life.
Of course, I never had actually seen her before. We lived at the end of our road, back amongst the trees. There weren’t many people in our town, and with our place there at the end of Tillin street, no one had much reason to come over that hill unless we already knew them. But today, it was this girl cresting over the top of the hill, stepping lightly on the cracked and dry asphalt. She smiled slightly, as she looked around at our trees. Her blue dress looked dainty and delicate, but on her feet were tough boots with thick rolled-down socks. She had a scrape here and there upon her knees, and she walked with a confident trot that suggested an adventurous, curious spirit. Everything about her spoke to me: this is the girl.
I stood there watching her. She probably wouldn’t see me right away since I was behind the hanging leaves of the cherry tree. I had been swinging on the old rope tied to one of its bowed branches. My mother had hated that we tied the rope there years ago, but she had long since given up on telling us not to use it. The rope still hung from my hand as I remained transfixed. How would I speak to her? What would I say? How could I ever tell her how pretty she was? How I felt like I had always known her, been waiting for her? I dropped the rope finally and moved fully behind the tree, breaking my view of her. Now I could think a bit more.
I wracked my brain for any semblance of an introduction. How did people say hello again? Do I just walk up to her? Call out? I placed my hands on my knees and leaned forward, trying to get a hold of my mind, spinning and flailing as it was.
I quickly realized that there was just no way to do it. I couldn’t let her see me, or all hope would be lost. She’d realize immediately how crazy I was feeling. I couldn’t hide how much I liked her. I stood up, and turned to run away.
She was there. Standing in my gravel driveway, looking right at me. I startled, and stared at her.
“Hi, I’m Ana.” She tilted her head to the side, examining me. I felt a bead of sweat form on my forehead, threatening to drip below my hairline and show itself. But she just smiled at me. The smile was amazing, and I felt a flood within myself. A smile broke out upon my face, too huge to hold back. “I just moved here, a couple houses down. What’s your name?” My fear faded, and I felt a calm roll through my mind like a cool mist. She wanted to know me. I met her eyes, and opened my mouth to speak my name.
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