The night was dark, and the street lamp overhead was blank. It was bitterly cold, forcing all inhabitants of the small suburban town into their quaint little homes. Underneath the street lamp, however, stood one lone soul, shivering as the wind cut through the thin, worn, sweatshirt she wore. Everything about her seemed to clash with the quaint suburb. Her dark clothing was worn, and her black converse shoes were tattered. The bag over her shoulder was torn and haggard looking. Most notably, the short spiky blonde hair on top of her head clashed with the long wavy and gentle hair of the other teenage girls. No, she did not belong here; this was no where near her small apartment in the city. Still, she stood patiently, awaiting her partner for the evening.
Footsteps off in the distance alerted the girl to the arrival of her company. Stepping out from the shadows of the night, a young man appeared. The young man was dressed much better than the first to arrive at the street lamp. Unlike the young maiden, the boy’s appearance matched the small towns’ persona. His bright green eyes pierced through the thick dark, and his black hair blended in with the night. He stopped before her and for what seemed like an eternity neither one spoke a word.
“You’re late,” said the young woman, her blue eyes looking at him through the vast forest of eyelashes. “I’ve been waiting now for half an hour.”
“I know,” replied the gentleman, lifting her chin to look her in the eyes, “Dinner ran longer than I originally thought it would. Are you sure you really want to go through with this?”
“Yes.” She replied with a stern and determined look, “What I’m trying to decide is if you really want to go through with this.” The boy did not answer right away. Instead, he lifted his eyes to the clear sky where the stars shone so brightly.
“I’ve never been so sure of something in my life.” He replied. “If this is what we must do to be together, then I’m willing to go through with it.” She noticed the bag on his shoulder and tears began to collect in her eyes.
She had never met anyone like him before. Though he grew up in the small suburban home, he was different from the rest of them. He was truly caring and did not look at the way people dressed or where they lived. He truly tried to understand people for whom they were. His parents, however, did not agree with their son’s attitude towards other people. They were truly vain people, judging those around them by what they wore, and who they were. They refused to allow such a relationship, such as the relationship between the boy and girl, a relationship with a girl from the city, with no money. A girl whose mother drank, and whose father ran away so long ago, she did not have a memory of him. He, however, would not allow his family to control who he loved, so he devised a plan that would allow them to be with each other.
The two would use the credit card his parents had given him to buy two plane tickets to another state. From there, they would use cash to carry them as close to Las Vegas as they could get. When they finally reached Las Vegas, they would elope, putting an end to his parents control once and for all. The only problem to the plan was leaving behind all their loved ones. Once he married her, his family would likely never speak to him again. It was a hard decision for him to make, but he appeared to have made his decision.
He lifted her chin, and looked deeply into her eyes. The look in his eyes was indescribable; they were full of such passion and love. No one person could ever put out the flame of love for this girl.
“All my life,” he said, “my family has told me how to dress, behave, has and controlled my life. They won’t tell me who to love! I love you; you are different from the rest, you don’t care what I look like. You don’t care how I behave. You just care about me. No one has ever been that way before in my life. You’ve opened my eyes! I see the world for how it is now, not just for the way it appears. I’d never allow them to attempt to tear us apart.”
She was stunned. Never before had anyone spoken such passionate words to her. Never in her life had anyone seemed to really care about her, until him. He was her light in the dark night, her one portal to a life where her mother was sober, and her father was home. He encouraged her like no one ever had. He was her life, and without him all her days would be dark. Before the day they had met underneath the willow tree in the park, she had even considered ending her own life, not having anyone who truly cared about her. Not knowing what to say to him, she embraced him as tightly as such could muster.
The sound of a car honking a few roads down brought them back to reality. They both knew then that they would be able to make it. With their strong passion, they would get to their destination without a problem. As long as the other was there to encourage, both would push through any peril. Looking at each other, the two locked hands and began their journey toward the airport, with just a small bag holding their essentials. The two began on their journey, both choosing not to care about taking along the items they possessed, in order to begin anew. The streets feel quiet as the gentle sound of foot steps began to fade farther and farther away from the small little suburb, as the street lamp turned on.