A love so perfect that could only have been inspired by Bob Marley. That was us. Endless summer days were spent under the sun while we listened to the wise words of Bob Marley, about peace, love, and music. Though we were both cooked by the sun and almost eaten alive my mosquitoes, we continued to love each other. There was not a care in the world. “Don’t worry... about a thing... ‘cause every little thing.... is gonna be all right”. That was our summer.
I met him fresh out of sophomore year. Me, being the sucker for music that I was, longed to find a boy to share my love of music with. Sure enough, I found him on the beach. He laid there in the sun. His iPod lay next to him. As I moved closer the music became more familiar to me. It was Bob Marley. Little did I know then, but that whole summer we would be doing exactly what he was doing in that instant. I approached him carefully. My feet trudged through the sand and he turned my way. When we talked, it was only about music. He said that he had a connection to Bob Marley. He told me that he agreed with almost every word he sung. He also told me he wanted to live his life just like Bob Marley. “Carefree, relaxed, poetic. All except the drugs”. That made me laugh. I never thought someone could be as inspired as I was by Bob Marley’s words. We agreed to meet again that summer. Then that turned into seeing each other every day.
The last night of summer before both us headed back to school, we met one last time. The waves beat against the shore like a boxers’ fist against his opponent. A few straggling surfers attempted to ride the waves, but quickly fell off their boards. We looked at each other as we both sang to our favorite Marley song, “One Love”. In this moment we couldn’t have been more happy, but also more sad at the same time. This would be the last time we would see each other before school- and the last time we would ever see each other at all.
The gray tombstone seemed too new in a graveyard that consisted of many other weathered tombstones. On it was his name, the day he was born and the day he died. I couldn’t look at his name. Just looking at his name brought tears to my eyes. Written below everything else was written “One Love”. Everyone who knew him well knew his passion for Bob Marley. I hated this. Something that was so personal to him was now carved in stone for any stranger to see. They didn’t get to know him like I did. Did they spend all summer laying under the sun listening to Bob Marley with him? Did they give all their love to him? All these people will walk by a shake their head in shame, seeing that he died at 16, and not even know who they feel sorry for. I’m the one who should be sorry. Knowing him the way I did. A piece of my heart was killed. But no matter where he may go, I will always live my life under the influence of Bob Marley. “Don’t worry... about a thing....’cause every little thing....is gonna be all right”.