 Which came first, the phoenix or the flame?
Ashley was getting antsy by the time Evan showed up. She knew he would always be there for her, and she knew he'd texted to show he was coming. But she couldn't quite believe it until he was standing in front of her. She thought it was reasonable to not take things for granted. However, she also thought that probably her mind was conspiring against her to make her upset and worry about things that weren't real, and she regarded the apparent reasonableness of her mindset with suspicion. But then again, she was protecting herself from being hurt by not believing people would show up for her. But then again, the mindset hurt her at least as bad as other people did, so there was really no point to it. She decide that she should stop worrying for at least five minutes until the agreed upon meeting time had arrived.
It was hard though. She distracted herself from the task by drawing flowers with her grey pencil on one of her sketchbooks. The sketchbook was from Evan, coincidentally. Maybe that was a sign that he was coming? Sure enough, Evan came, prompting a joyous look from Ashley on the other side of the room. "Evan!" She immediately stood up and gave him a big hug. "I've missed you so much. I'm so glad to see you." And yes, it was entirely her fault that they hadn't seen each other in a while, but she was still allowed to miss him. "I don't think Minjae's here right now. But I wish he was! Maybe I'll look for him this week." Minjae was like her big brother, and she was always glad to see him. "Cool sunglasses, by the way. Very stylish." It was tragic that sitting indoors did not require sunglasses.
Ashley smiled a big smile, the kind that could only happen when she was suddenly very sure of herself and the idea that everything was going to be okay. "How are you?" She very much hoped he was doing well. Nobody deserved it more. |