Do You Remember? | Teen Ink

Do You Remember? MAG

By Anonymous

June was you by the pool. The day we first met, remember? I thought you were just one of those brawny lifeguard guys – you know the type: pretend to be all sweet, save the little kid from drowning, then go out and get totally hammered at night. I paid no ­attention to you, thought you were one of the heartbreakers, the ones I couldn’t care less about. But you had that smile with the dimples, and you came over just to offer me a watermelon Jolly Rancher. My favorite flavor. How did you know? That’s when I knew you were different.

July. August. After work we’d spread ourselves out on the field and drown in the sun, laugh at all those stupid jokes that aren’t even funny anymore. Why did we laugh so much back then?

Your studio, an explosion of color with your paintings enclosing you like a corral. Sometimes they made me jealous, when you saw them more than you saw me, but I loved them all the same. I loved that one of the beautiful girl with the long black hair, the one who looked so sad, but you wouldn’t say who she was. You’d never say. I’ll never know. So many secrets locked up in that little box of yours. You were fun, but you were serious.

“I want to be painted like that,” I said, because the painting was so beautiful. And you said, “Okay. Let’s do it.”

I still have that painting of me, by the way. You can only see half my face in it. “Why is that?” I asked. You shrugged. Another secret.

September. October. I love October. And you loved it too. When the leaves dance on the sidewalk and twirl through the air, when the world bleeds orange and red, and the air is like your stepmom’s apple crisp. We breathed it in together. We stood on the hill and closed our eyes, stretched our arms and spun around like five-year-olds, forgetting there was a world below. We listened to the wind whisper our names.

October was when we took the train downtown. It was fun that day, I don’t remember why. We skipped school (that was when school didn’t matter) and we rode downtown with your easels and paper and chalk and pencils, and we were going to draw fall. We drew the houses and trees, little kids flying a kite in the park, a mother duck and her ducklings wading through a river, a man asleep on a park bench, a maple leaf crisper than your stepmom’s apple crisp.

And you said, “Fall is a bit sad.”

And I asked why, and you said, “I dunno. It means summer’s over. It’s like ­losing something you can’t have back, like love.”

And I said, “But summer always comes back, doesn’t it?” And you said maybe.

We raked up a pile of leaves with a stick. We made this really big pile, laughing and running around it, losing half the leaves ’cause we’d stuff them in each other’s hair and shirts. We held hands, almost afraid to jump, like little kids taking their first dive into the deep end. One, two, three, go! And we sank into the big orange bed together.

I remember your easel that I carved my initials into. I remember the dimples on your cheeks, the eyes that were always on me. Your worn-out copy of The Great Gatsby that you read to me sometimes, and your plaid red scarf. I have that scarf, by the way. I wish it still smelled like you.

It’s October again, and the leaves are still dancing and the geese are still singing their good-bye song, and the bullfrog doesn’t sing because the pond’s almost frozen over. I wore your scarf yesterday as I rode the train downtown. I crossed the street to the park where we made the bed of leaves, and I tried to remember exactly where it was. And fall feels a little sad this year, like losing love.

I’m waiting to see if the summer comes back.



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This article has 284 comments.


on Jul. 21 2012 at 7:35 pm
Bookworm1998 GOLD, Brampton, Other
17 articles 2 photos 118 comments

Favorite Quote:
Preserve your memories, keep them well; what you forget, you can never retell.

This was so nice to read. It was beautiful and relaxing and it makes one really think about what's around us

on Jun. 29 2012 at 7:55 am
tayrobin BRONZE, Sydney, Other
2 articles 0 photos 10 comments
This was perfect. So heartfelt, had me so emotional!

XskyeX GOLD said...
on May. 22 2012 at 7:42 am
XskyeX GOLD, Bradenton, Florida
13 articles 0 photos 2 comments

Favorite Quote:
I rather feel pain then nothing at all.

i love it. it reminds me of my summer love. but we're still together today.

annie2323 said...
on May. 19 2012 at 3:09 am
That was awesome!

on May. 18 2012 at 8:42 am
speedyboats BRONZE, Owensboro, Kentucky
4 articles 0 photos 10 comments

Favorite Quote:
“Happiness can be found in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light." - Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore

This is an incredible story :') 

HelloGirl16 said...
on May. 17 2012 at 1:25 pm
HelloGirl16, Adel, Iowa
0 articles 0 photos 1 comment
Makes you really think... I loved it!

on May. 16 2012 at 4:48 pm
JesusFreak3 SILVER, Highlands Ranch, Colorado
6 articles 0 photos 33 comments

Favorite Quote:
"When everything around me falls to pieces, I've got something more in my life. When I'm broken only God completes me."
Krystal Meyers
"God is love"
--Bible
"An eye for an eye makes everyone blind."
--Gandhi

That's awesome! You really should write a sequel!

on May. 16 2012 at 3:40 pm
gossamergirl GOLD, Nowhere, New Hampshire
15 articles 1 photo 53 comments

Favorite Quote:
"The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return." ~ Moulin Rouge

what happened to the boy? you should write a sequel

theroze BRONZE said...
on May. 16 2012 at 1:16 pm
theroze BRONZE, Mattawan, Michigan
2 articles 0 photos 1 comment

Favorite Quote:
"No life ain't always beautiful, but I know I'll be fine, life ain't always beautiful, but it's a beautiful ride." --Gary Allen

This story is absolutely amazing.  I can totally connect with the main character.  I saw myself in your story.  Thank you for this truly amazing story!

on May. 16 2012 at 8:52 am
collegegirladventures GOLD, Mequon, Wisconsin
10 articles 8 photos 307 comments

Favorite Quote:
A poet's work is to name the unnameable, to point at frauds, to take sides, start arguments, shape the world, and stop it going to sleep.

~Salman Rushdie

wow!! that was awesome!!! :)

 

Please rate and comment on my work. Thanks!! :)


on Apr. 29 2012 at 12:38 am
_ella_herondale BRONZE, San Diego, California
4 articles 2 photos 222 comments

Favorite Quote:
"...If the Thames that ran beside them...recalled a night where the moon shone as brightly as a shilling on the same boy and girl... and thought to themselves, 'at last, the wheel comes full circle,' they kept their silence."

Totally love this whole piece- especially the tone.the last lines and the use of the moths were amazing ideas!! Keep up the awesomeness!!

on Mar. 11 2012 at 9:02 pm
Wanderlust. SILVER, Burke, Virginia
5 articles 0 photos 14 comments
Oh this is lovely. It has this bittersweet feeling that I adore. The imagery in my head is beautiful. Wonderfully written, I enjoyed reading it :)

Mani2x SILVER said...
on Jan. 27 2012 at 7:52 pm
Mani2x SILVER, Chicago, Illinois
8 articles 0 photos 52 comments

Favorite Quote:
I was born an original, I'm not going to die a copy.

This is great. Please do a sequel. I'll be looking for one. =)))

on Jan. 27 2012 at 7:09 pm
LunaEclips BRONZE, Stanford, California
1 article 0 photos 7 comments

Favorite Quote:
"What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet." ~ William Shakespeare

Beautiful. The tone is gorgeous with simple words pieced together in such a way that it makes me smile with envy. It is a beautiful, beautiful piece and I offer my utmost congratulations for being so very good at writing. :)

on Jan. 27 2012 at 12:07 pm
DarknessForever13 SILVER, Gainesville, Texas
5 articles 0 photos 51 comments

Favorite Quote:
Quoth the Raven: "Nevermore!"
"What's right isn't always popular, but what's popular isn't always right." - Unknown

I loved this! You are an amazing writer, I hope to see more of your work. If you don't mind, I have some articles on here you might be interested in. Rate and comment if you wish... :)

on Jan. 17 2012 at 10:08 am
Sophie Rose Cope SILVER, Cape Town, Other
7 articles 0 photos 37 comments
oh it is so completely beautiful I don't know what to say.

BadGirl GOLD said...
on Jan. 5 2012 at 1:26 pm
BadGirl GOLD, Dacula, Georgia
13 articles 10 photos 56 comments

Favorite Quote:
I'd rather be HATED for who I am
then be LOVED for who I'm not.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
All I need is for someone to say "I believe in you."

WOW!!! Totally amazing! Your an awesome writer!!! :D

on Dec. 14 2011 at 11:10 pm
Ahmad-Mobeen GOLD, Rawalpindi, Other
11 articles 4 photos 60 comments

Favorite Quote:
Understand life... Don't just STAND UNDER it!

WOW!!!! Absolutely amazing! This is the kind of work that deserves to be nowhere but in the MAG! =)

Keep it up.... maybe with a sequel? ;p


on Dec. 14 2011 at 6:19 pm
_emilia_ SILVER, Somers Point, New Jersey
9 articles 3 photos 111 comments

Favorite Quote:
"If you're going through hell, keep going."

Wow, double thumbs up!!! that was great, and I feel for you girl...

Katie-jo said...
on Dec. 14 2011 at 3:58 pm
This story is seriously amazing! It made me laugh and cry, all within a few short paragraphs. I always try to capture the moment when I'm writing...you've mastered it!