Remember when kids used to fear the monster under the bed or the boogeyman in the closet?

Guess I’m just a late bloomer because I was in tenth grade when I met my monster. You know, as close to a monster as most people could compare but I guess one could say he was treated like one. He walked with an air of mystery that scared many. He wore an old trench coat that floated behind him as he walked the rusty high school halls, a scowl painted upon his face. The boy stood at an intimidating six feet with hands that could swallow the average mans. And boy did he have such sharp golden eyes that pierced your pride.

Some had the nerve to poke fun at his figure though never to his face. This was how my world saw him. I observed a lonely guy with eyes all too familiar with hurt, bearing the scars of social ridicule and rejection. From that day forward, I made a habit to follow him like a lost puppy looking for a savior. For a time he viewed me as a pest, swatting me away; at times even took pleasure in doing so. I persisted on. I didn’t know why then and damn was I asked frequently. His mere passing made my bones shiver with the thought that my unfortunate beating was nigh… and yet I continued stubbornly for a grimace… a smirk… a grin… maybe even a smile. Why you may ask? Well I assure you, I’ve found the reason for my rhyme. In every monster lies a heart waiting for one to brave its walls. And behind those walls I found my best friend Jesse. Yeah, it took time and a spot of persistence but these days, doesn’t anything you desire require some effort?

It’s when I find myself forced to take flight that I reminisce on my time at sea… Lonesome in an ocean of happy foreign faces. And those hours I’ve shared enjoying the company of my companions. I have many acquaintances and just as many foes. Friends are hard to come by in a world where virtue is a commodity. I can only say I’m grateful to find myself a monster because for a man many scorned as a stranger, I value as a loyal and enduring friend. We rode this train together and now I must part ways with the hope that someday soon, that monster will wait for me under the sky of another crisp autumn afternoon.

“Friends til the end man,” he once told me. Never did I once believe in eternity until he spoke those worlds… And we turned to face our ways, sad but hopeful. We met as monsters and parted brothers.