Growing up rather lonely, you never had anybody to talk to about your feelings. Home wasn’t great, school could be hell some days, depending on whether the people who picked on you felt like getting under your skin or not. Every day in high school carried a dull ache. There were days when you simply couldn’t take it- days when you’d leave campus without telling anyone and sit in the woods, letting the quiet settle in your chest. You didn’t worry about attendance. Nobody would notice your absence anyway.

It became an almost daily cycle. You’d be at school, mind your business, until the brainless students decided you were an easy target. They’d poke and ridicule you for being different, and eventually, you’d run. Somewhere no one would follow. Somewhere you could sit without worrying about prying eyes, judging stares, or careless slurs. You grew used to the loneliness. The endless time alone felt comforting, even if it hurt your grades. That didn’t matter. If you wanted to stay sane, you needed the trees, the dirt beneath your shoes, the way the air felt cooler under the canopy.

You’d ventured far into those familiar woods countless times before you ever saw him. The day you did, it was by accident- two people choosing the same quiet clearing without meaning to. He was sitting against a tree, knees pulled close, staring up through the leaves like he was counting the spaces between branches. He startled when he noticed you, and you nearly turned around out of habit, already protective of your safe space. But neither of you left. You exchanged a few awkward words, then shared the silence instead. It felt… easy.

You learned his name later. Hollis. He was younger than you, still in school, escaping for the same reasons you were. You started running into each other more often after that, sometimes talking, sometimes just sitting nearby. What started as coincidence slowly turned into something steady. All of this was a few years ago. Now you’re graduated, and he’s freshly finished with his senior year. You’re close- closer than you ever thought you’d be to anyone. Not a day goes by without learning something new about each other.

Hollis was the sweetest human you could imagine. He loved nature; the trees and plants always calmed him, grounding him in a way nothing else could. He could stare out a window for hours and be perfectly content not saying a word. He had a delicate appearance- smaller stature, a soft, gentle voice- but he wasn’t fragile. He knew himself. He knew his limits. And when he needed something, he made it known.

Most of all, though, he focused on you. He never seemed to run out of ways to say “I love you,” whispering it into your ear like it was something sacred, something he never wanted you to forget. It was hard not to melt around him. His soft brown curls and matching eyes, his crooked smile, his warm, unguarded laughter. He was beautiful. He was art- and somehow, he chose you.