Quiet Desperation

Ryan's POV

I pulled the boy along next to me, trying not to walk too fast or too slow. I watched him closely, taking in his features.
 
He looked around the age of 17 or 18, just a little younger than I was when I died. His face was beautiful, a clear complexion with innocent expressions. He had beautiful, deep, chocolate brown eyes, and huge, soft, pink lips.
 
His messy brown hair fell over his forehead, and sat on his head sticking up in every direction. It looked like he had just gotten out of bed, but the look seemed to suit him.
 
His body was very slim, and he was wearing normal clothes for this era. Black skinny jeans, a slim fit red shirt, and some black converse.
 
I hadn’t still hadn’t gotten used to the style changes since I was alive, but I could tell he looked good. I noticed the bright red glasses framing his eyes, and the few thin strings tied around his wrist as bracelets.
 
His hands were somehow both rough and soft in mine, and very warm. If I could blush, I would’ve; he was the most gorgeous boy I’d ever set eyes upon.
 
“Do you know where exactly we’re going?” He asked me, causing me to giggle slightly at the confusion lacing his melted-caramel voice.
 
“Yes, I know where we’re going.” I said, looking slightly down at him. I could see I was slightly taller than him. I may have even been thinner, considering I haven’t eaten in years.
 
His eyes looked doubtful, but he didn’t seem so doubtful of me as a person anymore. He just doubted my sanity.
 
I paid no mind to his confusion and doubt, but kept walking. I was on the verge of skipping, the giddiness I felt spreading through my body. It’s like a blind person seeing for the first time, or parents finding their missing child after years and years of searching.
 
It was like something had been missing for so long, and now I suddenly held it in my hand. Nothing could describe how amazing it was to have the warmth from a living, breathing person on my skin.
 
It took another ten minutes of walking, but eventually we reached my destination. It was a small park in the suburbs of Vegas. There was a grove of huge trees surrounding a long-forgotten swing set.
 
It was simply a few rusty metal bars holding up  two swings: chains with wooden seats attached to the bottom. It wasn’t much, but it was my favorite place outside of the city.
 
I reluctantly let go of his hand, and sat myself carefully down on one of the swings, making myself comfortable before motioning for him to sit in the other one. He followed my actions, but didn’t take his gaze off of me.
 
Once he was situated on his swing, pulling it slightly back and forth with his feet, I decided to start asking him questions.
 
“So… you can really see me, can’t you?” I asked, a grin on my face. The realization that maybe I wasn’t completely alone in the world was simply euphoric.
 
“Well yeah, I’m not blind or anything.” He said, obviously not understanding the reason behind my joy. “It’s not like I’m the first person to see you, or anything. So what makes me special?”
 
“Maybe you’re not the very first person to see me,” I began, “But you’re the first person to see me in almost one hundred years. I haven’t felt anything since then… but you touched me! You made me feel pain!” I couldn’t wipe the grin off my face.
 
“I’m… sorry for causing you pain?” he said, trying to understand. “ Really, I guess I just didn’t expect someone to have their feet out in the middle of a Las Vegas sidewalk…”
 
“Don’t be sorry, silly! It’s a good thing, don’t worry.” Now he was looking at me as if I were mad. But if he did think that, it’s not like I could object…
 
“What is wrong with you?” he asked. I laughed at his question, feeling like a maniac, but I couldn’t stop my hysteria. I laughed harder than I ever had before. If I needed to breathe, I would’ve run out of oxygen long before I was done.
 
He looked at me, utterly appalled, throughout my whole fit of laughter. He didn’t speak, or even move. He just watched me with a scared and shocked expression on his face.
 
As soon as I calmed down, I looked back at him saying, “Don’t be scared, love. I know you don’t understand, but you don’t need to.”
 
The second I was done speaking, I fell into another hysteric fit of laughter. The boy stood, giving me one last look before taking off, running away towards the direction we’d come from.
 
I waved towards him, still laughing. The sun had completely set by now, but that didn’t mater to me. I could see in the dark.
 
I must have sat on the swing for hours laughing, not a single thought passing through my mind. Somehow, that single touch seemed to have set me free.
 
And somehow, I knew that boy hadn’t seen the last of me.