Heart Breakers

Once upon a time, there was one little boy and one little girl. On a fateful day, this little boy and little girl met, as if by fate.

It was a warm morning, towards the end of spring, the little boy and the little girl had both been dropped at Mill’s day care. It was the little girl’s first day there, and she was frightened. The little boy, still to this day, remembers how cute he thought she was, all dressed up in a white dress with a big red bow around the middle. He thought she looked like one of his big sister, Molly’s little dollies that she wouldn’t let him touch. The little boy had been coming to the day care for eight hours every weekday for two of the five years of his life. He could name every staff member, every tradition the day care had, every meal they would serve, every game they played. The little boy knew it all when it came to Mill’s day care. He had seen many of his friends come and go, they never lasted, not at Mill’s. He had seen fat kids, skinny kids, light kids, dark kids, kids with curly hair, kids with straight, shy kids, outgoing kids, loud kids, quiet kids, but this kid was different. He knew from the moment he saw her, she was different. She looked fragile and sweet. Her massive green eyes taking in her surroundings. The little boy had never seen eyes so green. The little boy’s eyes trailed up the little girl’s arm, her hand clutching a pair of cream trousers belonging to who the little boy presumed to be the little girl’s mother. But this lady was unlike any mother the little boy had ever seen. She wore a camel coloured suit, with a crisp white blouse underneath. She wore the highest of heels, in a bright red colour. The colour reminded the little boy of the strawberries they would sometimes have at the day care. The lady’s dirty blonde hair was tied up in a tight knot at the back of her head, and her face was made up spectacularly, complete with deep red lipstick. She was nothing like any of the other mothers who dropped their children off every morning at Mill’s day care. Normally they wore sweat pants and sneakers. Most of them had horribly greasy hair, and eye makeup aplenty. The little girl’s mother was different, very different. The little girl caught the little boy’s eye. Her face broke into an immediate smile, making the little boy’s heart melt. He flashed her his signature cheeky grin.

Slowly, the little girl let go of her mother, who was already rushing out the door, and made her way to the little boy. He opened his mouth, trying to make a sentence, nothing coming out. She giggled, grabbing his hand and dragging him to the swing sets.

The little boy and the little girl became the best of friends, never anything more, never anything less. They had been there for each other at all times in their lives. When the little boy’s big brother, Thomas, committed suicide, the little girl was there. When some mean girls at grade school teased the little girl, called her names and pulled her hair, the little boy was there. When the little boy was making the awkward phase from child to adolescent, the little girl was there. When the little girl caught her first boyfriend sleeping with another girl, the little boy was there. When the little boy’s mother was diagnosed as an alcoholic, the little girl was there. When the little girl found her father kissing another woman, the little boy was there. Through good and through bad, the little boy and the little girl were there for each other.

Their names were Jack Fabian Perez and Ellis Morgan Lee.