The day had finally come. It was graduation for the class of 2012. It was a blisteringly hot summer day, because for some reason, schools decide that it’s best to have all the students gather together in polyester robes with full dress pants and shirt (if you’re a guy underneath) when spring turns to summer. And of course, in a school with no AC, all the graduates and their families would be herded into the sweaty gymnasium like an Auschwitz oven. In the hour before the ceremony, the halls were flooded with students and family members, all of them sweating bullets, talking about future plans, and reminiscing about the past twelve years.
Then a ripple passed through the building. The graduation ceremony was not about to start, no; it was something else. At the entrance to the school, with my parents and siblings on either side, Angel had arrived to watch the ceremony. Everyone stared at her, completely hypnotized. She was wearing a skirt that showed off her porcelain legs and a striped top that put her ample breasts on display without showing too much cleavage. No one had ever seen a person with half the beauty as this stranger. With fiery crimson hair that hung down the length of her back, piercing blue eyes that looked like they could see into your very soul, and a smile that was awe-inspiring in its beauty, she was the definition of perfection. I had arrived at the school earlier, so my family just had to find me and then their seats.
Drawn to my as if with a sixth sense, Angel lead my family down the hallways of the school. Every student and even their parents gawked at the goddess passing them by. A few people even tried to record her on their phones. The boys stared at her hungrily, wondering what beautiful Eden she had been hiding from all their lives. The girls were all jealous, glad that such a perfect creature hadn’t been in school with them, lest they would all be invisible in comparison.
They arrived at the library, where most of the students had gathered, as it was the coolest place in the building. Just like in the halls, everyone stared at Angel like she was a gift from some divine being, a beauty unmatched by any human. They followed her with their eyes, unable to believe such a gem existed, and why, of all people, she was walking over to me. I was sitting by the computers, trying to figure out how to redo my tie. I had taken it off soon after arriving at the school, desperate for any relief, but I didn’t know how to get it right. Sweating like a pot roast and cursing, I fumbled with my tie until Angel arrived, the light of my life.
A tender smile on her sweet lips, she leaned down and kissed me. To everyone watching, it was like reality had shattered. For a girl, as stunning and perfect as Angel, to be kissing me of all people, it had to be some cruel trick. She then redid my tie, and after she and my family congratulated me and wished me luck, they departed to find their seats in the gym. As soon as they were gone, everyone rushed in, desperate to know who she was and asking every question they could think of. I just sat silently, smiling with the thought that I had her in my life.
The ceremony was even worse than I thought, with the gym turning into a sweaty, stuffy sauna, and my clothes feeling like wool blankets. The heat was so intense that I honestly thought I blacked out a couple times. I was pretty much buried deep in Satan’s fiery rectum. Trying to ignore the heat, I focused my thoughts on the graduation itself. Before I met Angel, I pretty much hated everyone around me, and after I met her, I was simply indifferent. But sitting there, surrounded by people I spent my childhood with and saw five days a week for twelve years, I was suddenly overwhelmed with nostalgia. I may not have had very many happy memories, but so much of my life was spent around these people. I had always hated change and relished routines, and this was one of the greatest changes of my life, in which I was going to lose so many people that I had grown up with.
Then there were all the memories of school itself. All of the lessons, the projects, endless days that I thought would never end. Those were really over. Most of it had been a drag, but there were still memories that would always remain, and some times that were almost even enjoyable. And now, that’s all they were: memories. I’m not proud of the fact that I almost began to tear up, thinking about this over and over again. But maybe it’s good that I was still human enough to feel this way.
I looked around the gym, trying to find Angel. As beautiful as she was, I couldn’t spot her in the sea of faces, but I knew she was watching me, or at least trying to. I may have been losing the closest people I had to friends, but now I had her. Finally, it was time to receive diplomas, and with our names being called, everyone moved in an unraveling line. My name being called, I stepped forward and received the small leather book with my diploma inside. To think, I was finally done, and now, my new life could begin.
Later that night, after thoroughly showering and hydrating, I stepped outside to see what the conditions were. There wasn’t a single mosquito around, but millions of bright fireflies. The evening was cloudless with a gentle but warm breeze that seemed to carry the perfume-like odor of the changing of seasons. It was absolutely perfect for what I had in mind.
“Angel, do you want to take a walk through the woods with me?”
Sitting on the couch and watching TV, she looked at me and cocked her head to one side. The smallest of smiles crossed her lips as she looked into my eyes. “I would love to.”
We grabbed our shoes and headed out into the woods. There were so many fireflies that we did not need a flashlight; the insects perfectly illuminated the forest. Their light cast a mysterious aura on everything in the woods and altered their colors, the leaves gained a dark blue-green shade and the tree trunks seemed to have a purplish tinge. The illumination was almost haunting. I could see what everything was, but my sense of distance and perception was warped. I could reach out to touch a leaf and my hand would only pass through its shadow. I could take a step towards something several meters away and realize that it was right in front of me the whole time. The forest was filled with endless shadows from the light, shadows that seemed to hold secrets of nature itself.
I watched Angel as she moved through the forest like a ghost. Her eyes were filled with wonder as the fireflies hovered around her like fairies. In the light of the insects, her crimson hair shined like rubies and her blue eyes glowed like the moon. I remembered the day that I had met her, when I she had truly been born into my world, having materialized out of thin air. The way she was wrapped in the light… was supernatural.
I closed my hand around hers. “There is a place I want to show you. Judging by what we have seen so far, I’m guessing that this place will be a work of art.”