Melody was everything. Her name suited her well, her beauty comparable to that of a choir of a thousand seraphs harmonizing the most divine tune. I loved everything about her from her hair, which resembled obsidian in both color and shine, to her eyes, the color of fresh grass in the summer. I memorized her every feature and mannerism and had come to know them like the back of my hand. I was completely head over heels for this girl and the most interesting aspect of it all was that I hadn’t even met her.
Melody and I had been chatting for about a year and two months online. We met on a website that allowed you to video chat with people based on similar interests. She caught me by surprise. I was sure she would just click disconnect on me like most other conventionally attractive girls had, but she was different. She immediately greeted me and gave me the warmest smile. We talked for hours about our interests from music to literature to simple things like our favorite foods. Ever since we met that night, we’ve spoken nonstop. Between texting each other from dawn til dusk to losing precious sleep by Skyping at all hours of the night, she had become the center of my world. She knew everything about me. Well, almost everything.
I heard the ting from the computer, signaling me that Melody was calling. I pressed answer, feeling my heart flutter when her face appeared on my screen.
“Hey there, I have great news!” She practically yelled as soon as I answered the call.
“What is it, Mel?” I smiled at her excitement.
“I got a promotion at work, do you know what that means?”
“Uh, that you’re one step closer to taking over the company?” I chuckled. She made a face. I don’t think she found my joke funny.
“No, it means I can finally buy a plane ticket to come see you!” She grinned, her eyes visibly lighting up.
My face felt hot. I smiled awkwardly and shifted the conversation to something else by cracking another dumb joke. I could tell she didn’t find it funny but she didn’t call me out on my blatant dance around that subject. We chatted for an hour or so until she cut the conversation short.
“Ugh, I forgot I’m supposed to have dinner with my mom tonight. I gotta go, I love you Danny. Byeeee!” She sang before hanging up. Her “I love you” rang in my head as I stared at the now blank monitor. I felt my pocket buzz a few minutes later and I pulled out my phone. Melody’s name lit up my screen with a message below:
“I’m happy I got to see your face, even if it was only for a little. I love you.”
I grinned ear to ear. She always made me feel like the luckiest guy alive. I don’t know how I ended up with a girl so out of my league. She was perfect in every sense of the word, but I could tell she was slowly getting frustrated with me and it made my heart sink. I knew at this point that my time with Melody was limited, and I wanted to cherish every moment I could. She became more vocal about her frustrations with me avoiding the visit. Every conversation seemed to blur into a mess of excuses and angry sighs.
“I don’t know if I can get off work, Mel.”
“I’ll hang at your place until you’re off work. We wouldn’t have to be together every minute of every day.”
“Well, my car has been having a lot of problems lately. I don’t know if it’ll make the trip to the airport and back.”
“I’ll rent a car or something, Danny.”
“My dad has been sick lately and I think I should be using my spare time taking care of him.”
“You never told me that. I’d be happy to help. I volunteered at an assisted living clinic for five years.”
For every excuse I gave her, she had a solution. I felt desperate and nervous. I wanted nothing more than to hold her in my arms but my dark secret stood in the way. I couldn’t go through with it, and even she wouldn’t understand. Our daily Skype calls soon turned into weekly Skype calls and our texts went from actual conversations to “Sorry, I’m busy right now.” I could feel her slipping from my grasp and all I could do was sit back and watch. I felt powerless and defeated but I knew this was the only way we could go from here.
It had been about two and a half weeks since our last Skype call at this point and I felt as if the end was near, but then I heard the familiar ting from my laptop. I hesitated for a moment but answered the call. Her face popped up and instead of being greeted by a warm smile, I was greeted by a stern and cold expression.
“Daniel.” I cringed hearing her use my actual name.
“Hey smelly Melly.” I tried to joke, but she didn’t crack a smile.
“I can’t do this anymore.” My heart sank. “Danny if you keep refusing to meet me I have no other choice but to move on from you.”
“I-I understand Mel. I really do. I want to meet you but-”
“But what, Danny? What could possibly be your excuse this time?”
“I just can’t.”
“Well then I just can’t talk to you anymore.”
“I understand, Melody. I’m sorry.”
I watched a single tear roll down her face and then the call ended. I stared at the blank screen and watched her icon go from online to offline. Tears trickled down my cheeks as I just sat there, unable to do anything but stare and cry. I wish she knew. I wish she could understand where I’m coming from. I wish she knew how much I loved her. I sat there for what felt like hours until I decided to move. I leaned over and grabbed my bandage, wrapping my thigh and sliding into my prosthetic. I stood up slowly and adjusted myself so the prosthetic cupped my thigh properly. I sat back down at my computer desk and stared at the screen. I continued to stare at her Skype profile, trying to hold back the tears.
Gabrielle Vincent is a senior at Capital Area School for the Arts Charter School (CASA).
