"She was the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen."

He had finally said it. And Grace's face never wasted any time in flooding his mind, a sad smile sitting still on his lips. He left her, and he wondered, would he ever see dear Gracey again?

Wiping the tear that rolled down his cheek, once again, he continued. "We became friends, and I never felt alone, because she was with me now. A-And she never questioned why my hair was so white, she never asked why my eyes were different, she never minded about me not having any relatives whatsoever. 

(It is a culture in their town that every weekend, the extended families would reunite with each other and come back to the city of Dillow to connect with their roots, and sometimes, the entire town would gather together at the town square and hold a feast.)

She said there is magic in mystery. I was her mystery."

"Wow, she sounds amazing..." To his surprise, Lilly was leaning in close to Darra, listening to his story and what he had to say, her eyes wide with curiosity, shining bright under the moonlight. Then he realized it...

It was still nighttime.

His eyes were squinting at the full moon, finally coming out of the clouds they were hidden from as if shining brighter now knowing that someone was looking at it. But Darra knew better, what he didn't know was why it was still out. Hours should've gone by for sure.

"Well, don't just sit there, continue!!" Lilly pushed on, becoming more agitated by the seconds wasted as they passed on. Snapping out of his daze, he shook his head getting rid of his crazy thought. Looking back at Lilly, he was ready to continue.

"She loved coming over to my house, we'd spend the night in the living room watching cartoons, and my mum would prepare a feast for us all to enjoy. My dad would be a little happier on these days too, and on those nights, we'd rarely get to see them.

Until one particular night...when Grace wasn't staying over, and my dad's mood wasn't all the best that same night...my parents argued." Darra gulped, trying hard to swallow the lump growing in his throat, not wanting another wave of tears to flush over him yet again.

"My dad wanted to get me married to another girl my age far away from Dillow, my hometown. He said they'd earn a lot of money from it, and that I'd be happy. 

I knew something was off that night, and after my dad left the house in a fit of rage, I wanted to go see Grace. She was the only one that could cure my sorrows at that time. And besides, I couldn't put any more burden on my mum's shoulders just because I was sad!

Maybe if I didn't leave my house, m-maybe if I stayed with my mum, maybe if I'd agreed with my dad, just maybe. Then...then maybe I'd still have them..." He covered his eyes with his hands as he shook his head, the promise he made to himself about not to cry had been broken as the tears fell down his hands and were now hanging for dear life on his elbow.

"My dad went to the tavern." He decided to continue as Lilly just watched and listened with sad eyes. She had to listen.

 After all, wasn't she the one who wanted to know?

"Said he drank too much, and on his way back, he was rammed by a car. Literally, run over. He couldn't come back from that...while I was talking to Grace." He said, burying his face further into his hands.

"My mum committed suicide after hearing the news, shortly before I arrived back home...coming back home from Grace's house!" He said over gritted teeth. Come to think of it, all of this happened while he was enjoying his precious time at Grace's house, unknowing that his parents were dealing with their last breaths.

He was distracted.

He was distracted by Grace.

Yes.

Now in his mind, it was all Grace's fault.

It was all Grace's fault.

Grace's fault

Grace's fault

Blame it on Grace

It's her fault

It's Grace's fault.

'It's Grace's fault. It's Grace's fault. It was all her. Not me. No. I have done nothing wrong. It was all Grace' He told himself over and over and over and over again, but no matter how hard he tried to convince himself, he knew the only reason as to why what happened, happened was that he wanted to talk to Grace. It was all his fault.

It was Darra's fault.

He was being self-centered.

He was being childish.

He was being a pain in the butt.

And that's why his parents died. It was because of him.

He tugged at his heart, the tears falling down harder as he tried to hold in a scream. Gasping for air, and again and again. He silently cried, yet he felt like he was going to explode. He couldn't believe in his own self conscious. He dared.

He dared to blame Grace.

The one who accepted him.

The one who never questioned him.

The one who made him see life out of rose-colored glasses.

The one who made everything seem like it was an adventure, no matter how small or silly it looked or sounded.

The one he gave his heart to.

The one who he, dare he say, loves.

No. This isn't Darra. This isn't him. Not in a million years. Something was stirring inside him, and he knew they had to get to the lake sooner or later. He decided to rap it up.

Wiping his tears, he continued. "I had no place to stay, no place to go, so I lay on the streets. I made myself a blanket and pillow out of old newspapers, already used ducktape, and dirty handkerchiefs. I had fallen asleep, only to wake up here in America, with a young lady and a young man claiming to take care of me.

At first, I didn't want to agree with them, but my mom always told me, I have to give people a chance. So I decided to, and with each passing day, I get just an inch closer to calling them, my mum and dad. I'm still in touch with Grace, but I...I-I never told her what happened to my parents."

He was tired.

Tired of crying

Tired of walking

Tired of sitting

Tired of talking

He just wanted to go home. Just lay in his bed and ignore everything going on with him.

Ignore this stupid mission. But then...

But then Lilly gave him a hug. It was enough. Enough to bring his spirits back, enough to get his heart racing, enough to get his face red. The contact was so...physical.

"You're going to be okay. Everything is going to be alright. Even if Grace is the only one who can cure your blues, I'm still here to try. I'll never leave your side. And even though you can't see them, your parents are right beside you. Every step of the way." She patted his back and tightened her grip around his shoulders.

"I'm here. And I'm not going anywhere. Where ever we are heading, I'm sure you'll find some clarity when we get there." She waited a few more seconds, hoping that at least he would hug her back, even if he just grazed his hand over her back. But it was just silence.

Just when she was about to let go, she felt a bigger, stronger pair of arms around her waist. "Do you promise? Do you promise you'll never leave me?"

"Never EVER!" She said, and he buried his head in her neck, humming in relief.

If you really focused and tilted your head to the side just a little, you could see the silhouette of a man and woman who resembled Darra's parents, surrounding and hugging the two. They'd never be able to see them or even feel their presence, but all the unseen eyes in that forest could.