The Last Time I'll Most Likely See Her in On The Topic Of nothing:

She found me after lunch. she told me that it was officially her last day in this town. Deep down it was heartbreaking. The good ones always leave the fastest. She said she wanted to hang out before she left. She followed me to my office and I “worked” off the rest of my shift playing with glow sticks and this spirograph thing that I got her as a going away present. I ask her if she wanted to go hang out when I got off She said, “yes!!!”

Seeing as it was her last day here, I really wanted to treat her to some of the things she might have missed out on. I ask her if she had ever had the gas station hibachi (it’s sooooo much better than it sounds) she said “no…” After a few minutes, I had talked her into it. The hibachi place gives you sooooooo much food when you order there, basically enough for breakfast, lunch, and dinner… I ask her “you want to go the lake and be a fat fuck with me?” again she responded with a very enthusiastic “yes!!!”

As we drove to the lake I remember they had this pretty fantastic fountain thing filled with all different sorts of large breed fish. If you’ve never seen a large freshwater fish up close it’s a pretty damn cool thing. We stopped at the fountain and I saw her eyes light up as soon as she walked up to the edge. If she’s taught me nothing else from being around her it’s that I need a woman with a bubbly personally. It’s just sooooo refreshing! next thing I know she’s leaned over in the fountain touching the back of a large alligator gar. I couldn’t get enough…

We drove on to the lake, to this rocky outcrop that I go to pretty often. it’s like the mid-level hang out for folks. not quite the white trash but not exclusive either. We sit down with our gas station hibachi, the sun was falling pretty low in the sky, just above the hilltops. She was sitting there smiling in the deep red hue of the sun as it kissed her. I’m sitting there in person but deep down I can feel that this is one of those moments I’m going to hold on to forever. I imagine it’s going to be one of those things I tell people about when I’m old and wrinkly. That time I met someone who complimented my soul, how I let her leave, and how they shouldn’t do the same. I brought along one of my old film cameras and we did an impromptu shoot there on the rocks. She looks fantastic next to the lake basking in the evening sun. We shot until the sun was gone and then we walked back to my car.

I looked at her and said “what’s your curfew tonight?” she responded with “I don’t have one.” so I decided to take her to the backwaters of the lake, I figured it might be something she would like. As I drove over to the backwaters I tried to explain a little background about it. How it was the land that law forgot and there’s no telling what we would see. true to form at the very beginning of the road was a bunch of drunken hillbillies. we drove on a little piece to find the water was way up, even with the road in most places. I saw that same light in her eyes again, she was enjoying the drive so much. We passed through a flooded part, the water was even with the doors on my car. I figured if the water comes in we have a great story if we make it though we have a great story. After we stopped seeing signs of life, I decided it would be a nice time to stop and experience the backwaters. I stopped in the middle of the road and turned the car off. The sun had set, the creatures of the night were making themselves known. I could barely make out her silhouette in what little dusk was left. I could feel her excitement. The frogs were singing their song as we leaned against my car. She kept saying how amazing the night had been so far, how she was going to miss being around, and how I should come visit her town. After about a half hour we heard this noise. It was a bit bone chilling. At first, I thought it was a close coyote. It didn’t add up though. A single coyote making noise this close. first thing I thought was like a possibly rabid coyote like 40 feet away (some scary shit). I looked at her and said, “let’s get in the car.” We sit there in the car for a little while just listening to this mystery animal. The sound had developed a coo on the end and that’s when it hit me, it was nothing more than an owl of some sort. that’s still a creepy noise to hear out in the middle of nowhere. We sat in the darkness a little longer talking about life and the things we wanted out of it. She kept saying how she wanted me to come to her hometown, and how much her dad would love me (Who I look exactly alike oddly enough.)

After our talk, we drove on. I took her down this little road heading back towards town that was high on a ridge. not much to see other than a sky full of stars, which was plenty for me. we drove and talked for like the next hour. then I decided to take her north. I mean if we’re going to experience the area we might as well experience it. I took her to this covered bridge and church just across the county line. it’s like the stereotypical covered bridge and church from every movie since the beginning of time. I took her across another high ridge where you could look down and see the lights of tiny towns from there all the way to the next state. Again she kept telling me how nice it was to hang out with someone on the same page. We dove late into the evening, eventually, I needed gas. I had to head back to this tiny rural town. It was going to be a miracle if there was a gas station open. We finally found one though.

I ask her if she had ever been to the river, she said, “no.” I ask if she wanted to go and she said, “yes!” so we just kept driving north. We ended up at the riverfront. the bridge was lit beautifully and I could once again see the excitement on her face. We started walking down the riverfront, I saw a homeless man sleeping next to the wall and I decided maybe we shouldn’t go that way.

As we walked back to the car we encountered three drunks coming from the local bar. From my experience, you deal with this by being all buddy-buddy with them. “Hey fellas! so tell me, what’s the best bar in town!?!?” They all debated on it for a moment and came up with an answer. The whole time two of the three we’re being creepy as fuck. I was standing there thinking “If they try anything towards her, I guess I’m going to have to be a hero and take one for the team.” I’m not much of a guy to worry about my own personal safety. I’m more of a trust in God and luck, and things will work out kind of guy, but when it comes to the people I’m with, I get pretty protective. It was ok though just some creepy acting guys having a drink was all.

By this time it was like 12:30 A.M. She had a final at 8 A.M. I had to be at work at the same time. As much as I didn’t want to, I figured it was time to call it a night. We made the hour drive back home and I took her to her dorm. We ended up doing the whole “I don’t want you to leave without saying it thing.” She sat in the car just outside her dorm for another 30 minutes. We were trying to get every piece of any conversation out in the open. I could tell she didn’t want to go. She could tell I didn’t want her to go. She got out of the car, walked to her dorm, she looked back. That’s the last time I saw that wild red hair and those gorgeous hazel eyes.

I’m going to miss her…