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I walk through the woods, my headphones on and my music blasting.
"I've had a couple loves, didn't go my way. You better hurry up if you're the one for me. I don't understand, I can't seem to find my boy."
Song after song after song after song of love songs...
"No fair... you really know how to make me cry when you give me those ocean eyes. I'm scared... I've never fallen from quite this high fallen' into your ocean eyes. Your ocean eyes."
Song...
"This love callin' my name. Get out of my veins! If you need your space, then just walk away! You know how to mess me up, then make it okay. I guess that's just your game... and I'm the one who gets played... again and again and again and again."
After song...
"For you... I'd do anything for you. Nail my heart to the ceiling. Put my fist through a wall."
After song...
"We belong together... we belong together, y'know, yeah. White-stained teeth and bloodshot eyes, think we're both messed up and that's all right, yeah."
After song...
"Tell me how we're not alike, but we work so well and we don't even know why. Funny how the stars crossed right, 'cause we work so well, and we don't even know why."
I turn off my music, rip my headphones off and sigh. "Why..."
I'm upset.
Obviously...
Song after song of love songs...
It makes me jealous.
I'm a stupid, ugly, nerdy 8th grade girl...
No one could ever love me.
No one.
My life is more...
"Co-comparison is killing me slowly. I think I think too much 'bout kids who don't know me. I'm so sick of myself. Rather be, rather be... anyone, anyone else. But jealousy, jealousy started following me."
I sigh again. All I want is for someone to love me.
Rustling noises.
I sit up.
"Hello?" I call. "Who's there?"
A tall, brown-haired boy wearing a blue sweatshirt walked out of a bunch of bushes. "Hui. ʻO Makoa koʻu inoa."
"Sorry?" This boy is speaking... Hawaiian?
"Oh, you speak English. Sorry. Hi. I'm Makoa."
"Rosa..."
"Very nice to meet you. You see, Rosa... I got trapped in a universe link, and when I tried to escape to my universe, I jumped to the wrong one. Now I am here. I need your help."
I stare at him. He must be crazy. "You probably had a bad dream..."
"Aʻole!" Makoa says. "Sorry, I mean, no. No! It was real! I know it! Let me show you!"
Makoa summons the window to the universes and I gasp. "These are the four universes. We are in the universe called Star. I am from the universe called Moon. Then there is universe Sun and universe Sky."
"What!?"
"It's real, Rosa. My father is the king of universe Moon. He booted me from our universe to find love and I ended up here. The Keeper of the Universes, Gurax, told me the first person I would see in universe... would be my true love."
I freeze. "That is the craziest crap I have ever heard in my entire life, and I've heard my friends tell me I'm pretty."
"But you are!" Makoa says. "And Gurax knows everything..."
"No..." I say, "not possible..."
"Well..." Makoa seems disappointed. "Then maybe we can just be friends?"
Makoa stays on our universe for months, popping up in my window every night and following me on my way to school.
Believe it or not...
I think I start to fall for Makoa.
He's charming... and kind... and especially cute.
One night, he knocks on my window. I'm already in my PJs, I'm showered, and I'm lying on my bed, reading a book. I look up at the window. His smiling face. I smile back. I run to open the window.
"Aloha," he says. "How was your day?"
"Eh, so-so," I say. "Yours?"
"Oh, it was so boring," he says. "At least we can spend the weekends together."
"Absolutely," I say. Am I blushing? I'm totally blushing. "Makoa?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you..." I sigh, "do you... still believe what the... Keeper of the Universes... said about... your true love?"
"Well..." Makoa blushes and looks at his feet. "Yes, Rosa, yes I do."
"Well... so do I."
Makoa looks up at me. "He aha?"
"Makoa, I..." I take a deep breath. "I love you."
"I love you too," Makoa says. "Which means I have to go."
"What?" My eyes well up with tears.305Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsUy7DGJNiy
"My father said when I find love, I have to go home. But I will send Gurax to you. Find me, Rosa."
And so we say goodbye.
Find me, Rosa.
I will find you, Makoa.305Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz5zTlclUA7
