I don’t know her name, but she’s fascinating. She comes here every day and sprawls out in the leaves with this wistful expression on her face like she’s in on something the rest of us aren’t. People call her crazy, but you can’t blame a guy for being curious. Normal people are boring. She spits in the face of boring.


    God, I love that.


    So I pester her every chance I get. People say it’s a waste of time, but they’re idiots. Trying to figure someone out is a reward in itself. It doesn’t matter if it goes anywhere. The other day she was talking about eternity. It got me thinking. Relationships shouldn’t have an endgame because they shouldn’t have an end.


    “Canopies make the best views of the sky,” she muses. “Always changing fa?ades with the seasons, but the branches still all grow in the same direction. Just like people. Just like everything.”If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    “Not everything,” I say, playing Devil’s Advocate. “What about the wind? The wind changes direction all the time, and it doesn’t bother crafting a fa?ade in the first place.” I swing my legs back and forth through the air from my place in the branches to illustrate my point. People are honest for the most part, and most are capable of change. My being here is proof enough of that. She changed me. I just have to prove it to her.


    She turns away. Maybe I said too much. Wait, is that a blush I see? It is! Now I can’t help but prod.


    “How come you’re so cryptic all the time? If I didn’t know any better I’d say it’s because you’re afraid to show people who you really are, what you really believe. Though I must admit, hiding it behind metaphors is an adorable coping mechanism.”


    “I wonder what direction you’re growing in,” she says, looking back up at me.


    “Isn’t it obvious?” I flash her my flirtiest smile. This is my chance. “Toward you.”


    The face she makes is priceless.