Are You Okay?

By Lelaina MacDonald

cars zooming past us

the lights from them only appearing for a second

your eyes on me for several seconds

but your mind was elsewhere

“are you okay?” i asked

you shook your head

“i need you”

you hadn’t felt okay in weeks

there were times where you wouldn’t elaborate

times you should’ve been smiling but didn’t

the things that normally brought you joy

they only brought you negativity

i pulled you close to me

my hushes and your tears overlapping

you rested your head on my shoulder

while i drew hearts and stars on your back

of course it was hearts and stars

it’s always hearts and stars

i brushed the hair from your eyes

you looked up at me

your eyes were puffy 

but i saw the smile

as small as it was

it was present

you were present

you were my present

this was the closest we had ever been

my arms wrapped around you

your arms holding mine with your head pressed into me

i told you everything was gonna be okay

because i was always gonna be around

we promised to never leave each other

remember that?

to take your mind off the pain

i reminded you of all the adventures we had

and all the adventures we were going to have

“remember we went trick-or-treating together?”

running around for hours 

finding all kinds of goodies

never letting go of each other

“remember you came to my birthday party?”

piggyback rides across my yard

holding hands while skipping into the night

and playing hide-and-seek, hiding next each other

“remember we did the 10 mile corn maze?”

i met your sisters for the very first time

you and i had the most intriguing conversations

our legs and feet hurt, but we didn’t care

“soon we’re gonna go to a craft show!”

gifts and homemade items and hopefully snacks, too

“soon we will have Christmas gifts to exchange!”

oh, all the things i was going to make you

“soon we will visit our childhood playground!”

the swings and the slides brought us so much laughter

but i need my robin back!

as i rambled more and more

the corners of your mouth began to rise

your teeth revealed themselves to me

and the way your eyes twinkled

i would’ve done anything

to see that every day

“are you okay?” i asked

“yeah, thanks to you”

By Lelaina MacDonald