Denver Hugged Me
As the cab pulled up outside the college gates, I instructed the driver to wait for a few minutes, explaining that I had some business to attend to before leaving town. Stepping out of the vehicle, I passed through the familiar gates one last time, each step evoking memories of my first day at college.
The sky stretched above me, clear and boundless, mirroring the clarity in my mind as I walked the familiar path leading to the corridor of my block. Emotions thickened the air around me, weighing down my heart with the realization that this would be my last day here. Indeed, everything must come to an end eventually, but I had never imagined my final day of college would unfold in this manner.
Arriving at the principal's office, I couldn't shake the feeling of apprehension that gripped me. This was the same room where the boys had been summoned the previous night, where their voices would be heard as they recounted their versions of events in an attempt to avoid punishment. I didn't dare dwell on what might have transpired between them, perhaps because I already knew, or perhaps because I simply didn't want to face the harsh reality that lay beneath the surface.
Knocking on the door, I received permission to enter, finding the room empty save for the principal, who regarded me over the rim of his glasses with a knowing look. Seating myself in a chair, I wasted no time in getting straight to the point.
"I've come to inform you that I will be withdrawing from the college," I stated, my voice steady despite the tumult of emotions swirling within me.
The principal raised an eyebrow inquisitively, prompting me to continue. "May I ask for the reason?" he inquired, his tone polite but probing.
"I'm moving to Florida!"
"I see."
After some procedure, a clerk demanded my signature on a paper and I left the office. The court had already been dismissed before my arrival, as the clerk informed me.
"Can you tell me more?" I asked him.
"The boy Daniel was thrown out of college!"
"Why so!?"
"Because he was guilty."
I beseeched my lips and left the room.
I wasn't guilty of knowing what had happened to him. He deserved this, given the things he had done, especially, after knowing his real face, I didn't want to have sympathy for him in my heart. Because all the space had been occupied with the guilt I possess for my behavior with Denver. He had done nothing like so to deserve what he had.
I was climbing down the stair when I saw him standing at the foot of stairs. His eyes fixated on me. Though, I tried to look in him my friend I found when I arrived for the first time in this college.
The boy standing there was definitely not him, but it also wasn't the one I had mistaken him with. He seemed a boy different, a face of him I had been alien to. I could never know because I had been blindfolded.
I stepped down to him, and maintained an eye contact with him. It took me hard to not look into his eyes and even look into them.
There's something in his eyes which I failed to decode. An emotion, a feeling, and a spark igniting which seemed like it would never be able to calm down.
No one could never calm it down. No fire brigade could throw enough water in them to control the fire igniting in it.
I reached to his hand and grasped it in mine. He's skin felt as cold against mine as of a corpse, despite the fire he had been carrying in his eyes.
"I know, the word like sorry could never make it up for the damage that has been made." I said easing my hand over his.
He remained silent and didn't break the eye contact which he maintained the moment I stepped out of the corridor.
"But... I don't know how can I fix it all. I know... I have been unfair with you... I did wrong. I should not have done this... I'm sorry."
As I spoke, pouring out my feelings without much concern for whether he was truly listening or not, I addressed Denver directly, the weight of my words hanging heavy in the air.
"Denver... You mean so much to me. I admire the person you are, and I miss the boy I first met when I came to this college," I confessed, my gaze drifting around us, taking in the familiar surroundings.
"I want to reconnect with that boy before I leave this town," I added, my voice tinged with a sense of urgency.
But Denver's expression remained impassive, his silence like a weight pressing down on me. Desperate for some kind of response, I pleaded with him to say something, anything, to break the suffocating silence between us.
"Denver, your silence is hurting me more than anything. Please, just say something. I won't judge, I promise," I implored, my voice catching with emotion.
Finally, he spoke, his words carrying a weight of their own as he met my gaze with a solemn expression.
"I don't know if I can ever be that boy you met again. We change with time and experience, and it's hard to revert back to who we once were. I hope you understand," he confessed, his words resonating with a sense of resignation.
In that moment, I knew I had to offer him comfort, to let him know that he was not alone in his struggle. Stepping forward, I enveloped him in a hug, feeling the weight of his tears on my shoulders as he released the burden he had been carrying.
Afterwards, we shared a final cup of tea together, chatting leisurely as we savored the last moments of our time together. Though things wouldn't return to exactly how they were before, we found resolution and reconciliation, rebuilding our friendship on a foundation of understanding and acceptance.
As I prepared to leave, Denver hugged me tightly, our promise to meet again hanging between us like a silent vow. In that moment, I realized the true value of friendship, and I vowed to cherish it always, for good friends are indeed a precious gift bestowed upon us by the grace of God.