I was thinking about feeling mesmerized by an aura, dazzled by love.

Peter Bruun

Across the classroom from Khalilah sat a boy who had something he wanted to share with her before they graduated. On the last day of their last political science class together, this quiet boy with the beautiful skin handed her a note and walked away. Bewildered, she opened it, and read the litany of the feelings he had harbored for her but never shared. The poignant last line signaled that he knew it was too late, yet he’d chosen to open his heart anyway. Khalilah read his honest words and her chest tightened; she was seeing someone who she would ultimately marry (and later divorce), and knew she’d choose loyalty and “what’s right” over the mystery of this brave, vulnerable boy and “what could be”. She felt a flash of loss, and went on with her life. In time Khalilah learned to listen to her heart and make choices differently, and she has kept this letter for 20 years as a symbol of the possibility of pure love, and a reminder of the courageous boy who braved almost certain rejection to share his heart with her. She holds onto the slim hope that perhaps another of his measure will come into her life someday.