Broken People by Scott Hildreth Page A

whenever you want. You can practice, and one day, maybe you can paint it,” she offered.
    I agreed. I picked up my leather jacket, reached into the pocket, and retrieved my phone. And… I took a photo of the most beautiful woman in the world. “You define beauty, Britney. And you do so by merely existing,” I said. “All you have to do to be this beautiful is just be yourself.”
    “I wish I was as skinny as the rest of th e girls. As pretty,” she said.
    “You weigh 110 pounds, Britney. You are thin, almost too thin. We have discussed this. You are more beautiful than any other woman on this earth. Ever. And, the more I know you, the more beautiful you become. I love you,” I responded, shirtless.
    “I love you,” she responded.
    “I love you back,” I promised.
    She smiled. We got dressed, and w ith my heart in her chest, the most beautiful woman in the world walked to the door, out to her car, and home to a father. That night, of all nights, I wrapped myself in my leather coat, and fell asleep.
     
    A boy and a girl are standing in a field of flowers. She, wearing a little black dress, holds his hand. He, dressed in nothing but swim shorts, smiles a smile of a lifetime. Their hands are empty, all they hold is each other. A train slowly inches down the tracks as it approaches an intersection a mile from where the couple stands.
    “Come on, let ’s get on that train,” he said.
    “How? I t’s moving,” she replied.
    Looking intently into the girl ’s eyes, he speaks, “I’ve seen it in an old movie. It’s easy. You run toward the train, and then run, in the same direction as the train is moving, and just jump in. Look…,” pointing to the train, he continues… “every second or third car has the door open. It’s going West. Probably all the way to Los Angeles.”
    Through the flowers, they run toward the train. As the train slows, they r un alongside. He jumps effortlessly into the car. On his hands and knees, holding his arm out the door, he offers her a hand. She reaches up, grasps his hand, and jumps inside. Together, hand in hand, they look out the door of the train car into the field of flowers and smile.
    “Are you cold?” s he asks.
    “No, not a t all,” he responds. “Are you?”
    “No, I feel perfect. I l ove you,” she smiles and leans toward the boy, her face approaching his.
    “I love you back, ” he says, leaning toward her.
    Their lips touch. Wrapping his arms around the girl, they embrace, kissing for miles. The train passes through the fields of flowers, various colors and shapes can be seen through the train door. The couple continues to kiss. With her heart, protected by him, and his, protected by her, they gaze into each other ’s eyes. Two people, in a world all alone, sit on a train and love each other. Naturally. Completely. Without effort.
    The boy leans against the inner wall of the train c ar, and admires the beauty of the girl. The girl, against the opposite wall, sits and smiles, but doesn’t notice the boy looking at her. She runs her hands through her hair, and looks out the train door at the fields of flowers - as the train passes through them. She, filled with a love that lasts a lifetime, is content. For once in her life, she sits, satisfied with who she has become.
    The train slows. The boy looks at his watch. The watch had no hands. The boy looks away, and notices a leather briefcase in the corner of the car of the train. He walks to the briefcase, and picks it up. As the girl watches the flowers pass through the train door, he carries the briefcase back to where he was sitting, and sits back down. He places the briefcase onto the floor an d opens it. A hand written note sits on top of a leather divider. The boy picks up the note and reads it to himself
    TO THE PERSON WHO FINDS THIS CASE:
    I HAVE WORKED A LIFETIME,
    AND HAVE NO ONE TO LOVE.
    PLEASE USE THE CONTENTS OF THIS CASE -
    LOVING THE PERSON WHO
    LOVES YOU THE MOST.
    The girl turns from the