They met in kindergarten. She approached him on the playground and smiled.
“I love your eyes.”
He looked mildly confused before grinning widely. “I’m Dan.”
“Avery.”
…
“You know, you’re certainly something Avery.”
“What’s that supposed to mean!” Avery giggled. Dan smirked. They sat on a picnic blanket beneath the blazing summer sun. Dan’s crystal blue eyes glimmered magnificently in the light. Avery stared in awe. Her love for Dan permeated from her body like smoke. She loved everything about him, especially his eyes. God she loved his eyes. It was the last day of Summer before senior year and the thought of parting from him for college crossed her mind. It was unbearable. She quickly banished it from her mind.
“It means you’re the most amazing person I have ever met.” Dan smiled and kissed her gently. He threw a grape at her.
“Oh so that’s how you wanna play huh?” She fired back, but couldn’t help giggling. They spent their last summer day laughing and talking and chasing each other around throwing food from the picnic.
Avery Rose and Dan Hyde. Dan Hyde and Avery Rose. Everyone knew they were soul mates. They were the talk of the school. Their love grew stronger and stronger with each passing day. They even talked about a future together. They were going to live together in California in a grand house with a brilliant balcony overlooking the ocean. However, of course, their relationship was not always a breeze. They fought, in fact, they would scream so loud they made their throats sore. They cried. They got angry with one another. They had moments where they just wanted to end everything. But they didn’t. They knew that the only place they wanted to be in this world, was with each other.
Avery could not believe she was already a senior. She wondered where the days had gone. Her long chestnut brown hair cascaded down her body like a serene waterfall. She was fairly tall and incredibly bright. She was accepted to Princeton University over the Summer. Princeton has always been her dream college. Dan would be attending Temple. Avery’s childhood had not been the most pleasant. Her mom died of breast cancer when she was only six years old. Her sister Maya and her Dad were the only family she had. And, of course, Dan. Dan. Just the thought of him never failed to put a smile on her face. They had been dating for four years, and their relationship was still continuing to flourish.
Dan had always wondered what it was like to be in love. Ever since he was a child he envied the way his parents looked at one another, like there was nothing else in the world more important to look at. It wasn’t until junior year that Dan realized he was in love. He did not know the definition of love, yet somehow he knew he had found it with Avery. As he combed out his dark wavy hair he thought about her. He thought about the way her laugh made his knuckles tense up. He thought about how her smile made his chest quake and his lungs shrink but feel refreshed all in one motion. He thought about how seeing her cry made him want to rip his heart out of his chest. And he knew. He knew for a fact, that he was in love.
The Summer went by all too fast it seemed. Avery and Dan were together day after day. They would lay on the grass and look up at the starry horizon at night, go on picnics, swim in Dan’s pool, laugh at each other’s sarcastic jokes, and were just simply happy. All was good. All seemed to be finally be going well.

…
The phone rang. Dan awoke and groggily picked it up and yawned into the phone.
“Hello?” It was Avery’s Dad.
“Dan? It’s urgent. We need you at the hospital asap. There’s been an accident. It’s Avery.”
“What? Okay okay I will be right over.” Dan failed to hide the panic in his voice. What had happened? It was 2:15 in the morning! He blindly threw on clothes in the darkness, grabbed his keys, and darted to his car. He ran a stop sign. He didn’t care. All he was thinking about was Avery.
He arrived in a matter of minutes. He burst through the doors to the emergency room and quickly found Avery’s Dad speaking to a doctor next to Avery’s younger sister Maya. Both of their faces had all of the blood drained from them. At the moment they were the closest thing Dan has ever seen to a ghost. Avery’s Dad spotted Dan.
“Dan! Avery was at a party Taylor threw for the end of Summer.” Taylor was Avery’s best friend. “When she was driving home she was hit by a drunk driver.”
“Oh my god. I have to see her. Please tell me she’s alright.” The fear in his deep blue eyes was blinding.
“I’m sorry. She is currently unresponsive. We inserted breathing tubes, and the good news is she has a pulse. However, there may be some brain damage. All we can do is hope for the best,” The doctor stated dolefully.
Maya stood up, tears streaming down her cheeks, and folded into Dan. He told her that Avery would be okay and everything would be normal in an attempt to soothe her. He didn’t even believe his own words himself.
Minutes felt like hours. Hours felt like decades. Dan had no idea how long he had been waiting when one of the doctors came through the door.
“Mr. Rose? She’s awake. She’s suffered some pretty traumatic brain injuries and I’m afraid to say there may be some issues with her memory.”
The news hit Dan like a truck. His felt his heart snap. What if she didn’t remember him?
Mr. Rose paused a moment taking in the horrific news.
“May we see her now?” He finally asked.
“Yes, but only family first. We mustn’t bombard her,” The doctor replied.
“What! I need to see her!” Interjected Dan.
“Dan you may see her shortly just hold on please,” Mr Rose reassured him.
Longer seconds. Longer minutes. After what felt like an eternity Maya and Mr. Rose returned with the doctor and the pained looks and tear stains streaked on their faces said it all.
“You may see her now Dan,” the doctor told him.
Without hesitation he opened the door and his heart leaped a mile when he saw Avery. She was lying on her hospital bed. Her face was bruised, her head was wrapped in white bandages, and her eyes were closed, lips parted slightly. Even in this state he thought she was still the most beautiful thing in the world to him. He approached her apprehensively.
“Avery?” He whispered.
No response.
“Avery, baby please. I love you,” The distress is his voice was eminent.
Her eyes fluttered open. Dan’s whole body sprung alive with electricity. He breathed a sigh of relief. She remained silent, but looked at him. She stared for a while, looking him directly in his eyes. He took her hand in his, and tenderly placed her hair behind her ear, searching her eyes for some sign of recognition. Then she finally spoke.
“I don’t know you, but I love your eyes.”