There are many people you see, but never encounter. They may be a girl on a train you spot every morning, that man who seems to get an egg sandwich every day at the deli, or that girl who wore that gold sequined hair bow that one time.
She’d always kept quiet. I’ve actually never heard her speak once, unless you directed a question towards her. She never came to school last year and everyone now and then was confused as to why.
Rumors would fly, “I heard she has lime disease. Is she getting home schooled? She might have family problems. Did she die?”
She seemed unbearably normal. All to herself.
Until the sunny day I noticed something. Walking down the hall we passed a long strip of window with some of the brightest fall sun you could see. On everyone else the light had a separate identity. It didn’t brighten them and it was its own. But on her, it struck her sequined hair bow and lit her up. She absorbed all of this fall sun and shone bright to me for the first time. The light she reflected spun on the ceiling of the hall and made me double take. Rectangles and triangles of perfect gold light dazzled my eyes and woke me up. She had the power to awaken not only me, but also these dull school halls. I know no one else noticed, but she connected with me in a way I never thought she could. She’s containing something, a passion, a light. And I can only hope she notices her shine before she lets it fade. Adults seem to do this, and now I know I never will.