• Tick-tock, tick-tock...
    The clock is dragging out
    every second,
    every hour.
    I won't last long alone.
    A white light appears,
    accompanied by a silent ringtone.
    What appears on the screen
    are numbers that shouldn't be known.
    My heart races,
    my head reels,
    my breathing comes too fast.
    I shouldn't be doing this.
    What if I lose him?
    I don't want that.
    I don't ever want that.
    I can't, I can't...
    But my hands act on their own.
    It's been only a second,
    a single soundless ring,
    when they pick up the phone.
    A thumb accepts the call.
    An arm raises the device to my ear.
    "Hello?" I ask.
    My voice breaks,
    shakes.
    I myself am shaking.
    Why?
    I don't know.
    All I know
    is that I want to hear his voice.
    A moment later, I do:
    "Are you okay? You sound nervous..."
    I can't help but laugh.
    He can read me like a book.
    "I'm fine, I'm fine."
    I assure him.
    My voice gets stronger.
    I know what's going through both of our heads.
    I love you.
    But who will say it first?
    An interruption arises,
    so I say goodbye.
    He hesitates.
    "...I love you."
    A smile dominates my face.
    Tiny tears spring forth.
    The first in an eternity.
    "Love you too..."
    I hang up.
    I swallow.
    I want to cheer.
    I want to cry.
    But most of all
    I want to be with him.
    Why does that have to be so hard?
    We're separated by hundreds of miles.
    We're separated by religion.
    We're separated by parents.
    We have to deal with all of these,
    but we'll pull through.
    We've made a commitment and
    even though we've never met,
    never hugged,
    never held each other's hands,
    never even seen one another's faces,
    we're just two stupid kids in love
    and love can always find a way.