The diamond eyes
He asked around the school, inquiring about her classroom. It was on the first floor. So he went there when he heard the bell at the end of the school day.
The door to her classroom was open. Children were gathering their books, zipping jackets, stuffing hats on, going home. Eric leaned on the doorframe. There were many girls still in the classroom, arranging their school bags. He knew girls took longer to prepare for leaving, so he was sure she was still inside. She hadn’t left. And he was right. She was there.
“Estelle, here’s your coat” one of the boys said courteously.
“Thank you”, he heard her say.
It was that voice. And now it was a person.
He thought he was prepared to see her. And yet her appearance was just as stunning, surprising and hypnotizing as her singing. It bewildered him just as much. It had the same effect: it sent him flying to another space and time. As she turned around to look casually in his direction – because he was standing in the doorway – her bright eyes reached him, directly in his mind, fixing him there, nailing him next to the wall. He stared, mesmerized. She stared, unaware of what she was doing to him, watching indifferently.
Hair as electrifying as a night lamp, neither blonde nor creamy, but flowing freely on her shoulders, like a waterfall, contrasted softly with the pastel pink woolen hat and the fluffy white winter coat; gestures delicate and gentle, yet firm and decisive, her attitude as majestic and elegant as a swan, floating on smooth water, as intimidating as a dangerous feline. And yet it was her eyes that were the most impressive: bright and direct, powerful and enticing. He couldn’t decide if they were silver, green or blue. He couldn’t decide if they were clear like water, evocative like the sky or mysterious, from another world, like the pieces of shiny glass he collected. He decided they were bright like diamonds. They were unique. They had something wild and absolutely mesmerizing, something words could not express.
This is her… he thought, as he couldn’t take his eyes off her.
She walked past him, as if he were invisible.
He followed her, unable to speak and unwilling to let his newfound delight out of sight, strutting behind her like a lunatic under hypnosis.
It was snowing outside and the soft white flakes were covering everything.
They crossed the schoolyard and went out in the street. His steps almost matched hers, like echoes. At some point she heard it and turned around. He stopped. Her eyes went through his mind again, leaving it in blank stare. He was trembling from the cold and the thrill in his bones, as she was looking in his eyes. He was covered in snow, like a snowman. He stood speechless under those sharp bright eyes of hers, diamonds cutting his heart in pieces.
“Are you following me?” she asked him.
The voice brought the spring and summer over the winter streets, in an instant. Fields of colors were dancing above the snow.
He felt awkward and shy. He shook his head. He tried to speak.
“I’m Rick – Eric. I heard you sing”.
But she didn’t hear him because she had turned around, continuing her walk home. And his voice was stifled by emotions and by the cold air. He wondered if she at least had heard his name.
He looked up: a gray sky was pouring snowflakes in silence. He watched the steam from his mouth, mixing with the colors that were disappearing above the white as she was turning the corner of a frozen building.
Eric had forgotten his gloves in his desk in the classroom and his hands were freezing. He grabbed his school bag closer.
And then Jerry patted him on the shoulder, waking him from the vision.
“You didn’t wait for me! You left sooner. Why?”
Eric stared into the space where the magic singing wonder had been.
“I think I’m in love”, he said.
Jerry laughed.
“Really? Who is she?”
“Her name is Estelle. She sings… her voice… and her eyes…”
Jerry laughed.
“You’re talking like a drunk man. Come on! Let’s go home!”
Jerry grabbed his sleeve, making him walk.
“You’re talking about Stella, right? Of course… the entire school’s in love with her. She just appeared out of nowhere and became every boy’s fantasy in just a week.”
Eric blinked. Snowflakes were melting on his eyelashes, blurring his vision.
“Stella?”
“Yes, that’s what they call her because everybody thinks she’s gong to be a star, by the way she sings. I don’t know, some girls have that something special… but you shouldn’t get your hopes up with her.”
“I know. She doesn’t even know me.”
“Not only that, Ricky… but she’s twelve and you’re eleven. She’d never go out with you. She’ll probably go for a higher grade guy. And knowing where you came from… she probably wouldn’t want anything to do with you.”
“It doesn’t matter. I love her. I’m certain of it.”
Eric was so sure how he felt, he was determined nothing else mattered.
She was his magic wonder. He wouldn’t give her up. He couldn’t.
He ignored the older boys who were teasing him when they saw him next to her classroom. He had a better aim in mind.
He made a habit of waiting for her by the door every day when she went home, but she hardly noticed him. Most of the time she was with a group of girls, walking home in endless chatter. He made sure she wouldn’t see him tracking them down half of the way. He could spot the pastel pink hat anywhere in the schoolyard and in the street, no matter how many classmates were surrounding her.
He could distinguish her voice in a noisy classroom and could recognize her bright eyes in the darkest night, with his eyes closed.
He was attentive each time when she was looking for her coat, but every time a boy from her classroom would get it for her, from the hanger. He knew he would have his chance one day. And one day, he did. It was the happiest day he could ever imagine. She turned around for her coat and he saw the distance between the door and the hanger: it wasn’t too much. He could run for it. There was no other boy around. He swiftly made a jump. In a second, he was reverently touching her fluffy coat like a precious jewel. He brought it to her, hardly breathing.
“Here… your coat.” he said shyly.
His heart was racing like a sparrow in a cage, beating out of his chest.
She looked at him and smiled.
“Thank you”, she said and her clear voice awakened his mind to another season.
He danced his way home that day, ecstatic and dreamy.
He felt he could do anything: he could conquer the world.
She had smiled at him.