The girl sitting across from
me on the flight back to school somehow reminded me of a million
things from back home. Her tight, determined lips instantly
brought back memories of Noelle and the party. She had khakis
on. This is important to me, but I'm not quite sure why. The
thick, brown eyebrows brought back brief memories of the Meehan
clan and Berea. Eyes may say a lot about a person's soul, but
eyebrows seem to me to express sexuality. There is something
undeniably appealing about a pair of dark, drawn eyebrows. She
had neatly cropped blondish-brown hair curling back to just touch
the nape of her neck. She quickly and deliberately ate her
complimentary peanuts, one by one slipping them in her mouth,
briefly sucking then chewing and swallowing while poring over her
text. From a brief glance, I was able to determine that she was
studying epistomology, probably for a course. Perhaps she was in
med school? I've forgotten what epistomology is, Stanford genius
I am. She gives a swig at a container of mountain spring water
and purses her eyes. Down goes the bottle, up goes the pen and
she busily highlights line after line of text in shades of green
- she is highlighting faster than I could possibly read. Her soft
green shirt almost casually envelopes her, shielding her from the
occasional turbulence. Her legs are crossed and she softly but
resolutely pages through the binder. She is clearly quite
intelligent. She wears a ring, solitary and golden, on the fourth
finger of her right hand. I note a wider, more intricate band,
also of gold, on the middle finger of her left hand. I wonder if
she's married. She looks to be 21 or possibly 22, but there is
something simple and beautiful in her face that smacks of 16.
That smacks of home. That smacks of things well-known and well
loved. I have never met her, and yet I know her. I wish her well.
She leaves.