Four - Stargazing Mom smiled. “Have fun.” Raymond and I went outside and he led me to the backyard. It was a nice space, in my opinion. “This’ll work perfectly,” he said. I tried my best to write in the dim moonlight. I’m sure the writing was kind of sloppy, but I showed the notepad to him. Can I try to get onto the ground myself? Raymond nodded. “You can try.” I nodded too and started to get myself off the wheelchair. You can try. You can try. His words echoed in my head, soft and sweet. I will try, I thought. So I tried. I tried to stand up, to get there by myself. It didn’t work. The pain and shock shot through me as I began to collapse. But, it wasn’t the hard ground that awaited me. Instead, I fell into his arms. Raymond smiled that cute, slightly lopsided smile of his. I smiled back as he picked me up all the way off the ground for a long minute, as if I were a child in his arms. He helped me lay on a soft patch of grass to his left and he got down next to me. He looked up at the stars and then at me, and he brushed a tuft of my hair off my face. I gazed up into the vast sky. We were just dots in the universe watching the stars shine in the dark purple night. Raymond turned his attention to me again and spoke, his voice still low. “Your name fits you so well. On the outside, you’re like an oyster; people see you as unimportant. Practically useless. Nothing. But inside, you’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.” I didn’t know how to react, so I cooed happily. It made sense, but was I that beautiful inside? In his eyes, I was, and that was all I cared about for those few moments, of which I will always cherish. We lay there in silence for the next few minutes, until Raymond began pointing at some of the stars and naming them. I recognized some of the easier constellations, like the two dippers and Orion’s Belt. I couldn’t tell him, though, much to my dismay. Once he was done talking, he asked me if I was ready to go back. I shook my head vigorously, but I did want to sit up for a bit, so I did. He smiled and sat up too. “You do realize my friends that I told you about want to know more, right?” He asked. I shook my head. “I mean, they think you’re lovely. I can’t blame them.” I was surprised, but happy. I reached for my notepad and pen. We should go back now, I wrote. He nodded and asked me if I needed him to help me up. Having failed to get down earlier, I decided it wouldn’t hurt to be in his arms again. “Thanks so much for having me,” he said as he lifted me up and onto my wheelchair. Once we were back inside, we waved our goodbyes and got ready to part ways. Raymond and I hugged again. “This night was wonderful. I wouldn’t have done anything else,” he whispered. “This will work out, no matter how imperfect.” I smiled. “You’ll never be perfect,” he said, “but I’ll always love you for who you are.” Someone loves me for who I am. The realization was heartwarming. I waved to him as he turned around. Goodbye, I thought. Perfect is never, love is forever.
