“Just have fun,” I said as I embraced him in a hug.

“Ethan?” he breathed as I patted him on the back.

I leaned away from him and gazed blankly in his direction, “Yeah?”

He stared at me for a few seconds and eventually sighed slightly.

“I love you. Can I say that?” he asked.

I nodded my head and grinned, “Sure can.”

“I love you, too. Just like my brother,” I said as I patted him on the shoulder.

“Ethan?”

“Yeah?” I said over my shoulder as I walked toward the television.

“I know it’s not enough, but I’m sorry about your brother,” he said.

“So am I,” I sighed as I glanced around the television, trying to remember just what it was I intended to do.

Still staring mindlessly at the audio equipment under the television, I spoke over my shoulder.

“Let’s agree not to talk about that any more, okay?” I asked flatly.

“Okay,” he responded.

The sound of the door being unlocked brought me out of the fog I had become lost in. I turned toward the door and waited.

Rain came bouncing into the apartment full of energy, as always. Seeing her brought a smile to my face and warmth to my heart every time I saw her, regardless of the surroundings. Dressed in a pair of Victoria’s Secret Pink sweats, a Pink tee shirt, and flip-flops, she looked like a miniature model for the clothing line. At not much more than five feet tall, she could never be a model for a living, but in my eyes she was one.

“Hey babe,” I said as she skipped into the room.

“Trent said there’s some meteor shower thing tonight. There’s going to be thousands of shooting stars,” she said as she walked past Cade and gave me a hug.

“I didn’t realize it was going to be tonight,” I shrugged.

She turned away from me, walked to where Cade was still standing, and gave him a hug. As she did, she glanced over her shoulder.

“Yep, tonight,” she said.

I nodded my head, “Well, if I’m still up, maybe I’ll take a little of it in.”

She released Cade from her arms and glanced toward the kitchen, “What’s for dinner?”

Cade widened his eyes and lifted his shoulders slightly, “I haven’t cooked anything. I was thinking maybe eating out?”

“Sounds good,” I said.

“Let me use the bathroom and get a different shirt on, then we’ll go,” Cade said as he walked toward his room.

Rain turned toward me and studied me for a moment, smiling slightly as she did. She was truly beautiful in so many more ways than appearance alone. Her ability to see beyond the complications of her childhood, take the incredible journey she chose to take, and take it alone spoke volumes of her ability to persevere in spite of the circumstances in her new life. Through it all, she remained Rain, only fearful of the potential return of her stepfather.

The resistance encountered determines the amount of energy required to overcome it. The resistance in Rain’s life was great, and overcoming it required tremendous energy on her part. Her strength was definitely a large part of her beauty. Simply seeing her now, and knowing where she came from brought a level of joy to my heart I had never known to exist. As I stood and took her presence into my heart, she slowly walked my direction.

As she stepped directly in front of me, she opened her arms and grinned.

“Hug,” she said as she wrapped her arms around me.

As I held her in my arms, her chest pressed against me, I closed my eyes and exhaled. Although I was incapable of mentally plotting my future to include Cade and Rain in it forever, attempting to comprehend living life without either of them seemed impossible. My decision to live in today, and continuing to live in my today’s of the future was working for me, and I intended to continue that mindset for as long as I needed to.

“I like thinking about our future,” Rain breathed into my chest.

I raked my fingers through her hair and gazed down at the side of her face as she pressed her mouth into my chest, breathing her warm breath into my shirt playfully.

“Funny you said that,” I responded as I flipped her hair over her ear.

“Why’s that,” she mumbled into my shirt.

“I was just thinking the same thing,” I sighed, “Well, kind of. Thinking about it or trying to make a mental plan exhausts me. I can’t seem to wrap my arms around it, you know, big picture.”

She leaned away from me and gazed down at my feet. As she glanced up, she raised her index finger into the air as if she intended to make a valid point and began to speak, “Right now, the future is just one minute away. So, when you think about it, every minute in front of us is an opportunity to change our future. Each minute offers us an opportunity to identify concerns, and make changes for the better. All we have to do is be willing to take the risk. So my future? It’s not miles away, it’s a minute from now.”

I grinned at her explanation and nodded my head, “I like that.”

“People complain about their lives, wanting to see change, but they’re unwilling to take risk. Every minute that passes is an opportunity. It gets down to being comfortable taking the risk,” she shrugged.

“Makes perfect sense,” I said as I reached for her shoulder.

“You’re beautiful,” I sighed as I studied her from head to toe, “I really like your little outfit.”

“Thanks, Cade took me to the mall. I used that gift card. It was fun, because it was kind of free,” she giggled.

“Well, you’re beautiful,” I grinned.

She rested her palms against her waist and cocked her hip to the side. “Do you love me just because you think I’m beautiful?” she asked playfully.

I coughed a laugh, and shook my head from side to side, “I think attraction and affection are often mistaken for love. For most people, recognizing true love is difficult. Realizing it exists within us, however, is quite simple.”

She narrowed her gaze slightly, “How so?”

“All we have to do is walk away,” I shrugged, “True love tugs at our heart until we return.”

“Is there a tug at your heart when you’re away?” she asked as she lowered her hands.

Realizing I’d never actually been away from Rain for any period of time, I nodded my head anyway, assuring her I knew I loved her. In considering her and Cade were leaving for four days, I had no doubt my heart would be attached to a string, with Rain clearly holding other end.

I gazed down at her, shook my head at my inability to fully understand her natural beauty, and breathed the words.

“There sure is.”

As Cade emerged from his room, grinning from ear to ear no doubt about the shirt he had selected, I realized in a week I’d know just how sharp that tug would be.

ETHAN

Love isn’t blind, people are blind. Recognizing beauty is as simple as opening your eyes and realizing just what it is that stands before you. Although I must admit to having clouded vision in the past, I now was able to see everything distinctly and without effort on my part. Rain explained my vision had become unobstructed, and I believed her.

With a level of clarity I had not previously known to exist, I stared out at the stars and waited.

“There went one,” Rain whispered as she tapped me on the shoulder.

I glanced in the direction she pointed, too late to catch a glimpse of the shooting star. I grinned, kissed her cheek, and tilted my head rearward, gazing straight up into the sky. After a few seconds, a meteor shower of about ten stars shot across my line of sight and disappeared into the otherwise dark sky.

Wow.

Just fucking wow.

I gazed out into the sky, knowing I was one of the more intelligent men to ever grace the earth. In the past, my understanding of my intelligence was my main reason for questioning the existence of God. Standing beside Rain now, and staring into the sky above - only to be treated to something as wonderful as a three hour long meteor shower, caused me to question my previous belief regarding the absence of a higher power.