Sylvie

Sylvie was your best friend all through grade school and right through to sophomore year in high school. There had always been feelings between you two, but you never got around to addressing it. Over that next summer, she vanished. When she didn’t show up for junior year, you made a turn at her family home to find it vacant. Crushed and confused, you moved on and spent the next three years wondering. College, second year, there she is! Sitting right there in lecture hall a couple of seats away. She smiles at you briefly, but then averts her eyes. Again, you’re left wondering as over the next few weeks she acknowledges your presence but avoids any real interaction. Then the gossip mill started, stories whispered of a boyfriend pushing past the word “no”, and worse, the next boyfriend shaming and mistreating her over it for months. The family abruptly moved away to protect Sylvie.