By Madison Hills.
Jay loved the morning air.
He loved the faint smell of salt and ocean waters engulfing his lungs with a warm embrace. Beautiful oranges and pinks the sky produced, casting a faint glow to his golden apple cheeks. The feeling of his arms being touched by the lightest of breezes caused him to get goosebumps. Eyes closed he felt happiness bubble at the tip of his toes to the tip of his burnt Sienna hair.
He welcomed this feeling that nature gave him. He welcomed the rare happiness that stained the tips of his fingers with joy. He welcomed every bit of it, for the first time he felt free.
As, he stood on-top of a semi-steep cliff that hung above the sea water his house stood in the background, light just hitting it. The greenery Littered every ounce of land around him. This is something Jay has come to find exhilarating.
The boy finally opened his eyes, letting a soft sign escape his pink dusted lips. He scanned the scenery before turning on his heels to make his way back home.
Home couldn’t hold the same sense of serenity as nature did for Jay. He couldn’t amble down the halls thoughtlessly as he could in the woods. He couldn’t inhale the earthly smell after heavy showers in his home. He could only bare the feeling of uselessness in the eyes of his parents; who could only see a misfortune in their only son. Running away wasn’t an option, so he turned to nature for his get-away.
He put up with it, though. Jay put up with the constant slurs from his mother, and doubt of masculinity from his father who knew what he lacked. He was fixated with his own self hate, something he was quite ashamed to admit to. Since the time he could remember he has never felt welcomed in his home, but today was different.
The usual tall shadows with in the walls for his room seemed smaller. The darkness that hid in the corners were now just a tint. The mirrors no longer reflected that of a nobody. Today the mirrors reflected someone who was proud of himself. The time spent in nature some how brought a sense of pride of who he is, the love he could dig out from deep inside. He says softly, “Now I can finally look at the mirror with a full smile”.
His eyes twinkled as he stared back at himself, ignoring his parents heavy footsteps echoing through the halls. His eyes disappeared among his cheeks when he smiled; teeth and all.
He stuck out his chest, confidence swelling from deep within in himself. In the corner of his eye he could see his father squinting confusingly at his son. Jay had simply smiled at him. The older man’s eyes were nearly bulging from his head at the sight of the blinding grin his son was producing. Jay couldn’t help it, though.
Because for the first time, the sun shined in his home.