The Boy With Empty Eyes

The Boy With Empty Eyes

The one thing I had always loved about him was his eyes.
He looked at me, and it felt like those deep brown eyes were drilling a hole through my soul… going straight to my core.
Uncovering every secret I held close.
Every single emotion he chose to show was reflected in them
His smile, whether genuine at a joke I cracked, or simply indulgent when I was rambling
His frown when anyone wasted his time, pure focus when he was trying to understand something
It was like his whole existence lived in those two globes of obsidian cased within his skull
with that unmistakable spark, happy or sad, afraid, confident or excited.

His eyes held hope, belief in what could be; a love for love that had never been tested.

And that test came.

First it was Wunmi the nerd
Cutest voice he ever heard,
Promised to love him all of her days,
Pleased him in all the right ways,
Like five and six,
Fish and chips,
Pencils and erasers,
They were inseparable.
All of a sudden,
“I think we’re going too fast, I just want to concentrate on my career”
That’s what she said.

I gently watched as those holders of life leaked
Buckets and bucket loads of salty water
Red from overuse and exhaustion
Three months it took
But they came back
And brought with them that natural ability to see what I couldn’t say

So naturally,
Next came me
We were easy,
Ying to my yang he was,
Not even the thinnest blade could cut through us
But I was an ass
I let my commitment issues step in the way
When I got the hint
He’d bought a ring
“It can’t work”, I said
When he got down on one knee

And in that very moment,
I watched it walk away
He looked at me and I felt nothing
Not fear or dread or terror
Just an intensity that everyone could see
As I ran and left him
On bended knee.

Then came Ann,
Ann the psychologist,
The delectable Ann,
Hot, intelligent, well spoken,
She ticked all the boxes on his checklist
‘Match made in Heaven’,
‘Stuff of fairytales’,
‘Model couple’,
We all opined.
But it was not to last.
“There’s someone else”, she said
In that confident, piercing tone
We had come to relate with Ann.

He walked into the bar, and I knew.

I looked in his eyes, and just knew

Not again

Intense

He looked at me and the entire story was in those two globes of obsidian.

Not again

There was no emotion

His weak smile, as I hugged him

His frown as I asked what happened.

Not again

“I’ll be fine… I always am”, he said.

These days, I see him, but there’s something missing.

He laughs, we play, it looks like everything’s fine.

But looks can be deceiving

I know the look I see when I look in his eyes

He still reflects everything in them… every smile, every frown; his eyes still pierce through my soul.

But, it’s like seeing an old toothless man smile.

The smile is full and real, but what’s a true smile without teeth?

Empty…

His eyes are… empty.

 

 END

– By Moyin

I hope y’all liked it.