The Green Ribbon

not sure what the context for this was, but found it going through some old files. a sweet reminder that love isn't always what we expect

I simply didn’t understand it. The way it would slide perfectly through my fingers, back and forth. I was confused. I didn’t know what to do with the piece of cloth. A heart of gold, that’s what he said to me. It was made of satin his stammered with great strength. I watched his chest slowly heave up and down as his achieved this great feat of speaking English. I caught the scent of his person that was so similar to that of the field. He hesitated as he reached to clasp my hands with his. My eyes followed the roughness, largeness of his hands as they drew closer to me. I stepped back. What meaning did this hold? At first, he looked hurt, but his muddy eyes flickered with light and he began speaking to me again. In a low, frighteningly soft voice, he whispered words in his native tongue and beckoned me toward him again, holding the ribbon out. I was terrified how his voice held me in place. In this patch of grass of a hill in the center of the field left to the animals’ rule. He placed the green ribbon in my hands. I fiddled with this strip of cloth as he revealed a sideways smile. Is a smile customary to return? I felt my face burn red- the satin. I dropped the green cloth and ran to the safety of the wooden fence some ways behind me. I drew my knees to my chest and buried my burning face between them. I listened to the silence and how the rasping pants escaping from my chest broke it. The crunch of the hardened grass beneath his feet joined in the chorus then suddenly stopped. I let out a gasp as I felt his hand brush my knee. I dared to lift my head and saw him kneeling in the grass before me. His eyes were simply empty as he wiped away the tears that had trickled down my face. I shuddered at the feeling of his hand on my face. I was frightened, but I held his hand to my face and saw the green poking out from deep within his other hand. I drew his hand down onto my other hand, not taking my eyes off of the ribbon. “Can I?” I muttered so quietly, I sure it was inaudible. He smiled again, though not with his yellow-stained teeth. I watched him delicately place the green ribbon into my hands. I simply didn’t understand, but I couldn’t break free from his eyes. Too kind, too kind, I thought- but I could love him. I didn’t understand, but I could.