The time stopped for Marie and Jean as they spotted each other in the park and continued staring at one another as they were walking reciprocally towards the other person. Even though Shadow was leading Marie, but he was also leading her towards Jean as he must have sensed that Jean was willingly walking towards him; dogs have that power.
Both of them had their smiles growing as they were getting closer. The other people in the park thought that two friends were meeting each other, and they were not wrong in assuming that because it was very much right. The fact was that only Jean and Marie knew that there was something else which was growing between them at a pace which was very difficult to cope with. That would have been a matter of concern if they knew what it was.
As they were standing in front of one another, they had their eyes fixed on each other. Not being able to understand if they should do a handshake, or hug, or give a peck on the other person’s cheek; not knowing the way they should meet, they kept standing like statues admiring one another.
To say it was not a beautiful feeling to them would be a lie because the general overview was most certainly a beautiful one. The matter of worry was that if they continued to be this loving for each other, they would both end up landing in a big trouble because their parents would never accept them with a person of the same gender.
Besides, their country did not accept such bonds. As friends it was all fine and very much acceptable, but they did not value non-heterosexual relationships. Everybody else would look down on these two young girls, and that would definitely make things very difficult for both of them.
Given that they were still youngsters and not adults, it would still be acceptable. But for how long would they continue being together without being given the privilege of being in a legitimate relationship and being recognized as a couple? It was very difficult to guess. There could also be a possibility of the two girls being nothing more than curious about experiencing the feelings of love with each other despite not actually loving one another.
There were a few possibilities, but Jean and Marie did not really start thinking about it because they themselves were not able to decide what exactly it was and why they were feeling so beautiful with each other. They were feeling how the hero and heroine felt in romantic movies; birds chirping, cool breeze, colors looked more vibrant. It was as if life had gotten more beautiful for the two of them.
Shadow started to try and walk further after standing there for a few minutes as he was looking for a place to pee. The force was pulling Marie to start walking with him again, and that is what she did. She started taking steps where Shadow was leading her. For a change, she was not walking alone, but Jean was also walking with her.
Nothing seemed better to Marie except Jean walking with her. As she was holding the strap with one hand, the other hand was left hanging on the side, and that was where Jean was walking with her hand also on the side where Marie was, on purpose with the intention of touching Marie’s hand as and when it was possible.
Initially, it was only their palms that were coming into contact, and when that was happening, it was sending current to both of them which made something feel extraordinarily addictive. They were loving it, but were not trying to show it but only if their smiles could complement their mental restriction.
They stayed without saying a word at all for the entire time that Shadow was doing his business. It was only after it started getting a little dark but still quite bright enough, and Marie was walking across the park to get out and head home, did Jean gather courage to slide her hand in a way that she could hold Marie’s hand which was purposely left hanging by her.
It was not easy for both of them to contain their happiness and again, their smiles made it pretty obvious. Their faces showed the way they were feeling about each other, but it was too early for them to decide if it really was anything more than friendship. They did have other friends and never felt the same way with anyone else.
Deciding to keep her emotions intact, Marie chose not to mention her feelings to Jean even though she was aching to share everything with her. She thought maybe some other day, but deep within she was also very sure of not wanting to take the lead in this bond.
She wanted Jean to take the initiative for turning their friendship into a relationship because just this walk with her for about twenty-five minutes made it enough for her to know that she was in love with Jean. There was no way that she would risk her friendship by telling Jean how she was feeling for her because if it was not going to be reciprocated, then it would break her heart.
Marie was patient enough to wait for Jean to confess her feelings first. It was evident that Jean also felt the same way for Marie, but maybe she needed more time to accept the truth. Even though the way that Jean had lived until now was not very girl-like, she still had not accepted that even her feelings were unlike girls. It was extremely hard for her to feel comfortable among girls because being with boys made her feel secure.
Jean used to look at girls in a similar manner that her male friends used to look at them; with greed and in a way that would make the girls feel wanted. But now the question was if she was going to realize that she was different than all the other girls and had male emotions dominating her. Even if she realized it, would she let Marie know the way she feels about her because Marie was waiting to accept her the very minute she mentioned it to her, or would she end up keeping her feelings to herself?
As Marie got closer to her home, she said, "That is my house, and I will have to go. Let us meet again tomorrow, what say?"
"Of course. How about the same time?" Jean replied.
"How about early in the morning at 6:00 am when nobody is in the park?" Marie said and walked back home as her head was turned to where Jean was standing.