Norwegian wood

Memory is a funny thing. When I was in the scene, I hardly paid it any mind. I never stopped to think of it as something that would make a lasting impression, certainly never imagined that years later I would recall it in such detail. I didn't give a damn about the scenery that day. I was thinking about the boy walking next to me. I was thinking about the two of us together, then myself again. The scenery was the last thing on my mind. I just wanted to get home as fast as possible, but he was taking his sweet time. “Look at the moon.” He said, pulling me to a stop. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” I half heartedly agreed and carried on my way, but he stopped me a second time to compliment the moon, then a third. Maybe it was the alcohol speaking, maybe it was a cheap ploy to garner a girls attention, or maybe he truly was enraptured by the moons heavenly brilliance. The illiterate moron didn’t read anything, let alone Japanese literature. He couldn’t possibly know what the phrase denotes. I tried not to read much into it, simply brushing it off as a passing remark and did what he asked of me, to hold still and take in the moons beauty. Third time’s a charm after all. Some time later after we both went our separate ways, the topic of that day came up in casual conversation and I asked about his remark. He genuinely thought that the moon looked beautiful and wanted to etch it into memory. We both had a good laugh over the absurdity of it all. Funnily enough, even after that much time spent looking at it, I couldn’t remember what the moon looked like that night. Was it a full moon? Waning? I couldn’t be sure. Heck, I couldn’t even remember the details of his facial features. Yet, sometimes when I walk through the park late at night, the memory of that scene swells up and it was like just yesterday that I was there, when every sight, every feeling, every thought came back, like a boomerang, to me. The basketball court empty, the world still, the tension palpable, and us, looking up in silence, my hand in his.