He turned suddenly as if to walk away, and she saw his face, his eyes. He looked so sad, but there was also… something… else about his face. It made her heart beat faster beneath her breath, and she knew he had to see her. She wasn’t dressed in black but in greens and browns which didn’t blend properly into the trunk of the tree against which she leaned. Her body tensed. She suddenly realized she shouldn’t have been eavesdropping, and she should go, but she knew she needed to apologize, too. It had been rude of her.
“I… I’m really sorry. I shouldn’t have been listening, but… your poetry… It was beautiful. Who wrote it?” Oh great… Now, she was making small talk when all she had intended to do was to apologize and disappear inside the tree to return on her way to her own dorm building to tuck herself safely inside her bed beneath her blanket. She hoped he wouldn’t react angrily though she knew he had every right to be upset.