Dylan had been alone for as long as she could remember. Loneliness and her had been a pair, two peas in a pod. They never left each other and they always had each other’s backs. At first, she hated it. He seemed to hover over her like a nagging parent. But as time passed she grew to rely on his company, because she needed a parent. All children do. That made the prospect of leaving him, her old friend, behind all the more terrifying.
The first thing she noticed was how odd they seemed to her, the man with the scruffy beard and the woman with glasses perched on her nose. The second thing was the tension between them was thick, no one seemed comfortable. Dylan felt like she was being suffocated and she held on to the hand of her longtime friend to make sure he didn’t leave her.
After another moment the man cleared his throat, inevitably drawing all the attention towards him. “You know why we're here, right?” he asked in a gentle voice that made her want to trust him. But Dylan knew she couldn’t as she felt a tug on her arm. She turned to look at her old friend, her loneliness.
How stupid of her. If she began to trust them she’d leave behind the one person she had relied on all of her life. So instead of saying the wrong thing, she said nothing at all. Why were they even here? They should be looking at the younger kids, the ones a couple could raise without any problem.
Minutes began to pass until a sharp cough broke the silence, making her glance up. They were staring at her, waiting. What did they expect? That she'd just open up her arms and hug them like they've known each other for years? She just met them.
The man repeated the question again and this time Dylan shook her head. And that was the truth. None of this made sense, none of it. Why her?
“No,” she said shaking her head “why would you even consider me. I know how this works. Couples want a baby, a kid they can raise. No one wants me, nobody ever has.” At this point, Dylan’s head was tilted down in an effort to hide the tears that were threatening to escape. Never before had she felt so scared or vulnerable. All Dylan wanted to do was to jump back into the embrace of her friend, a place that was safe and dependable. But something stopped her. The look in their eyes that made Dylan see that the felt alone just as much as she did.
At that moment Dylan noticed that her friend let go of her hand. He sat right beside her though, watching as any good friend would.
The woman who had been so quiet up until now spoke, “I know how it is. You’re terrified to let someone in because you think that once they do they’ll leave you just as fast as they came into your life.”
“How would you know?” Dylan asked harshly. She was angry that this woman could see just how Dylan felt.
With a sigh, the lady spoke again, “I was you. Every day I wished someone would come and take me away and love me. But no one came.” Tears were beginning to form in her blue eyes. “I don’t want that for you.” She got up and sat next to Dylan and took her hand. “You don’t have to be alone anymore.” The woman said in the kindest voice Dylan had ever heard. It felt safe and warm, it was the voice of a mother.
There was something off in the room, Dylan could feel it. As she looked around, she noticed it was just the three of them. Her old friend was gone, and Dylan didn’t think he’d be back for awhile. But that was okay because she didn't need him anymore. She didn’t need to be alone anymore.