with you

"When I'm with you I wonder why people do stop and stare and smile at us."

Miranda would come to the park everyday to watch other people's lives. She sat on a little bench near the water fountain with the guise of reading a book. But really she watched.

She saw lovers' spats, kids playing carefree, lonely folks feeding the ducks, and motivated joggers. But every once in a while, she would see love.

Miranda would see a couple walk by, oozing love from head to toe. It wasn't really about whether they were holding hands or kissing or staring into each others eyes. They would be connected. They were content.

The couples would walk by, talking about the weather or work. But their faces said so much more. A passion that was almost blinding. Caring that would make a bystander blush. And butterflies that were inexplicably contagious.

Yes, Miranda sat on that bench and waited for love to walk by. She watched because she had never been in love, but wanted to be sure she could recognize it when it came.