“Why do you think so many people don’t want love?” The young boy asked

“Love is what people want in this lifetime, even the ones that think they’re better off without out it are in search of it.” The old man replied

“But how can you be so sure?” The young boy questioned

“They look for it in the things they haven’t lost hope in yet.” The old man said staring out at the sea

“What kinds of things?” The boy wondered aloud

“The way waves kiss the shore is enough for some, but it’ll never be enough for these people. The waves always return back, abandoning the shore that it once clung to.” The old man said eyes full of unshed tears

The boy stared into the old mans gray eyes thoughtfully.

“There are the people who look at the way the waves kiss the shore and only remember the way love leaves us; empty, wanting, alone.” The old man continued

“So do we love them then? I mean, if they say they don’t want love?” The young boy questioned

“These are the people we love the hardest.

They’re the people that have had there hearts broken too many times. The people who once loved with wild abandon, and reckless hope.” The old man said staring out at the angry ocean and the skies that had begun to darken

“Do they ever decide to love us back? The people who have had they’re hearts broken?” The young boy asked sadly

“Some do, and the some that do will love you fiercely. They’ll love you until the day you die, because they know what it’s like to go on in a life without love, and some my sweet boy don’t. Some hearts have been shattered beyond repair in they’re own eyes, it’s not worth the risk of being in more pieces..”

The young boy had tears streaming down his face creating streaks in the dirt that covered his face.

“Once you understand this, you can never go back. Do you understand?” The old man asked gruffly, as if saying the words made his heart break a little himself

“I understand.” The young boy said sure of himself, wiping away his tears. “And everyday I’ll love those people with wild abandon, and reckless hope, to remind them they’re worth being loved in this lifetime.”

The old man smiled out at the waves, remembering all times he’d decided he didn’t need love, and all the times the young boy with sweet eyes, and a dirt covered face reminded him, without even knowing it.

That’s magic, the old man thought.