He pauses. He stares cautiously. Then, his face lifts ever so slightly. He grins provocatively, like 14-year-old boys do. Sometimes, beyond just the smirk, a few words will slip out. They aren’t muttered, but instead said with confidence.

In his pause, he watches, he absorbs expressions, mannerisms. He sometimes feels far away in his stare, but arguably he is always quite present. Interactions with him feel honest. Even when all he exhibits is that slight curl of the mouth, there isn’t judgment or arrogance behind it; It’s quite lovable. It’s not difficult to see why she would feel such comfort with him.  

There was something particularly sincere about seeing them together. She reassures him in her own confident response. She says what she’s thinking. It puts him at ease. Their connection was apparent to any outsider. And even in all its oblivion to adulthood, their bond is one that many adults could envy.

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The canyon is bright orange and greener than ever. It’s the wettest of winters in Utah, so there is a vibrancy to the flourishing landscape, especially in the pockets of sun. Outside of the sunny spotlights, however, the wind is chilling to the core. The engulfing rock is layered with various textures ranging from silky smooth and buttery, to rigid and rough, even sharp. As you wind your way through, the scene seems repetitive: a curvy maroon road in front, vast cliff soaring upward on one side and snowy yet deserty valley down on the other, but if you look closely, each edge and each turn has its’ individuality. There isn’t a second worth missing… the natural and grandiose arches, the squiggly curvatures of the hard clay, the sheep grazing along the road, the sliver of a bright lime colored river far below, the terrifying blackout tunnels that you dip in and out of and for a split second warp your perception of day and night. It is an overwhelming amount of pressure to absorb as much as you can to feel like you truly witnessed it all. You will miss a plateau or an arch, a moment that may have invigorated you more than the last. So, you concentrate on the present in your stare and the entirety of what the sight evokes.

A dramatic, grand, and often inexplicable feeling occurs when you see something astounding, like a tremendous canyon, alongside someone who has begun to occupy your thoughts. The emotion for the scene at first parallels that for the person at your side, but then they merge and it provides a catharsis, stimulating in an uncharted way.

He grabbed her hand, quite naturally, and escorted her over the rocks as we emerged at an icy waterfall, the culmination of our last hike. He had tested this gesture the evening before, laying his hand gently on hers as they watched a movie- not clasping onto anything, but placing it there and letting it sit motionlessly on top. This time, he let his fingers enclose around hers. The waterfall was a spectacle, but the two of them seemed far more in awe of it than I did. When I asked them both later about their favorite part of the canyon, the moment they emerged at this waterfall was at the top of their minds. I recognized this feeling of momentum between them. 

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Paris is known as the city of romance…..because couples “fall deeper in love” when they visit the Eiffel Tower together? 

It sounds foolish, that through observing beauty, natural or architectural, people grow more connected. Does sharing that visually stimulating moment make your connection feel more special or real because it has surpassed just the two of you and touched somewhere objectively profound? At first the visual may make you may feel small, you are just another viewer, but then you find comfort in having someone at your side, to lean on in your smallness, to make you feel just as profound as what lies in front of you both- because you are just as profound in their eyes. I suppose it’s also about the contentment that the visual brings and being able to traverse the unknown together. 

When I stood at the base of the Eiffel Tower, twinkling in the dark, next to someone who had been a stranger only three weeks prior, I suddenly felt a new kind of attachment to and ease in their presence. I wonder how much the 14 year olds actually felt this too. Whatever I saw in them didn’t seem all that different, as it instantly provoked my own nostalgia.

Instinctively, I often brush off young relationships and just giggle at the slight absurdity and fantastical aspect of middle schoolers “dating.” In many ways though it’s the simplest and most honest or innocent kind of dating connection, one without the complexity or toxicity that sex and adulthood often brings. It’s about friendship and solace during your most transitional period both physically and mentally. Having someone by your side, who has your back, as you question who you are and grow up, doesn’t sound all that trivial. 

It’s easy to say it’s a relationship that adults may envy, but much harder to admit that maybe it’s one I slightly envy. As the three of us approached that icy waterfall, I watched them watch the water soar down and turn to icicles as it greeted the snowy pile beneath. It was a serene and incredible scene of a bright red cliff with a base of sandy shallow water coated with a layer of ice, and yet all I wanted was to be able to look back and forth from the scene to somebody, with a wide eyed smirk on my face, just as they were.