Keaton took a drag from his cigarette and continued, "The first love letter I ever wrote was to her. The first time I ever really held a girl''s hand, hugged a girl, it was with her."


    "I even kissed her. I didn''t dare go for anything deep, just a peck on the lips. Back then, we''d call it ''sealing the deal'' or something goofy like that."


    "Just from that, I was so excited I couldn''t sleep the whole night."


    "The next day, I found her and told her, ''I kissed you, so now you''re my girl. I promise, I''m going to marry you someday!""


    "I was young, I hadn''t been beaten down by love yet. My love was pure, and it was serious."


    "I was so protective of her. I wanted to take care of her, to be good to her."


    "I tried every trick I could think of at the time to make a girl happy, all on her."


    "I turned down every girl who had a crush on me. All I could see was her."


    "I even decided I wasn''t going back to Jindale City. I was going to stay there with her, take care of her, and build a life there after I grew up."


    "For our future, I secretly took all my savings-my allowance, birthday money, everything I''d saved since I was a kid—and used it to anonymously sponsor her education."


    "I also anonymously promised her that she wouldn''t have to worry about tuition or living expenses ever again, that she''d be sponsored all the way through college, even if she wanted to study abroad."


    "I did it anonymously so she wouldn''t feel burdened. I was afraid if she knew how well-off my family was, she''d feel insecure and pressured."


    "I wanted her to go to school so we could be together forever. She was only a teenager; she belonged in school."


    "I figured getting an education was a better path for her than selling fruit with her rtives. And only if she went back to school could I see her every day—middle school, high school, college..."


    "Sigh... I really loved her back then. I would have died for her. I''d even picked out names for our future kids..."


    Keaton took a long drag of his cigarette, his eyes tracking the sweep of the lighthouse beam as a shadow of old, familiar pain settled over his features. "But then... she fell for someone else."


    "She fell in love with one of the thugs who used to harass her, the same one who beat me up the worst."


    "She dropped out of school again, for him."


    "I was heartbroken and furious. I found my eyes bloodshot from crying, and told her how much


    oyed her how import


    was."


    school


    "But she just told me coldly that we were over and warned me not to bother her again."


    "She said I couldn''t give her the life she wanted. I asked her what kind of life that was."


    "She said freedom, fun, happiness. She didn''t want to be tied down by school. She wanted to go work in another city with that thug."


    "I was so angry, but I couldn''t let her go. I didn''t want to see her jump into a fire pit. I went looking for her, again and again."


    "And the result was getting beaten up by that thug and his buddies, again and again."


    "I watched as she learned to smoke,


    ????


    drink, y cards, and cuss... She started wearing heavy makeup got tattoos, dyed her hair all sorts of colors content


    "There was nothing I could do. I was so angry I cried."


    Keaton nced at Winona and gave a self-deprecating smile. "Yeah, I actually cried."


    Winona''s brow furrowed, a look of pain in her eyes...


    Keaton continued, "I couldn''t tell my parents. At night, I''d just curl up under my covers, silently fuming, silently crying."


    "I even had this crazy idea. Maybe my parents had found out about us and confronted her privately?"


    "Maybe she felt insecure, like she


    wasn''t good enough for a rich kid like me, and got together with that scumbag just to make me give up on her


    "But I tested my parents multiple times. They had no idea who Clementine was.


    They didn''t even know I was dating anyone."