By RAVINA PATEL
Staff Writer

The boy with the notebook, the girl with the journal…He drew every feeling of resentment, every bitter thought, and every sense of rebellion into an intricate piece of art to express what words could not. She wrote every dream she was told she could not accomplish, every story she was told would go unpublished and every poem that captured the feelings she could not explain to others. Both were misunderstood, reserved and lonely, with only ink-filled pages to keep them company. She was sitting at the base of a tree, watching other teenagers smiling and laughing while she wrote about how isolated she felt. A falling leaf made her glance up and see a boy sitting in a higher branch, scribbling in a notebook. He noticed her staring and looked down at her. She then sent a small smile his way, which he reciprocated. She returned to her writing before being interrupted by another falling object. She watched as a small paper airplane glided towards her. When unfolded, it revealed a quick sketch of her sitting against a tree trunk. She laughed quietly to herself before setting to work on a story about the boy in the tree. They communicated in this way every day for several weeks, sharing silly doodles and playful poems before one day the boy finally decided to climb down and sit beside her. Their first conversation, although awkward, began the basis of a friendship that allowed them to share their pains, support each other and learn to trust something other than paper and pen.