A Moment to Remember

Annabelle Lee

Author: Edgar Allan Poe

"It was many and many a year ago,
In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
By the name of Annabel Lee;
And this maiden she lived with no other thought
Than to love and be loved by me.

I was a child and she was a child,
In this kingdom by the sea;
But we loved with a love that was more than love -
I and my Annabel Lee;
With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven
Coveted her and me.
And this was the reason that, long ago,
In this kingdom by the sea,
A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling
My beautiful Annabel Lee;
So that her highborn kinsman came
And bore her away from me,
To shut her up in a sepulcher
In this kingdom by the sea.
The angels, not half so happy in heaven,
Went envying her and me
Yes! that was the reason
(as all men know, In this kingdom by the sea)
That the wind came out of the cloud by night,
Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.

But our love was stronger by far than the love
Of those who were older than we
Of many far wiser than we
And neither the angels in heaven above,
Nor the demons down under the sea,
Can ever dissever my soul from the soul
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee.
For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And the stars never rise but I feel the bright eyes
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side
Of my darling, my darling, my life and my bride,
In the sepulcher there by the sea,
In her tomb by the sounding sea."

Chapter 1

It was already time before lunch break and already rumors were spreading like a contagious viruses everyone was running after instead of trying to avoid. They were vicious and most of the time hurt people they shouldn't be hurting.

Of course, the good rumors were only told about the popular kids. Who would waste their time rumoring about people no body knew? It would have to be something extremely big if it were that were the case.

But this rumor was about two people in particular. It was about Fuka Mitsuia and Akito Hayama. Fuka was in some of Sana's classes but they never talked so she wasn't really an important factor to the rumor. Of course, Hayama was. He was the best friend of Sana's brother; Takashi Kurata.

They had been best friends since the day Takashi had found a stranded boy in the middle of the street near a park Sana and Takashi would go to when they were kids. They had been six years old at the time but still old enough to know when someone was hurt and crying.

Hayama was crying that day. Sana never really discovered the reason behind the tear because Takashi and Hayama had kept it to themselves. She thought it was only because they had this stupid 'Boys only' thing. But it wasn't because they still deny the truth from her, even now that Sana was sixteen and they were never understood and if it was something that big she would rather cooperate with them and never ask again.

The last time she asked was when she was only ten and that day Hayama had cornered her into the wall. Takashi wasn't there because if he would have been he would've never spoken to Hayama again.

He was extremely protective of his younger sister. Sana still could remember the eyes of hurt and grief of Hayama and it haunted her mind frequently whenever she stared into them to long. She'd never asked him about anything of his past again after that day. Never even mentioned it again.

Hayama and Takashi spend a lot of time together because of football practice. My brother's dream was to hit the NBA and become a big athletic hit like Dwayne Wade or Mike Tyson. It was his dream. Hayama only did it because he was good at it and because he was receiving extra curricular points for the sport.

Sana had never really thought much into it but her and Hayama had become close because of all the time he spent with Takashi. The three of them listen to the same music, shared the same likings and ate about the same kinds of food. They didn't agree on exactly everything but if anyone had been keeping a score after the years, it would have be close.

The rumor about Fuka and Hayama had been stating that Hayama had broken up with her after just a week of being together. That's how the 'Hayama and Takashi' relationships worked. They hooked up, made out, screwed them and then it was over. It was a quick process and the girls didn't seem too mind much because they were well aware of what they were getting themselves into, they just enjoyed being screwed over by the schools hottest guys.

Fuka, though, wasn't very happy with Hayama's decision. She was one of those girls a lot of guys want and usually have but when it's someone their really interested in they can't help but pull away from them. The type of girl that hovered over the guy that dumped her and that didn't want her. The girl that didn't usually give up no matter how clear and blunt the signs of 'dead end' really were to them.

During lunch, Takashi and Hayama sat in the table the Jocks and cheerleaders sat on. They were popular because they were football player's. Terrence was the captain of the Bull Dog's and Hayama was the quarter back. All the girls loved them both and Sana knew they were amazingly handsome.

Takashi had the perfect face with the same shade of dirty blond hair Sana had been born into having. The difference between them was the emerald of Takashi's eyes while Sana had hers hazel with a mixture of grey. And of course, Takashi's defined structure. Hayama had a milky chocolate that often covered his face when he looked down. When he used his own head to brush it aside Sana and Takashi would often witness the girls sigh out their admiration.

His body was as defined as Takashi's but it the lower left of his stomach there was a printed tattoo with the name of his birth mother written on a heart with a knife sliced into it. It looked almost real enough to believe but Sana never really understood the need to have the knife when the heart and the name of his mother was plenty enough to be beautiful and original. She'd never really met his mother, though.

Point straight forward, many girls would fall for the charm and beauty of Takashi Kurata and Akito Hayama as fast as their hearts would start to beat out the feelings the didn't always mouth out to them. They were probably all over them right now in their lunch table, flirting every once of energy they had away. And of course, Takashi and Hayama would flirt back. She practically laughed at it at this point. It had been like that since middle school.

For lunch, Sana would head to the Auditorium to read a book she would always have in hand or eat a sandwich or something practical she made at home or bought in the cafeteria before it was too crowded or the line got too big. She'd usually get a soup or a salad and sometimes when she was on a good mood she'd buy herself some chocolate cookies. But this was only when her brother wouldn't buy her something and take it to her.

Sana wasn't really like her brother or her closer friend Hayama. She was more reserved and kept to herself. She talked to some people but it's not like she eats lunch with them or goes to their house or has them over at hers. She wasn't really a communicative girl and would much rather stand on the sidelines than try to win a game. She was that type of girl.

She was completely absorbed with the climax of the book she was reading right when Takashi showed up and startled her. He had poked her on the stomach swiftly after tiptoeing her way so she wouldn't notice his pressance. "Don't scare me like that!"

"Sorry." He began in a smug tone. "I have brought you majesty Doritos and Soda. Akito will be arriving with the soda momentarily." He ended like a speech you receive right before an airplane's flight begins. He was just mocking her, trying to bug her but it wasn't like he was serious. He would always play around like that. it wouldn't be Takashi is he wouldn't be messing with someone.

Sana punched him in the gut once, mirroring the smug smile and breaking him from his formal stance. A stance you only see in movies when the peasants greet the royalty. They laughed together but the smugness still an important factor on their faces. None were willing to give it up without the other caving first.

"Relax little sister, I'm just screwing with you." She laughed again with him than stopped abruptly, turning completley serious and acting as if she hadn't thought it was funny. As if she had been just faking the act. "Ha. Hilarious."

"I'm here with the soda. You wanted diet or normal Pepsi?" Hayama had just walked in the blue double doors of the Auditorium right beside Sana's seat, holding two plastic soda containers. "Normal Pepsi would be nice." She pointed out right before he handed it to her. "Thanks."

"How's that rumor been going, dude?" Sana faked interest in the book, unwillingly paying some attention as their conversation began. She saw from the corner of her eyes that Hayama had made a face. "I know. It pisses me off how every body's talking about it like it's their business, you know? I wish I could just slap all their mother fucking faces."

Takashi huffed than made a face of pity. "I told you not to get involved with her, man. I knew she was trouble. She doesn't just break up and end of story. She keeps going at it as if there was actually a chance at getting back together with the guy. That's just how Fuka is. Everyone knows her."

"I know, I know. It's just that that day at the party she had been provoking me and I was drunk too. I'd woke up next to her and I just felt guilty so I just had to be with her for at least some time. So . . . you know how those things are, man. You know how I am." Takashi nodded as if he knew exactly what he was talking about. "That's why I'm just all up on the easy ones. Fuka is someone of commitment. Someone that's not for me."

Takashi had sworn he'd never get married or have any kids to worry about. He loved the free life and the freedom that came with it. Sana knew this. He'd said it since he was a child. He never wanted anyone to marry or any kids, just someone to spend some time with right after the big games he'd aspired to be a part of in the NBA some day in the future.

"Yeah. I know." They were quiet now, Hayama trying to finish off his Gatorade and get his money's worth while Takashi played around with his cell phone, sending some text messages that had been unread. Him and Hayama had messages constantly so there was never a time when they were really alone. Even if they wanted to be.

"You done with your Doritos, Sana?" Takashi asked. "Oh. Yeah, yeah. Here. Thank you." She handed him the trash right before he got up and headed out the blue double doors to find a trash can. They were quiet for a moment, Sana now completely fixed on her book right before she noticed the silence hissing at her ears. "Sorry about the whole rumor thing. It must suck." She stated. "Yeah . . . it does. It'll probably blow over when there's something else that comes along, though. This stuff doesn't last a century." She smiled. "I know."

He grinned back suddenly noticing how hot it was in the auditorium. They usually had the air conditioner off when it wasn't being in use. He noticed Sana wearing a big bulgy sweater. She would always be wearing one with usually her perfect golden locks in a messy bun or let down completely. Her hair was naturally a perfect straight so she never had to worry about ironing it or anything trouble-some like that.

"Isn't it hot?" Just looking at her made his suffocate. The sweater was just an annoyance, she was well aware of that to. She was just too used to wearing it.

"Yeah. But it's getting hot." She stood up for a moment, grabbing the end of her jacket while pulling it up. Relieving herself from it. In the stretching process her shirt had accidentally lifted up high enough to make visible some of the skin on her lower stomach. Hayama was completely fixed, his eyes staring only at her now as she struggled helplessly to free herself from the clutches of the sweater.

His stare was intense and somehow he felt it had no reason to be. He tried looking away but was caught in the perfect shapes of her. He knew she had the perfect curves, the perfect legs, the perfect face, the perfect lips, the perfect ivory skin. Sana Kurata was perfect. He suddenly slapped himself mentally. This was his childhood friend, his best friend's sister. How could he even pretend to play around like that even in his mind?

"Hey man! Practice starts after lunch today! Let's go. We get excused from our other classes." It was Takashi and he had suddenly feared he had spotted him staring at his sister in complete transfigurement. He snapped out of it quickly this time, grabbing the Jan sport book-bag on the floor and tossing it over his back and walking away without bothering to say goodbye.

Say goodbye for what? He would probably see her again after school when he would give Takashi a ride back home like every other football practice afternoon. Takashi's car had broke down recently so he's been giving him lifts until he raised money to buy himself a new care. A cheap one until he could get a better one./When he'd drop him off he'd probably end up going inside and watching television with him and Sana or movies in her room. The two things he knew Sana loved the most; Movies and books.

Sana stood there wondering why he hadn't said anything when he left as she pulled down he shirt to make it look neat. What's up with him anyway? The rumors are no fault of mine. He doesn't have to be so cold. She thought but grabbed her book-bag and held the book she was reading in one hand while she walked out of the auditorium, still in thought.

My new Story! I know many are going to love this story if they read it. The beginning is more of giving specific details about our main characters and some of their habits and traits. The story will progress. This is my first M rated story. My other two stories may change their ratings too because of future events that haven't happened yet. Please Review! R&R.

- Karina Galano. Thank You!