Dear Chloe,
I'm in Lausanne now and the weather out here is pretty cooling. I'm staying at this little cottage owned by one of Jesse's dad's friends. It sits on the edge of Lake Geneva - directly opposite Evian which is the village across the lake at the French side. I'm doing well - just missing you a lot, every single day.
Remember how we'd bought our first tickets out of the States and decided to come to Switzerland? But you didn't want to be like other normal tourists; you'd called yourself a traveler and you had all these booklets and notepads along with your favorite ZIG pen, and you'd sit by this lake and scribble. Or doodle or sketch. And I'd be right behind you by the tree making my mixes.
I wish you had listened to every one of them. I'm sitting at that tree now, writing you this.
I miss you.
Do you remember one of the afternoons when we had rented a small rowboat and you made me row us along the edge of the lake towards Ouchy? It was so far away and my arms were threatening to fall apart at the shoulder joints. I'd whined and you just gaily laughed at my poor attempts to stop and rest. Just when I'd thought I could row no more, you were standing over me and you'd grabbed that oar from my hands. I'd most willingly gave it up to you and watched you sit next to me - the oar thrust into the waters and you pushed hard, rowing us for the rest of our journey.
Maybe I didn't tell you, and I couldn't tell you enough - I love you, and I fell harder in love with you with every splash of the water.
The next morning, you'd woken me up in bed with a plate of my favorite breakfast - McDonald's hotcakes with sausages. You'd held them over my face, in hopes that the aroma would wake me up. It sure did. I remember myself groggily opening my eyes to meet those beautiful light blue ones of yours. I recall asking you where you got them from when there was no McDonald's near our hotel. You'd simply smiled that mysterious grin of yours, like you have a thousand secrets that you can't wait to share with me but don't know which to start with, and asked me to eat. Later that day when we went to the old town for a walk, I saw a McDonald's outlet and knew immediately you'd bought them from there.
The way your smile dropped and faltered as we passed by the fast-food restaurant; the way you looked at me sideways with that playful glint in your eyes.
I knew, I just knew.
You'd taken the earliest metro out to downtown, a good 45 minutes away in the cold just to get me breakfast in bed.
Maybe I didn't tell you, and I couldn't tell you enough - I love you, and I fall deeper in love with you every single morning.
On our last day in Switzerland, I'd wanted to visit the alps. We went to buy tickets from the train station, and when the train conductor commented on how cute we look together, the way you laugh just lit up my entire world. I'd watched you grip the tickets tightly in your hand as we waited for the train to arrive. The cold air made me shiver and I'd tugged at my jacket to block out the breeze. You saw and quickly wrapped your arms around me.
"I'll keep you warm," you'd whispered, wisps of evaporation coming out from your mouth.
"I'm still cold." I found myself simpering. You'd rolled your eyes and huffed, lifting your right leg up and hooking it around my lower body.
"Then I'll just hug you tighter," you'd whispered again, this time right into my ears so that your warm breath would fill my almost-frostbitten ear.
Maybe I didn't tell you, and I couldn't tell you enough - I love you, and I love that you steal my heart away with every single breath.
The sun is setting now, Chlo. Its blood orange glow reminds me of your hair - that bunch of red hair that I love to run my fingers through so much. I miss you, Chlo.
I wish you're here with me.
Forever yours,
pintsize