This is one of those movies that pissed me off, not because they were bad movies, but because of the ending. I mean, come on: who wouldn't have wanted Winnie to drink from the spring? I sure would, and honestly, whenever I watch the movies I black out and imagine them reuniting... So... This is their reunion.
Winifred looked at her reflection in the mirror. Ageless. Two months, and she hadn't changed a bit. Like marble, her skin was, any sine of the slightest infraction or pimple. Just pale, smooth, tight skin. Her blue eyes were as bright as ever, her lips plump and cherry red.
God, I'm so stupid, she thought sourly. I can't believe I drank that stupid water. She could have settled down by now, with a job and a suitor, ( although anyone other than Jesse wasn't appealing at all) not having to be a nomad all alone. She was a stupid little naïve girl back then, barely an adult, and she was driven by the thought of an ideal true love. If Jesse was coming back, he would have done so already.
With a final toss of her curls, she made her way out the bathroom and out of the small New York City apartment. She didn't know what she was doing, all she knew is that she had an impulse to go to Central Park.
She sat on a bench, playing with a stray dandelion she plucked out of the ground. He loves me, he loves me not...
Winifred sniffed it, remembering herself and Jesse on that field of flowers. Jesse...
She continued picking at the petals, smiling softly every time she thought of Jesse loving her. Maybe she should search for him. Who am I kidding? She didn't have the resources, nor the knowledge to search for someone after 3 years of no contact in a rather large world.
Winnie let her gaze wonder around. Directly in front of her was a fountain with a Greek statue in the middle...There, kids playing ball with each other, a woman walking her poodle... a happy couple strolling along, a family snapping photographs... bird chasing each other... an artist selling portraits... Winnie almost missed him.
With a sharp intake of breath, Winnie snapped her head back to where it was not even a second ago. Her eyes swept the area, before they landed on a lean but tall figure, donning a very familiar pair of brown pants a white flowing shirt, before they traveled up to a square, strong face with a light pink, perfectly shaped pout, the straight nose, and then... they were trapped by the returning gaze of all too familiar piercing brown eyes, now widened in shock.
Winnie felt her mouth drop and then time slowed. The merry laughter of the children and the barking of the dogs sounded low and distant. She could hear nothing, see nothing but him. Not even the spraying of the spurting water got in her way. They danced about in the air, but Winnie didn't even acknowledge their presence. Her world became a tunnel, and in that moment she could see nothing but Jesse Tuck. The man she had given her life for. There he stood, with an equally confound expression.
Suddenly Winnie was running to him. She could barely understand that Jesse was moving, but she couldn't understand in which direction, so she ran even faster, in fear that he was running away.
The fountain was in her way, but instead of dodging it, she jumped over the ledge and ran in the water. And there he was, so close, so soon, right next to her. She didn't register the cold water being poured on her, or the water circling around her feet up until her knee. Before she even realized what happened, she was in Jesse's arms, and he was holding her tighter than he'd ever held her beforem and he was saying her name over and over and it was the sweetest sound she'd ever heard in her life. She was dimly aware of the sobbing that excaped her chest, but she hardly noticed.
They stood together like that, holding one another and crying, for what seemed like a sweet
eternity. But then, he pulled back.
She looked up and saw that her own arms were around his neck, pulling her up to his tall frame, she looked into his face and the beauty that he held in her memory was replenished. Her memories didn't do him justice, that perfect face with the adorable flaws that only added to the perfection.
A hand went up to cup her face, gingerly stroking her cheek. A grin formed on his lips. "You drank it," he whispered.
Winnie nodded shakily, but the tears kept coming. "You came back for me," she said, partially in awe of him. The only reason why Winnie drank the vile in the first place was because she'd been so angry with her mother, and she'd wanted to show her she could do whatever she wanted. And in a way, she could, because she was invincible. Then, she remembered the Tucks, and how awful they claimed it was and she started stabbing herself with a knife everywhere she could think of. She threw herself in a pond, knowing she couldn't swim, but she lived. And it was only when she curled into a ball, in the middle of a forest, feeling more hopeless than ever, did she remember Jesse Tuck and the promise he made. At that moment, she knew this was her destiny and set out to find him.
Now, Winnie's doubts were erased and she was certain that this was what was meant to be.
"Of course I did, Winnie," Jesse said with a roll of his eyes. "But you left Tree Gap so I had to go wandering all around the world. Please explain yourself."
Winnie choked out a laugh, but it came out sounding like a sob.
"Come here," Jesse said as he picked her up and twirled her in the air. She out her hands on his shoulders as she threw her head back looking up at the sky.
Jesse must have slipped, because the next thing she knew, she was on top of him and his whole body was under the shallow water of the fountain. Winnie moved back a bit to sit on his lower abdomen so he could pull himself up.
Jesse pushed himself into a half sitting position, grinning greatly from ear to ear. At the sight- that beautiful sight of a smiling Jesse Tuck- Winnie burst into laughter- that pure, heartfelt sort of laughter. She thought her heart wold explode from the feeling of bliss that poured through at that moment. When she saw Jesse's mock look of irritation, she laughed even harder, and then Jesse was laughing too.
Jesse sat straighter up, and pulled Winnie to him by the small of her waist, till they were chest to chest. Winnie ran her hands through his hair, before resting them on his cheeks. She gazed hard into his eyes, as if trying to decide if her were real. He did the same, kissing her russet tresses softly and breathing in the scent of her her.
Finally, Winnie leaned in, resting her temple on his, and kissed him.
I just love that movie. I only wish Natalie Babbit made it more like the movie, because the whole forbiden love thing is just... well... oh dear, I'm crying again.
So review, darling, do review.