Valentine's Day

I sat down at a table in the large cafeteria with my lunch tray. It was a regular Friday afternoon at the Academy. Jim and I had returned from our summer break for our second year at the Interstellar Academy. It was a crazy summer, what with me being kidnapped by Alex Blackmore, a psycho from my orphan years back on Earth. Thankfully, I survived that ordeal with only a few scars as reminders that it really did happen. It was definitely an interesting story to tell my friends when we got back.

I started eating my salad as I waited for my friends to join me. Jim sat down across from me with a large plate of spaghetti. I had a smaller plate next to my salad.

"Hey Raphaelle," he said casually.

"Hey Jim. Where is everyone?" I asked, referring to our friends that usually sat with us.

"They're doing some extra work on a project. They won't be joining us for lunch today," he explained.

"Okay," I responded, nodding my head in understanding.

"So how come I haven't heard anything about Valentine's Day yet?" I asked after I swallowed a bite of my salad.

"What?" Jim questioned.

"Valentine's Day. You know, February 14th, cards and chocolate, hearts and flowers?" I clarified.

Jim just gave me a blank look.

"Oh! You guys must not have it here. Back on, you know," I glanced around to make sure no one was listening, "Earth, it's a holiday that celebrates love. Couples will give each other gifts and show how much they love and appreciate each other. Not everyone does it; single people tend to hate it. But it can be fun, if you have a reason to celebrate," I said.

"That sounds like fun. When is it?" he asked.

"Tomorrow," I replied.

"Do you want to celebrate it?" he asked.

"We don't have to. I don't want to make you feel like you have to do something for me. It's really not that important. And it's such short notice too," I said, trying to dissuade him.

"Okay, if that's want you want," Jim replied, relenting. But I could see in his eyes that he was scheming.

We spent the rest of lunch talking about our classes. My favorite was Weapons Usage. I could shoot all sorts of guns, but my favorite weapons kept in the school's artillery were the bows and arrows. Archery was a favorite hobby of mine, and I was really good at it. It was also one of the few connections I had to my old life. When I lived at St. Josephine's Orphanage, I had taken some archery classes at a nearby activity center. I couldn't afford a bow, but the center had let me use their bows whenever I wanted. I was planning on buying my own bow as soon as possible, but for now, I was content just having fun with them in class.

The bell rung and Jim and I went to our separate classes for the rest of the day. I hated that we only had a couple of classes together, but we spent the morning and lunch with each other to make up for it.

After classes were over, I did my homework until 8 pm and then went to bed.

The next morning, I woke up to find a letter that had been slid under my door.

Raphaelle,

Meet me outside in the garden at 9.

-Jim

I smiled, realizing what he was doing.

I took a shower and washed my hair. After blow-drying my long strawberry-blonde hair out, I procured from my closet a blue dress with a V-neck, three quarter sleeves, and a long skirt that fell straight down. After clasping my locket around my neck, I left my room to meet Jim in the gardens behind the school.

I arrived right at nine and found him sitting on a bench in his dark olive green pants, black boots, a beige shirt and his black jacket. It was Saturday, so we weren't required to wear our uniforms.

I smiled and sat next to him on the bench.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm hanging out with my girlfriend after a long week of working hard at school," he explained.

"Don't think I don't know what you're doing," I said, smiling at him knowingly.

He just shrugged in reply. Then he stood up and walked towards a bush.

He pulled his solar surfer from behind the bush. He had altered it and added the new sail I'd gotten him for his 18th birthday. I hadn't had a chance to ride on it with him yet, but I figured I was about to.

He powered it up and mounted it. He placed his foot in the safety lock and reached his hand out to me. He still hadn't added a second safety lock for me, but I didn't care. I knew I was safe with him. I took his hand and he pulled me on behind him.

"Ready?" he asked.

I wrapped my arms around him.

"Ready," I replied.

He stepped on the ignition and we soared into the sky. He didn't go crazy like he had the first time I had ridden with him, just gently glided in the sky. I enjoyed the wind whipping through my hair.

We sailed over the Academy grounds and the nearby town. I looked down at all the people bustling through the market. I saw a small family traveling by foot on the road into town. A little girl looked up and waved at me. I released one of my arms from around Jim's waist to wave back at her. Jim looked down and waved at the little girl too before steering the surfer over to the forest nearby.

He lowered us down into a clearing and shut the surfer off. I dismounted and he hid the surfer behind a tree. He took my hand and led me further into the trees.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"You'll see," he said cryptically.

He stopped in front of some tree branches that blocked our path. He turned to look at me and smiled; it made my heart beat faster in anticipation. Then he parted the branches to reveal what lay in the clearing before us. I inhaled a sharp breath.

The clearing was filled with flowers of all different kinds and colors. I could see roses and carnations and lilies in every color, some that I didn't even have a name for. The whole area looked as if it had been touched by a rainbow. The gentle fragrance they emitted as a whole was pleasant and refreshing.

And in the center of the clearing at the top of a small hill was a magnificent tree, or more accurately, two trees. Two cherry blossom trees had grown right next to each other, and their trunks were intertwined. The blossoms were just blooming; the soft pink petals swayed gently in the breeze. I walked up to examine them. Each tree was a slightly different color. The bark on one tree was a light brown, and the other was a dark reddish-brown. I noticed a knot in the front of the tree. It was in the shape of a heart. Somehow, both trees had created the knot, so one half was light brown and the other reddish-brown.

"Wow," I whispered, bewildered.

"Do you like it?" Jim asked, walking up behind me.

"Yes. It's incredible. When did you find this?" I asked.

"A while ago. I wanted to show you sooner, but thought it would be nicer if I waited for a special day," he answered.

"Well, it's really great," I said, nudging him and smiling.

He nudged me back. I lost my balance and stumbled a bit, so I pushed him over in retaliation. He looked up at me from the ground and a smirk appeared on his face.

"Oh, so that's how you want to play!" he exclaimed. He got up and started for me.

I ran away from him, laughing and squealing whenever he came close to catching me. I knew Jim was a fast runner and that he was probably just toying with me. I hid behind a tree at the edge of the clearing and waited for him to jump out and grab me. But he didn't. I peeked around the tree and saw no one in the clearing. I carefully walked out from behind my tree and stood underneath the intertwined tree. I leaned against it and looked around for Jim. I heard a creak from above. My head darted up just in time to see Jim jump down from where he'd been perching in the branches.

I bolted again, but he landed right behind me and grabbed a hold of me. He tripped and fell, dragging me with him. We rolled down the hill, crushing the flowers beneath us. When we finally stopped rolling, I was lying on top of him. I pushed myself up to look down at him. We both started laughing and I lay myself back down, my head resting on his chest.

I rolled off of him and stared up at the clouds. Jim turned onto his side and propped himself up on his elbow, resting his head in his hand. He stared at me and played with a strand of my hair. He leaned towards me, and I closed my eyes, expecting a kiss. Instead, he whispered into my ear.

"Come on, I've got some more things I want to show you."

He pulled back and stood up, offering me his hand. I took it and he pulled me to my feet. We walked back to the clearing we had landed in and Jim retrieved his solar surfer. We got on and flew off to our next destination.

Jim directed the solar surfer towards some cliffs. I wondered what might be there. He flew straight into a cave in the side of the cliff. As we flew farther into the cave, the light from the entrance faded until we were immersed in complete darkness.

"Jim, where are we going?" I asked worriedly. My voice echoed in the darkness of the cave.

"Relax, you're gonna love this," he replied.

Soon, there was light in the cave once again. I looked up and could see a long crack in the ceiling of the cave, allowing sunlight to filter through. He stopped when it became too small for the surfer to pass through. He propped it against the wall and took my hand, leading me through a small hole within the cave tunnel.

"Jim, are you sure this is safe?" I asked as the light faded and we were surrounded by darkness again.

"Don't worry, I know where I'm going," he said.

I wish I could see his face, I thought. The confidence in his eyes would reassure me.

Eventually, I spotted a light ahead of us. I felt instant relief knowing that we wouldn't be blind anymore. Jim stopped and looked back at me.

"You ready?" he asked, smiling in the dim light.

"Sure," I answered hesitantly, unsure of what was going on.

We turned a corner and ducked under a low archway to step into a large cavern.

My mouth hung open in awe. The light in the room wasn't sunlight. The walls were covered in crystals, and they were glowing a soft blue color. I turned around in a circle, trying to take it all in.

"This is beautiful!" I whispered.

"Yeah, they're pretty cool. I looked them up. These crystals are called Niteorite. They're not worth much, but they sure are pretty. They only glow when there is no light at all," Jim explained.

I noticed a basket on the ground.

"What's that?" I asked, pointing to it.

"This," Jim said, picking up the basket, "is our lunch. We're gonna have a picnic."

He set up a blanket on the cave floor and pulled out the contents of the basket. We ate sandwiches and fruits and chocolate candies. We talked for who knows how long, enjoying each other's company in the soft glow of the crystals.

Finally, Jim got up and started packing up the blanket.

"We still have some things to do before the day is over," he informed me.

We walked back to the surfer and flew out of the cave. Luckily, the bright light of the sun was reintroduced to us gradually as we exited the long cave tunnel. We would have been blinded otherwise after being immersed in the darkness.

Jim flew over the forest again, and we passed near the Academy, but he kept going. The forest stopped abruptly and became a beach.

We landed next to the forest and walked toward the beach. He stopped us just before our feet touched the sand.

Jim took my hand and looked into my eyes.

"Do you want to dance?" he asked.

"Dance? But we don't have any music," I said, tilting my head in confusion.

"Sure we do. Just listen," he prompted.

"To what?" I questioned.

"There's music all around us. The wind blowing through the trees, the chirping of the birds, the waves crashing against the shore. It's all around us," he explained.

I listened closely, and realized he was right. I could hear music in the sounds of nature around us.

"Let's dance," I agreed.

He took my hand and we started dancing. He would swing me out by one hand and pull me back, dip me down and catch me, then pull me back up. He spun me around and held me close. I enjoyed every moment of it, and never wanted it to end. But one can only dance for so long before they need a break.

Jim took my hand and guided me onto the beach. He spread out the picnic blanket on the sand and we sat down on it. The sun was starting to set, turning the sky into beautiful shades of orange and pink, and creating sparkles in the ocean water.

We watched it in content silence until only half the sun was visible above the surface of the water. I turned to look at Jim and found him staring at me. I smiled at him shyly. He smiled back.

"Jim, I-" I began.

"Hold that thought for a second," he cut me off.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a box. He handed it to me and I looked at him questioningly.

"What is this?" I asked.

"Why don't you open it and find out," he replied, smiling.

I pulled the lid off the box. Inside was a beautiful crystal rose. The rose appeared to be in bloom, revealing each delicately crafted petal within. The petals were dark blue at the edges and faded until they were clear in the very center. I gently lifted the rose out of the box and found a clip attached to its underside.

"It goes in your hair," Jim said.

"It's beautiful! Can you help me put it on?" I asked.

"Of course," he replied, gently taking the clip from my hand.

He inserted the flower into my hair right above my ear. He pulled back so that he could see how it looked. He tucked a few strands of hair behind my ear and smiled at me. I could see my reflection in his eyes. The crystal rose was placed so that it looked like I had an actual flower tucked behind my ear.

"Jim, this has been the best day ever," I said.

Jim leaned in and kissed me. He gently cupped my cheek in his hand. I closed my eyes and lost myself in bliss.

When we pulled apart, a content smile graced my lips, mirroring his.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Raphaelle," Jim said lovingly.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Jim," I replied.

We shared another kiss as the sun disappeared underneath the glistening sea.