Courage

by

OHMAIGOSHYAYYY I'M WRITING ON AGAIN! Wheeeeeeee~!

So I was at the library the other day with my mom and little sister when I came across a book i haven't read since I was in...I don't remember = = fourth grade? Back when I was about eight years old?

Well, I'm sixteen now =) and after reading this book 324827439327 times, I finally watched the movie like an hour ago and I had so much inspiration I just HAD to write something =) So I hope you guys enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Tuck Everlasting. Sorry. And sadly. Winnie and Jesse would be together if I did, but hey, I love angst, so what am I saying? ...The heck, that's one long disclaimer = =

So I hope you guys enjoy =) R and R?

If Winnie Foster closed her eyes, she'd still be able to remember the feeling of the cool earth beneath her feet. The small fire they lit spread warmth through her body, moving to the beat he had created alongside nature's calls. She would be able to recall the way the water felt as it enveloped her entire being, the knowing feeling that she'd be safe even though the weight of what clothes she were wearing was dragging her down. A tall, rocky monument overlooking a lush, green valley lay out before her. The winds danced, their song a sweet sound in her ear, their touch caressing her face.

Then came his eyes, a beautiful green color, rich as the grass on a warm summer's day. His soft, silky brown hair, tousled by the wind, longer than his brother's. The strong set of his jaw and defined cheekbones, his almost stubborn chin. His soft, pink lips, the way he talked and the way he smiled. Without trying very hard, she could remember every word said, every laugh, every smile, every touch, every kiss. The way his eyes seemed to twinkle as he laughed, the way they seemed to bore into her very soul as he looked at her. A soft smile appeared as memories surfaced, bubbling into her mind like a small spring, constantly filling with water.

Opening her eyes, she gently touched the bark of the old oak tree, her fingers running along the skillfully carved 'T.' The small spring at the roots of the tree gurgled, laughing. Her reflection appeared inside. Her face seemed sharper, features a little more defined. But the child that had met the Tucks so many years ago was still there, somewhere inside of her.

Winne took a deep breath as she dipped her hand in the cool water, letting it flow through her fingers like soft silk. She was turning eighteen soon, and yet….

She had come to say goodbye.

Goodbye to all the memories that have been made several years ago, goodbye to the spring. Goodbye to this oak tree, and goodbye to her home. Goodbye to Angus and Mae Tuck, and goodbye to Miles and what was left of his family. Goodbye to the toad that would live forever, and goodbye to the woods.

Goodbye to Jesse Tuck.

He had promised to come back for her. Remembering his last words, Winnie smiled bitterly. "Winnie Foster! I will love you till the day I die!"

Jesse Tuck had seen the world in the hundred and four years he had been alive. When she was with him, she could see it, through his eyes- the many things she could have never known, if only for a little while. Now, she was grown up. She could see the world all on her own. Maybe one day, she'd go to the Eiffel Tower and climb to the top, all sixteen hundred and fifty-two steps. She would look down on the view of Paris and remember her own Paris, her own Eiffel Tower and remember that a seventeen year old boy had once made a promise to her.

It takes courage to make a promise and keep it, and it takes courage to wait. It also takes courage to say goodbye to the one thing you love the most.

For Winnie Foster, it all started on this summer day, three years ago. A girl had dreamed for an adventure outside of the suffocating iron walls that kept her enclosed, safe and sheltered. She ran away into the woods, and met a certain boy here, drinking from this very spring. His family took her back to their home where she discovered the meaning of family, true friends, and the love of her life. She found what she thought was the grandest adventure of all- immortality. To never grow old, to never be able to die. Now, she knew that living in itself was an awfully big adventure, one that she was ready to undertake.

Her fingers gently traced the 'T' one last time, and her eyes fell upon the spot Jesse had been where she first saw him. She had thought he looked so beautiful he had to be an angel from heaven. Now, she lifted her eyes heavenward and smiled.

Her angel from heaven would be watching her, and someday, when she was gone, they would trade places- she would be the one watching over him, always there, always protecting. Winnie closed her eyes and made her last promise before she turned around and headed back to her cottage.

=) I actually really like this oneshot =D comments/suggestions? =)