One Moment.
Caroline looked ahead at the road and the all too familiar countryside around her. The clouds swirled above the rolling grassy hills and seemed to touch the tops of the rustic buildings that were scattered along the sides of the meandering road.
Inside the car, the radio was faint and the air smelled of pine. Resting her head upon her hand, she continued to take in the surrounding scenery that she would soon be leaving behind for good. With Walker in the driver's seat, she was heading off to the train station; the gateway to her new life.
She had decided upon leaving her hometown of Cables Village just only a few weeks prior, right after her eighteenth birthday. Growing up in a small town had been nice for awhile, but she always had this nagging feeling within her that she could aspire to do so much more than become a local shopkeeper or restaurant owner as many in her town were.
Her parents guided her in her decision and were proud of her choice, however difficult it was for them to handle. She would be living in a big city that would have a multitude of opportunities available for her; opportunities that she could have never found back in Cables. She didn't even stop and think, however, how hard leaving would be. Not only would she now be separated from most of her family, whom she loved so much, but also her friends and neighbors that she had become attached to and grown up with all her life.
For the first time ever, she would be completely and utterly alone.
And now being so close to her destination, the thought frightened her. For the first time since announcing her departure, she was wondering if this was the wrong choice.
"Things are going to be a lot different with you not around," Walker said, breaking the silence that had been omnipresent, "especially at the café."
Caroline smiled slightly, recalling the memorable times they had shared working at the same dead-end job back home. "Patty can hold up without me; besides, you can finally get through a day without having to worry about mopping up my explosions from the ice cream machine."
Walker chuckled at this. "Well, even those days weren't so bad. It kept things exciting."
"Can't argue with that…" she admitted. It was true; by leaving town she was leaving behind all those good times with her.
"I still can't believe how long we've know each other for…ever since that one day in first grade, how about it?" he looked over at me, a sly smile on his face.
"You mean that one day when I fell in the mud and everyone laughed at me, calling me a 'muddy runt'! Worst day of my life!" Caroline laughed, recalling that fateful day when they first met.
"Really? Because it was one of my favorites…it's the day we became friends."
She slightly blushed at her misunderstood phrasing of that sentence. It had probably been the worst day of her life when she was little, because she did not understand the importance of what had happened. "Well, you know by saying 'worst day ever' that I meant…"
"I'm just kidding, I know what you meant," he grinned "you were always the shortest one in class."
"Hey, shut up!" She slapped him lightly on the arm and smiled. "But seriously, I'm glad you were there. You were the only affable person on that playground! All the other kids in the crowd stood around and laughed at me…you were the only person who was kind enough to drag my sniveling butt out of there" she said.
His eyes were bright as he laughed. Caroline loved his laugh; it reminded her of everything that was good about her life back home and assuaged her fears. She was glad he had come with her; she needed him there.
When she had decided upon leaving, telling everyone her decision was difficult. They all had different reactions. But the one person's reaction she feared the most, even over her parents', was Walker's.
Caroline waited out longer with him before broaching upon the issue. Leaving a best friend behind was like…leaving a piece of your heart behind. Sappy as it sounded, she couldn't help but feel that that statement was true.
When she told him, he was at first speechless. When she explained, however, he seemed to be more sympathetic. Unfortunately, that didn't stop him from avoiding her for a few days. When this happened she became disconsolate, fearing it was the end of their friendship.
However, two days before she was to depart, he brought himself over to apologize and even offered to drive her. "So, no hard feelings" she thought to herself. She quietly stared up at the blue eyed dog, who had been rambling on for the past couple minutes. Even so, throughout the ride the air around had felt a bit tense and uncomfortable; normally a drive with him would lift her spirits instead of bringing them down.
Up ahead, a small country house stood at the bottom of a slope that was lined with tracks for a train. As they approached red lights quickly flashed, signaling an incoming train. Coming to a halt, Caroline shifted her view to the mirror and noticed that they were the only ones driving along the scenic route. Shifting the car into park, Walker reclined back in his seat slightly, giving way to the long wait ahead.
The head of the train passed by, leading the many boxcars along; their reddish-brown tint and graffiti blazoned exteriors scuttled along the tracks and made Caroline wish she could hop aboard right now and have it take her anywhere but here.
There was a long silence, the radio and moving train the only source of noise. The squirrel tried distracting herself by listening to these, but couldn't find the clangor of the train loud enough, nor had the desire to turn the radio up. She had never quite heard silence this loud.
"So, uhm, what are you planning on doing when you get back home?" she asked tentatively, trying to spark some sort of conversation. In response, she only received a small shoulder shrug as he turned his head to look out his window.
Why did she always seem to make the people around her so upset? She looked down at her feet, fearing tears.
Is this the way she wanted things? Hurting the people she loved, disappointing them with her own aspirations? Was it her fault? Was she simply brushing off all those who cared about her, leaving them as a child leaves their training wheels behind when they finally learn to ride? She shook her head, feeling her sadness start to manifest itself in her eyes.
"Caroline…is this really it?" he asked.
Her heart quickly skipped a beat. "W-what do you mean?" she asked with uncertainty.
"Well…we've known each other for so long…you have been my best friend," he started.
"Uh-oh." She thought. She ran through all the possible things that he would say in her head, each ending with him saying how they should just forget each other, or not speak again. She felt hopeless; desolate.
"And well, I'm going to miss you. More than you'll ever know. But…I want you to be careful."
The hairs on her tail that had previously been standing on end now relaxed, and her face visibly softened. He wasn't mad, after all. "I'll be perfectly fine" she assured him.
"Caroline…" he turned to her, and gripped her tightly by the shoulders "I'm so worried for you."
The squirrel tilted her head curiously, and looked him in the eyes. They were deep and serious, which made her all the more curious. "But…why?"
"Because…I won't be there to watch over you."
"And…what? You don't think I can handle myself?" She felt a slight bubbling of anger under her skin, and knit her brows to reflect this.
"No, I don't mean it in that way. I know you can take care of yourself. You're one of the most independent girls I know. It's just…I feel like…"
"Feel like what?"
"I feel like I need to be with you."
"But…" she broke away from his grip "you can't always be there to play 'big brother' for me. I need to know that I can do it on my own."
He sighed in heavily, and gave her that sad puppy face that always won her over. "I know that…I know I can't change your mind for leaving. It's just…I guess all these years that we've been friends…ever since we were growing up…I always just assumed this was how it was going to be, us close forever. And I think that feeling tried to overtake another one. Another one that I told myself I shouldn't feel…"
His face slightly tinted to faintest color of pink, but his blue eyes never stopped sparkling, and never left hers. "But now that you're leaving, I think the comfort is gone. Those days I wasn't speaking to you…I felt so betrayed. Betrayed about how you were leaving me here all alone; but then I started thinking. And…I realized some things." He paused, as if he was in thought.
She looked at him, silently encouraging him to go on.
"Well…first off, I realized you are the most stubborn midget I have ever met" he smiled slightly as she giggled. "You're loud, unpredictable, clumsy, controlling…"
Her eyebrows went up in surprise and she looked up at him in a perplexed manner. He quietly and softly reached for her hands, and took them in his. She blushed, and her big blue eyes shimmered as they met his gaze.
, "short, squeaky, mouthy…just a few examples of the many reasons why…" He looked away for a moment, and then returned to her, taking a deep breath and letting out a small chuckle. "…Caroline…I-I…love you."
Her eyes shot wide open. Never did she think he would say that. And never in a million years did she think…she might feel the same way.
"I…I know. I know this is ridiculous, and crazy, and you might hate my guts…but…I just want to be with you, and around with you. I want to be with you, even if we're both old and everyone else around us has packed up and gone. And I'm wondering if you…if you…maybe, just maybe, feel the same way?"
I looked at him; looked in his eyes. And not just at them, but really in them. They were deep, and felt safe. Her eyes watered and her body shivered in delight. "Walker…I don't know what to say. I think…I love you, too."
The tears feel out of her eyes, and ran down her cheeks. He put his sleeve over his hand and gently wiped them. They stared into each other's eyes for a few moments, before he slowly began to lean in. She felt his warm, wet nose touch with hers, and then felt their lips lock. As they kissed the train horn blew and the last of the carts passed by, but none of it was noticed by them. They sat there, feeling their beings melt together in the moment.
As they pulled away they smiled at each other, the black dog wagging his tail ever so slightly. As she smiled, she partially looked away, in confusion.
"What is it?"
"Walker…why…why did you wait this long?" she stared at him.
He quickly blinked in surprise. "I didn't want to ruin our friendship. You…you're so important to me. I would have been willing to just be friends with you forever…as long as I could still be close to you."
"R-Really?" her eyes lit up. Walker nodded enthusiastically. Her eyes, still watering, now dimmed slightly in realization. "I can't now…I just…don't know. I'm…leaving."
His tail stopped wagging, and his smile disappeared. "But…you don't want to be together? We could be so happy…I could open a shop, maybe work at Nook's…we could make it, together, in Cables."
Caroline sighed. "I want to be with you…but, Walker…this is my dream. I just can't stay there. If I do…I'll never feel like I've truly lived my life. Being with you is what I want…but I could never be happy enough, or make you happy enough, if I stayed."
Walker slightly nodded and sighed in defeat, quickly shoving the stick into drive without a further word.
At long last they reached the town station. Grandiose, the building was larger than most of the buildings within her town's city. Walker helped her with her luggage and made sure she got her ticket and found the right station. As the train pulled up, and passengers started boarding, they both stood up from the bench they were sitting on and got her baggage together. As she was about to board, they carefully turned to each other and locked gazes.
"So…I guess this is it." Walker said. Caroline nodded, fighting back tears.
"I-I guess." She looked down at her shoes and fiddled with her dress.
"No changing your mind?" he asked earnestly. She smiled slightly and shook her head as she let ample tears flow from her eyes. "Come here." He pulled her into a close embrace. She sobbed slightly into his shoulder, wetting the area. "I hope you find everything you're looking for," he whispered into her ear, sending shivers down her spine "and, if not, you can always count on me to be back home, waiting."
They slowly let go of each other, but held on by one hand. They looked at each other for a moment as the whistle blew, signaling her short amount of time left. She looked at her friend endearingly. He nodded, and slowly let go of her hand as she slipped away from his presence. She got on, but stood and leaned in on the doorway.
He never lost sight of her, and waved. She choked back her tears, and forced her arm to cooperate and wave back. To doors then closed in front of her, and the train began to chug ahead, departing away from her old life and her best friend. The squirrel ran her hand through her blonde locks and sniffled, trying to clean herself up before she faced the other passengers. She walked down the aisle and found a seat next to a small black and white bunny, who smiled politely at her.
Taking a seat by the window, she put one hand to her face, trying to conceal her tears. The bunny looked at her with concern "Hey, will you be okay?" she asked, a sympathetic look on her face. Caroline looked up at her, and paused before shaking her head 'no' and putting her head in her hands.
"I left my boyfriend behind when I left, too" she said. Caroline slowly raised her eyes to the bunny. "Dotty, by the way." She extended her paw, which Caroline silently took.
"Caroline."
"Sorry, I couldn't help but notice you two out there."
Caroline shook her head, and smiled weakly through her tears. "H-he…is the love of my life and my b-best friend."
Dotty quickly looked at the tear tracks that lined her face. "Caroline, I know how you feel…I loved my best friend and left him…back in my hometown. And…to be honest, I was disconsolate; but then… I realized something. I realized….that the old saying is true. You know, 'if you love someone, you'll let them go'. I thought it was a ridiculous phrase at the time…but after awhile, everything just fell into place."
She looked at the bunny "But why would you go, if you loved them? Why did I go?"
Caroline looked as if she might burst into tears again, so the bunny squeezed her hands. "We never really leave them…we can never leave behind someone who has impacted our life so greatly. We simply depart, and only break the physical connection. We may now walk two different paths…but I don't think we'll ever forget each other. The bond between us is too strong."
Caroline pondered the bunny's eloquent statement. She never thought of it in that sense. Maybe she did do the right thing. And maybe…just maybe, they would cross paths again one day, paths that led to the same destination.
Caroline stepped out of the elevator and walked into the lobby, along with Dotty, to head off to her job at Nook Enterprises. The city had been all good and well, but it was definitely much different than home. It had changed her appearance slightly, as she had shifted from long, flowy dresses to short business skirts and button up blouses.
Immediately catching her eye was the large amount of luggage piled up on the bellhop cart, an uncommon sight in this apartment complex.
"Dotty, has someone moved in?" she asked her friend curiously.
"That's strange. I don't believe anyone has. Frank?" She turned to the turkey at the front desk.
"Ah yes, a young man just arrived today," he started "he just moved here from…"
"Hello there," someone walking behind Caroline interrupted "I'm Walker, here from Cables Village." He extended his paw "It's great to meet you."
Quite a different pairing, but I hope you enjoyed it! Please drop a comment and tell me what you think :)