You Will Be Remembered

Now and Forever

Summary: Jess' feelings a month after Leslie's death and his first visit back to Terabithia. It's much different then in the movie, I hope you all like it. (By the way I've never read the book; I can't find it anywhere, so this is movie based.)

Twelve year old Jess Aarons stepped off the bus as it came to a stop and then turned to his seven year old sister May-belle.

"I'll be home later, tell mom not to worry," Jess told her as he handed her his books but kept his backpack.

He ran down the gravel road as fast as he legs would take him then as he reached the fields he began to walk slowly as he made his way to the creek. He walked slowly, for this was the first time he had returned since the death of his best friend Leslie almost a month earlier. His feet finally guided him to their special place and the rope swing they had used to get there, or at least what was left of it. The frayed ends of the broken rope swung in the breeze above his head. Jess swallowed at the sight of the rope and blinked his eyes as the tears threatened to fall.

Jess pulled himself up onto the log they used to jump off from and sat there watching the rope move back and forth in the breeze. The longer he looked at the rope the more he could see Leslie swinging on it and laughing as if she were doing it for the first time. Jess sighed as he brought his legs up to his chin and rapped his arms around them. It had only been a month since that fateful day when Leslie had gone to Terabithia alone, and the rope had broken sending her into the water after hitting her head on the bank. She had drowned.

Jess sniffed as memories of that day filled his head, the call in the morning, thinking about inviting Leslie and then not, May-belle's shriek of "See I told you!" when he first entered the house. His mother hugging him with all her might, his sister's remark of "We thought you were dead." Then, his father's words, "Your friend Leslie is dead, she drowned in creek this morning." That was all he remembered, he didn't even remembered half of what had happened over the past month. He remembered going to her funeral, he remembered Leslie's father hugging him and saying, "She loved you Jess, you were the best friend she ever had." Everything after that was a big blur, until last week when he finally accepted that he would never see his friend again. He stared up at the rope again, he blamed himself for that day, he felt he should have been with her, he could have saved her, or died trying, but here he was now alone never to be with anyone so close to him again.

"I'm sorry Leslie, I should have been here with you, I should have invited you along, but I didn't, it's my fault, it all my fault," Jess said as he finally let his tears fall.

Jess wiped at his face but it was no use the tears continued to fall. Through tear filled eyes Jess jumped off of the log and opened his backpack. He took out the things he brought, materials to build a small plat form, and the picture of Leslie that he drawn a few weeks before her death.

"I'm sorry Leslie, but this plat form is all I can do," Jess said and with that he began to build the plat form.

Jess was almost finished when a giant crash made his head shoot up; to his surprise one of the giant trees had fallen across the creek, making what looked to be a bridge to the other side. Jess tried to go back to work on his plat form but the tree seemed to be calling him "Come back Jess, come back to Terabithia," As Jess listen more carefully he heard that it was not the tree calling him but a voice on the other side of it. Jess got up and slowly made his way across the tree being careful not to slip on the bark. When he reached the other side he heard the voice again, "Come on Jess, the Terabithians need you!" Jess knew that voice too well but it couldn't be her, could it?

Jess dashed towards the fortress, passing the truck with its jingling chimes, no they weren't chimes, they were the prisoners' chains. He saw the shadow of the dark Master as he came around on the far side of the trees, though he didn't dare came near for the king of Terabithia had returned to his fortress. As Jess reached it, a familiar face came up to greet him, a face of a friend that he thought he would never see again.

"Leslie!" Jess yelled throwing his arms around the girl's neck and hugging her.

"Hi Jess," Leslie giggled.

"I thought-I thought you died?" Jess said his voice cracking with emotion.

"I did Jess, but not in Terabithia, if you want to see me all you have to do is come here and think about me, like you did today," Leslie said with a smile.

"So I'm imagining you right now?" Jess asked.

"Well in a way yes, you were thinking about me, and Terabithia, that's all you have to do Jess. You see, I'm part of Terabithia now so whenever you visit Terabithia, you are visiting me too," Leslie said with a giggle.

"Then I wish I would have come sooner," Jess said sorrow in his voice.

"It's alright Jess, you weren't ready, and to be honest I really didn't know if you would come today, but I'm glad you did," Leslie said as she nudged him towards the tree house, "Now come on, oh great king of Terabithia, we have work to do."

………………………………………………

They played all day just like they used to, defending the fortress and defeating the Dark Master, and at the end of the day Leslie walked Jess back to the fallen tree.

"I wish I could stay with you, you must get scared here at night," Jess said forgetting who was talking to for a minute.

"I don't Jess, I don't stay here at night, I'm here only when you are," Leslie said putting her friend at ease.

Jess hugged her once more before going over the tree, "I miss you so much Leslie," he said into her hair.

"Just remember Jess, I'm never far away, all you have to do is come here and think about me," Leslie said as she pulled away from her best friend.

"I know, I'll be back tomorrow, I promise," Jess said as started over the tree again, as he did the tears filled his eyes again, not tears of sadness but tears of joy.

When he reached the other side Jess wiped the tears from his eyes and turned to see Leslie still standing there across the creek waving to him. He smiled through what was left of his tears and waved back to his best friend in the whole world, and with a final wave and one of her famous smiles Leslie was gone with the breeze.

I miss you; I miss your smile,

and I still shed a tear every once in while.

Though things are different now,

You're still here some how,

My heart will let you go,

But I need you to know,

I miss you,

My heart will let you go,

But I need you to know,

I miss you.

Jess once again looked at the fallen tree, with a little wood and nails it would make the perfect bridge, one that he could walk across and not fall, he smiled for he knew if he could get across he could still be with Leslie, for she still lived in Terabithia. He went back to where he had left his finished tower, on the other fallen log where Leslie had fallen, his drawing of her stood on the top of the tower leaning against the fallen tree.

Jess sighed as he said, "Its true Leslie, I will always miss you, though now I can be with you, for you are the one and only queen of Terabithia. You will be remembered, now and forever."