She had been waiting for months now, and tonight didn't seem to be any different from the others. Her eyes were shining in front of the bright blue sky, but her heart finally broke when, after a couple of hours spent in the docks, she understood she had to go back home alone one more time. And one more time she would feel those heavy tears running down her cheeks. He would not come back. She was cursed to be on her own once again, lost in a town she barely knew. And he would not come back. All the time she was trying to avoid that still small voice whispering those evil words in her head, as continuously as a turning wheel, until she finally found her own words bitter. Until she realised. She would never see him again.
As she finally pushed the door of the house, she sighed and ran towards the room she now called ''hers'', to wrap herserlf in the suit he had abandonedn the bed on the days before he left. She felt good there. Warm. Protected. As usual, she breathed into it to capture the last sents of him and feel him next to her. She closed her eyes, and rested there, letting this precious feeling totally invade her. She knew he would want her to go on, but she couldn't. He would want her to forget, and to live. Yes, to live. To find happiness, to achieve her dreams and finally see the world. To find love, too. That's what he wrote her on the paper he gave her that day in the port, that paper containing the spell which would protect Storybrook from foes and, at the same time, imprison her away from him. After the spell was cast, those words replaced it. Now, the ink had vanished, and the paper was as raw and empty as her heart.
The phone rang. It was Ruby. After the Jolly Roger departed she had joined her and helped her cast the protection spell over the city. Since then, they spent most of their time together with Grumpy, Ruby was her only friend, and the only person she trusted that would not to judge her for who she loves. She stood up, and moved towards the door, still wrapped in Rumple's suit. She would find her at Granny's dinner, wait for her work to be done drinking an iced tea, and then they both would go to the docks and contemplate the endless sea. Along the streets, Belle tried to avoid the glances, she tried to hide what she felt deep inside. For every one in Storybrook she had to be the brave Belle, the one who would protect them, who would be strong for them. But with her friend she could simply be the Belle she really was inside. The frail. The shivering. The broken one. When she finally pushed the dinner's door, Ruby was already putting her cloak on. She smiled, and they left without a word.
Day after day, Ruby and Belle got used to sit on the same bench. They never talked, knowing that every word would be more painful than other Belle knew, that when she lost her lover, Ruby lost her friends and that no one could ever replace them. At this precised moment, Belle wanted to cry, but no tears could fall from her eyes anymore. She was empty, chipped, she thought. Steps in the distant brought her back it was Archie with Pongo as usual. He smiled as he passed the bench, and then, vanished in the distant. Usually, they would stand up and start following him. Usually, they would stop for a while, to look at the sun going down and the night invading them. Usually, they would go back home, without a word, and try to sleep. But not tonight. Tonight was different. Tonight, as Archie passed and Belle raised her eyes to look at him, she saw the light emerge in their darkness. Tonight, someone brought the hope to Storybrooke.