II Someone old, something new and a blue car
When the moving truck was parking in front of the flower shop, Moe French was already at the entrance waiting for the door of the car, which accompanied the truck, to open. If he was happy or sad we are not allowed to tell, but what was certain was the fact that the man was anxious.
A few seconds later the old car opened with its characteristic squeak, closing with the same unpleasant sound.
On second thought, I don't really believe that the car is that important. Maybe is not important at all. I'm clueless.
"Welcome home Boston!" said the man hugging the young woman.
Oh yeah, I knew I forgot something! There was a woman getting out of the car.
Because of her small height the stranger was forced to stay on her toes, just to hug her father. Her beautiful black Mary Jane shoes didn't help at all.
The young woman wrapped her arms around her father's neck making the blue dress to lift just a little above her knees. At this time gentle breeze was also playing with both her dark curls styled in a low ponytail and with some loose strands of the hairstyle.
Breaking away from the hug, the beautiful mystery smiled.
"I've missed you too papa" she said and then as if her blue eyes weren't fascinating enough they took on a special glow.
This 'I miss you', was all that remained of her in Storybrooke. This weird sentence and the giant banner that portrayed the name of the flower shop. 'Game of Thorns' was her idea and she still loved it.
The woman knew that Storybrooke probably forgot about her existence, as she forgot the small town somewhere in an old and dusty memory.
Miss French was indeed one of the pieces of the puzzle that did not fit in Storybrooke. Perhaps she would've fit, if the town would have known her just a little bit. Too bad it wasn't enough time then.
The father and daughter started to speak, with glowing eyes and with big smiles painted on their faces.
Nobody would've thought that this kind of happiness was real and the reason was simple. It wasn't.
The love and the 'I miss you' from earlier were real, but they haven't brought even a little happiness. The topic they were discussing was probably happy, but the happiness itself was too busy to show up.
The young woman's name wasn't spoken out loud even once, like it was cursed or something, like the simple pronunciation of the letters would have made the earth to tremble and the Hell to freeze.
Maybe the happy conversation was between two memories and the happiness didn't want to sow up because the memories were lost somewhere in some world without magic.
When he looked at her, the man saw a beautiful woman with a big smile and blue eyes. He saw a woman who gladly waited for her wrinkles, wrinkles that didn't come. Of course the girl in front of him was beautiful and had blue eyes, but her beauty was special and her eyes were painted with a different brush.
The beautiful stranger saw a different image before her eyes too. She saw a much younger man with a much gentle look. She saw a man kissing little chestnut curls and a lost diamond impossible to be found.
Nobody saw the person in front of them, but they were still searching the footsteps of some ghosts who weren't supposed to hunt their souls anymore. No one told them that the ghosts were a myth, that they weren't real?
Feeling the gentle breeze again the beautiful woman picked with the corner of her eyes at the town she left behind.
She didn't see anything new, and she didn't expect to. Storybook was always stuck in time. Every day looked exactly like the one before.
So, the town hadn't change. There were the same small shops and the same average buildings. The perfume of the flowers was still sensing from her father's shop and was still disappear immediately after you cross the street. Probably there still was that crack in the sidewalk which she used to avoid as a kid and probably the gas station still sell those disgusting chips she loved so much.
The city was like a huge stage whose decor never changes. The characters sometimes finished their role. The beauty with eyes like the sky was still wondering what her role was and how her character should be played. Unfortunately she wasn't such a good actress.
"Come on kid, don't make those men to wait for you" said Moe pointing to the red truck where her belongings were
"Tell them to unload everything here" he continued." Garry and I are going to take them to my place later. You remember Garry, don't you?"
"Of course I do papa." the girl told him, her word sounding like answer that was practiced for hours in front of the mirror.
It goes without saying that the beauty was listening to her papa's words with a sweet smile on her face.
She always listened to him and she was sure that she always will, no matter what. Even then, when the man said 'my place' she obeyed, asking the two men from the car to unload her stuff and also asking them if they want a something to eat or drink after.
After their refusal she let them do their job and joined her father into the flower shop.
"How is Garry papa?" asked the girl as she reached the back of the shop and sat down on a chair.
Her father answer but his words hadn't reached her ears, like the question itself hadn't reached her heart. Well...her dad's heart was another story…
A thin layer of had settled on Moe's furniture and there were no lilies in the vase from the small table who was at the moment placed between her and the man.
"You must be tired from the road" she heard the man said. "Don't you want a cup of coffee?"
"No, thank you" she said shaking her head.
She hated coffee. She always did and in the rarely situations that she actually drank it, it was half sugar and then the name of the drink wasn't coffee anymore. However, she liked when she could sense the smell of coffee beans. It gave her an idea on what people consume that specific drink.
Her father probably didn't know about that. She couldn't remember if that was because she didn't tell him or because he didn't listen when she was trying to.
The way he touched her forehead while asking the question, as if her tiredness could transform into fever, was so gentle and fragile that the young woman realized what happened after it was over.
"I'm all right papa, don't worry" she told him before changing the subject. "I hope you don't mind that I'm staying with you until I get on my feet. I have some savings from Boston but I don't think is enough to buy an apartment and sill live from them."
"You could've sold the car as I advised you to do honey" said the man, but seeing the frown that was forming on his daughter face, he continued before she could say anything. "I know you like that car but let's be honest; Storybrooke is a small town and you wouldn't need it anyway. Face it, the car is garbage. It's in a horrible condition and it's an old and unknown model so you should know that you are not goanna find any spare parts. Anyway, to fix it will probably cost you three times more than a new car. You drive a ticking bomb. If you sell it, you'll have enough money for a decent apartment and…"
"You know I'm not selling the car papa" the woman interrupted him, a thing she rarely did and above that she refused him, a thing she never did. Her voice was more serious but at the same time was still soft and peaceful. Also she stood up gracefully like it was the most natural thing to do.
The man stood up too, knowing that the kid would have followed him to the end of the earth, if she would've drove there in that old, light blue car.
The young woman had always been good girl and she never created the kind of trouble that her generation did constantly. She was still a good little girl who would always listen to her 'dear papa', but there was a problem with this kind of kids. They are the ones who observe things. They are the first of their age who notice that mama and papa are in fact humans, that they aren't perfect and that they actually can make mistakes. Yet, they still listen to their parent's so-called advices as long as it doesn't interfere with their moral compass. In girl's case the South and the North weren't that important as long as she could look for them in the not so comfortable interior of the car.
Although it wasn't confirmed yet, they both knew that it wasn't about the car.
"Izzy it's time for you to think about how thing are going to be here" said Moe simple. " You know we talked about this"
"Papa," she started with that simple word pronouncing much softer than before, when she said it so many times jut to make sure could, just to make sure it was real. "That is not my name and you know it very well. I'm aware of our discussions and I would do anything to please you. I love you too much not to do that papa" the girl repeated the word one more time.
"I have only one daughter and her name is Isabella French" said the man ignoring the rest of the sentences deliberately.
"Then I guess you're mistaken me because I'm not that girl" said the beautiful women, raising her shoulders as her words left her mouth. "If you don't have a daughter that means I don't have a father, do I?" she asked without expecting an answer.
Looking at the cloak on the wall, she let her voice free again like nothing happened, because nothing did.
"I'll see if the two men finished unloading the truck and then I'll take a walk through the me know when Garry comes. I would really like to see him again"
After that she kissed the man on the cheek and said a quick 'I love you' and 'Goodbye' before she left.
Leaving the shop the woman paid to little attention to the men who almost hit her with a box as she walked away from the store.
The beauty was smiling. She really was. It was a true smile.
Belle French was smiling like she had forgotten that she was supposed to be sad.
Maybe she was lying earlier. Maybe she was truly tired. And maybe she didn't care.
I really want to thank you all of you who are reading my story. I hope you are pleased with my work.:)