Chapter 3: New Beginnings
I woke with the light blinding me, and glanced around my empty room. Everything was barren save a couple screws in the closet. I got up and dressed myself in a green tank top and jean shorts. I went into the kitchen where Lyla's new husband Basil sat. He glanced up with his beautiful olive green eyes, and smiled. I smiled back and went into the den where Lyla was arranging flowers from her shop, obviously upset. I coughed and she looked up and sniffed.
"Hey," she said. I went up to her and hugged her.
"Lyla I am going to miss you sooooooooooo much!" I said while fighting back tears.
"Yeah," she said with a husky voice and finally broke the two of us down. Burning tears fell from my eyes. She squeezed my hands and sobbed. In the middle of our crying, Basil interrupted.
"Excuse me," he said with a light smile, pointing to the brigade of people waiting to tell me farewell. Lyla smiled sadly and pushed me towards them. I approached Woody and Gwen first.
"I told Jesse about this, but I still haven't seen him," Woody informed me. I nodded and hugged the old man gently.
During the middle of my farewell party I went outside for some fresh air. The party was making me weary. I glanced up at the afternoon sky, frost from the winter still chilling my breath into the air. I sighed and slumped down onto the ground.
I wonder why Jesse isn't here, I thought with a melancholy grimace. I sat for around twenty minutes staring into the sky, praying. The bushes rustled mysteriously. My heart beat rapidly with hope. I peered over the bushes and saw nothing but the puff of a bunny's tail. My heart sank. Suddenly a blonde mess of man emerged from the brush. I smiled, recognizing my old friend.
"Jesse!" I exclaimed. He smiled shyly and hugged me. I tousled his hair and gazed into his electric blue coloured eyes. Jesse wasn't the same meek little boy from the forest; he was taller, more talkative, and worked hard. He and I often clashed heads with our brazen personalities, but we couldn't stay mad at each other for long.
When I was around seventeen we had started dating, and eventually fell in love. We spent way too much time together, never doing anything else, so we decided to break-up. We had still remained close friends, so when I told Jesse, a couple months before, I was leaving River Blossom he was very upset and refused to talk to me. Instead he just worked in the forest alone, doing his regular work with other odd jobs and returning to his child muteness. I was extremely relieved to find him there at my party. After we stopped hugging he pulled something from the bushes that he was carrying I must have missed.
"Close your eyes, no peeking," he ordered. I did as he said while he opened the tiny box. After a few moments I felt his warm hands on my neck, one of them lifting my hair. My heart raced while he did this, we were so close I could feel his breath and hear it. Then something cold on my neck suddenly brought me back from my warm trance.
"Ok, open," he said. I opened my eyes and first saw Jesse's smile, the only thing that hadn't changed throughout the years. It was one of the things I loved most about him. I peeked at my neck and picked up the small metal amulet into my hands and marveled at it. It was a tree that looked a lot like the big tree where Jesse and I had played often growing up, where we had our first kiss.
On the back it said, "Yours beyond the mist." Although the saying puzzled me, I smiled with tears sneaking out of my eyes.
"I made it myself," he said. I sobbed loudly and he walked over to me and held me in his arms. "I know it wasn't easy for you to make this choice Mel. I should've realized it sooner but I just didn't want to lose you. I just love you so much. It hurts me too, but I will always, always be here for you no matter what. I hope you already know that," he whispered softly gazing into my eyes. I nodded fervently and squeezed him as hard as I could. He held me at arms length, and looked at me for a few moments, making me blush. He wiped a tear away from my face and leaned into my face, and kissed my forehead. He looked away so I couldn't see his face. He tried to hold his tears defensively.
"Bye Mel," he waved and disappeared into the woods from which he came. I sat there for a few more moments with the necklace dangling from my fingers. Then I went back into the house where the party resumed, and finished saying my farewells to all of my other friends.
By the time everyone left, I was exhausted. I went into my room and undressed into a pair of sweat shorts and a t-shirt. Even though it was only seven-thirty p.m., I collapsed on my bed, falling soundly asleep, with my necklace held fondly in my hand. The next day, I would set out for my childhood home.