Sitting under the the shade of the old willow tree, a four year old girl was playing tea party with her toys. Her fiery red hair in a messy ponytail, and her dolls and teddies seated on the other three unoccupied corners of the mat. She had a colouring book in in one hand and and a wax crayon in the other and she held the book up while her emerald green eyes scrutinised the colouring and checking for any mistakes. Deep in concentration, the little girl didn't notice the golden haired boy sneaking up behind her. He swiftly went over to her and whispered in her ear
"That is very pretty. You are really good."
Startled by the sound, the girl dropped her colouring book to the ground. She turned around and looked accusingly at the boy, silently blaming him for disturbing her and making her drop her precious art book. But when she saw the expression on his face as he bent down to pick up her book and apologised, she said,
" It's okay. My name is Clarissa, but everyone calls me clary. What's your name?"
"Jace," he replied. "Will you be my friend?"
"Of course, Jace", little Clary said with a smile.
Little had they known that their little exchange had been closely observed by a smiling Jocelyn, as she saw the beginning of a great friendship.
Years passed since that fateful day. Clary and Jace were now 10 and they were still the best of friends. They had grown up to be very different people. Clary mostly stayed quiet and did not open up easily to strangers while Jace never shut up. In a way they balanced each other out. Things had changed, but still, the old willow tree was always a place of peace for them. It was a kind of a code. When either of them was upset, they would head over to the tree and when the other one would be unable to find them, they would immediately following over to comfort their friend.
So, when Jace couldn't find Clary anywhere, he immediately headed over to the tree. And there she was. And even though her petite frame and posture would usually hide her well under the shade of the tree, her unruly red hair was a pretty big giveaway of her position.
Jace headed over to her and found her sitting there with her head between her bent legs and her arms wrapped around them. When he pulled her face towards him, he say tears cascading down her cheeks and her eyes were red from crying. He immediately started to wipe her tears and asked, " Hey! Clare what's the matter? What happened?"
She opened her mouth as if to say something. Even though her words made no sense, realisation hit Jace like a truck and he queitly asked her, " is this about your parents?" know the answer already. For the past few month, Clary's parents had been fighting about every single thing. In their quarrels, they completely ignored Clary and the effect their fights had on her. Craving comfort from someone, Clary had directly went to Jace, and being her best friend, he comforted her to the best of his ability.
" They are getting divorced. I heard Mom say that she had enough. And... and they.."
She burst in tears, unable to say another word. This worried Jace. He had never seen Clary cry this much. Not even once. And if she was this sad, then there was more to the story that was worse than the divorce. So he asked her, as gently as possible, "What's the matter Clare? I know there's more. You can tell me. It's okay"
Looking up, with tears blurring her vision, Clary said "Dad wants my custody and if he gets, I have to move with him. "
This shocked Jace. If Clary moved, not only would he lose his best friend, but also the only person who fully understood him, knew him beyond the facade he put up in front of the rest of the world and he couldn't afford that to happen.
" Hey! It's gonna be okay. You know how much aunt Jocelyn loves you, right? She's not gonna let him take you away. " He said and to lighten up the mood a bit, he added, "Besides, I think he's too scared to do anything against you. I mean he was the one who taught you how to fight and defeat a person in a matter of seconds."
" I know Jace, I know. I'm just a little scared, that's all. But, thank you for cheering me up," she said, finally smiling at him. As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she hugged Jace tightly, just like they would do as kids and he tucked a stray lock of red hair behind her ear and rested his head on top of hers while snaking his arms around her back and pulling her even closer to him, assuring himself that she was there, and not going away. That her mom would win the battle and not let her go with that man.
And as if it were written in fate, she did stay there with her mom, close to her best friend who would later on take a different and more important place and title in her life and in her heart.
As Clary walked over to him, she could see Jace sitting there, staring into space motionlessly, as if he was in deep thought. Time had flown, Clary was now 15, still shy as ever but a force to be reckoned with if you tried to mess up with her family or friends. A kind and modest girl, she was the only person who could control an extremely cocky and angst ridden, typical teenage boy Jace and live to tell the tale.
Jace was the exact definition of what you called a player. Extremely arrogant, disruptive during classes and to be said in the kindest way possible, a total ass, was like the one side of the coin while Clary was the other. She was what you would call a nerd, a straight A student, with no negatives in her track record and an added bonus for her accomplishments in the field of art, she was an ideal student. People found it weird that her and Jace were best friends, but then, they balanced out each other's personalities perfectly.
And that's why Clary was startled to see Jace in such a position that she couldn't help but say, " Oh my god!! I think the world's ending. Jace Herondale is sitting in deep thought as if concentrating about something. Surely, something drastic must have happened for a situation this dire to have risen." Jace looked up with a goofy grin as she finished with a dramatic flourish. Amused at his friend's antics, he let out a small laugh but quickly went back to his unusually somber and serious mood.
As she saw this change, even she went to a more serious mode and asked, " No. Seriously, what's wrong? Jace... Jace, what is it? Now you're scaring me."
" It's okay. It's just a girl"
Her posture loosened and she said, "Is that it? You had me scared for a moment. Had another ONS, didn't you? And now, you can't get rid of her. Or did someone deflate your huge ego like a balloon by rejecting you." She said teasingly.
But Jace was completely serious as he said, " No. It's nothing like that. There's this girl that I like. Maybe even love and I want to tell her, but I.. I just don't know how? I'm not sure if she even reciprocates my feelings."
At this she grew rigid and asked him, " So you genuinely like her. And I'm not talking in the player sense. In the real love sense."
" I do. I really love her. I've been in love with her for years now but I was never able to tell her or guess her feelings, as a matter of fact. That why I refrained all these years. Because I didn't want ruin any chances of. A friendship between us if she didn't like me back."
"Well Jace, I honestly believe that you should tell her. Even if you are not sure about her feelings. It doesn't matter. And when she sees the genuine love that is so visible, I'm sure she will not reject you. And even if she does, then that's her fault because I can see the amount of love in your eyes. It shines brighter than the sun , the moon and whoever decided to reject that kind of a relationship, well then forget her. Forget that she ever existed. Because you, Jace Herondale, deserve better than her."
Looking up at his best friend, any hint of doubt was wiped from his mind after he saw how she was so genuine and serious about it. There was no humour or carefree looks on her face. There was just utter seriousness and sincerity. And though made his decision even easier than before.
" You know what Clare? You're right. I'm going to tell her that I really, really love her, even more than I love anyone and everyone else."
"Yeah. So what are you waiting for. Go. Go and pour your heart out to her."
" I just did."
It took a moment for that to register, but when it did Clary's face was picture worthy. Her jaw was dropped, her cheeks were as red as her hair, her eyes had a wild, astonished look to them while Jace looked at her with a sly smile on her face.
"But... wha... seriou..." Her mouth opened and closed like a fish while she gaped at Jace.
"I love you Clary Fairchild. I've been in love with you since even before I can remember. I love you more than anything and I know that it sounds extremely cheesy, especially coming from me. But Clare, would you like to be promoted from the post of best friend to girlfriend?"
" Yes. Oh my God, yes. And you idiot, how could you ever think that I didn't love you? You're such an idiot sometimes. Actually, scratch that. You're an idiot most times. "
"But you still love me," he said teasingly.
"Unfortunately, that's true." And with that, Clary smashed her lips to his and they both savoured the moment, sitting right under tree.
"Yes"
This one word that was uttered by Clary had shaped her and Jace's future. Together. After 10 beautiful years of dating each other and 21 yrs of being the best of friends, the two star-crossed lovers had finally decided to take their relationship to the next level. A promise to be together, through thick and thin, rich and poor, happiness and sorrow until death did them part. A promise to love each other through the rest of their lives, and in the life beyond this world. A promise to never be parted, in life or death and to make their love immortal. A story to be never forgotten. And this one word by Clary had sealed it.
Even though they were only engaged now, it was like they had already said their vows and become one, once and for all. The emotions in both their eyes were enough proof of their happiness and elation. And as they kissed each other, embracing their one true love, the tree covered them, as if protecting them from any harm from the world, as they added yet another perfect memory to the tree.
"I do"
The whole crowd burst into applause as the happy couple exchanged their vows and 'I do's,' standing under the shade of the old willow tree.
It seemed fitting to the couple to add the memory of the best day of their lie to a place that already was so special to them. It seemed fitting to start a new chapter to their love story in the place it started in the first place. The place they met, they became friends, they became more than friends and where Jace finally proposed.
It was like bringing the beginning to the end. A Full circle.
But this was hardly the end. In all, it was actually a new beginning. A fresh page to write, a new story to tell. A different experience. An experience of true, eternal love that never ended. Of course there would be obstacles in their path, new challenges to face and a completely new experience to live and love. But right now, the two were perfectly content in living the beautiful present as they looked right into each other's eyes and showed each other how much they loved and cared for them, right under the cavern of their best memories.
Under their tree.
how was it? Please review. I would love to hear what you all have to say. And I'm always open to suggestions.
