First of all, thanks to my First Reviewer, Chuloe of the Earth! So sorry that I didn't personally respond, but I thought this would be a little more effective :] So I repeat my two key phrases without any further ado-then on to the story! (Which, I hope, you enjoy as much as I did re-reading what I wrote as I dug it out of my files!) Wait-was that considered further ado...?

1) Please Review-it really is encouraging as a writer. I want this story to be as good as possible, so any thoughts whatsoever (Love it, Hate it, ect) are welcome.

2) While I did not originally write this story as Edward/Bella-since it now is, I don't lay claim to them. Sigh :]

Tears. Would they never end? Yet, somehow, they were different this time. Instead of being bitter tears, tears that she constantly tried to push back, they were sweet tears. They cleansed instead of burned. As she read the letter, her heart calmed-its beat a steady pace as a new sensation started to grow.
What? She wondered.
What was this foreign emotion?
And then she realized-it was Joy. Something she had not felt since she was a little girl.
So she ran.
She ran as fast as her body would allow. No inhibitions, no past. But most definitely future. Her new joy soared as she let her heart lead the way. And this time, hours later, when she finally reached his doorstep-there was no wonder. She knew he would be there to catch her.
As she fell breathlessly into his arms.

"You came." He said.

"How could I not? You broke through my walls, and you broke my heart. But only so I could love you even more."

"You love me?" Shock and Joy were fighting a fierce battle on his expression.

"But I failed you. I let you go and I thought I had lost you forever."

"No, not forever. You only let me go for a little while so you could have me back forever."

And so they talked, two dark shadows in the doorway as the fiery sunset faded into soft pinks, and slowly disappeared into black.

He was sitting, all alone the florescent lights that his parents insist he flicker on doing nothing to brighten his dreary state of mind. His letter now sent, all he could do was wait-and it was very literally sucking the life out of him. Trying to concentrate on his paper for school, reruns of the letter kept typing out instead. Haunting and mocking him.

And then, because of the protagonists approach to the situation, Godfrey, the antagonist, was forced to run if you must. But understand this, I love yo....(backspace) Godfrey, the antagonist, was forced to live with his past decisions with no hope of ever righting them. As his second wife Nancy stated but I will let you go if that is what you need. I promise you, though, that if you keep running from me like you did the night you fell, I will cease to exi...." (backspace)

As he looked, frustrated, on his impossible paper, he began to realize what was bothering him so. He had given her permission to run. Away. From. Him. How could he do that? How could he just let her go-give her permission to just walk right out of his life? He was an idiot. He knew it. And he was utterly helpless if she did so decide to walk away from him. Or run, more like it, after what he had seen that night. But there was nothing he could do now. His decision was made-he would let her decide for herself. And now he had to live with the consequences. However, as he sat and pondered all this, the wind blowing through his window brought a familiar scent. As he ran down the stairs and flew out his door, he saw that his mind wasn't deceiving him. The strawberry scent of her hair that the wind brought really did belong to the girl running full speed at him. And this time there was no wonder. He knew he would catch her.
As she fell, breathlessly, into his arms.

Minutes later, as they talked, her story unfolded. But he still wasn't sure what she meant.

"But I failed you. I let you go and I thought I had lost you forever."

"No, not forever. You only let me go for a little while so you could have me back forever."

What did she mean? How could letting her go give her back forever?

"What do you mean?" It was no use trying to sort it out by himself. There were no secrets anymore. None that existed between them, at least.

"When I ran, it was not because I wanted to hide from you, it was not because I hated you. It was because I thought I needed to protect you. If you had tried to tell me any differently, I wouldn't have been able to accept it. If you had reached out I would have pushed you away. But you see, absence makes the heart grow fonder. As I laid in my room later that night, so utterly alone, I was finally able to hear. Before, my tears would not let me hear you, but when I had cried myself out, when I finally looked at my own heart. That is when I knew I loved you. I was finally able to hear all that you had wanted to say. So you see, your letting go helped me come back forever. And it will be forever. You are now my life, and you hold my heart in your palm."

And so they talked, two dark shadows in the doorway as the fiery sunset faded into soft pinks, and slowly disappeared into black.

The next morning, as he turned over to fall off his bed (as was his tradition every morning to wake up) he found himself pushed up against something very warm, and very not his floor. Waking up with a jolt, and a piercing scream that would rival any girl, he quickly threw back the blankets to unearth the foreign invader.
An invader with a very beautiful laugh.
The events of the previous night quickly recapped in his mind. Words-moments in time came together to form a very complete picture. Writing, paper, concentrate, wind, hair, running, fall, talking, love, loss, happiness, forever, sunset, dinner, falling-asleep? After the fog from his brain had cleared, he sheepishly coughed, and, deepening his voice just a little, told her good morning. Her laughter prohibited her from returning the stateThe invader with a very beautiful laugh.ment, however, and all she could do for the next several minutes was sit, doubled over on his floor, and try to choke out a comment. After several more minutes, thoroughly embarrassed, he decided that enough was enough. Taking her gently by the arm, he helped her stand, and then proceeded to tickle her until she was gasping for breath as payment for her mocking of him.
After their laughter ceased, she turned to him apologetically, stating that it was not her fault if he screamed like a girl.
As he grimaced in return, his retort was cut short by another shriek, this time coming from the actual girl in the room.
"WHAT TIME IS IT?!"
As he turned to look at the clock, he noticed that they had long overslept, the clock hand turning slowly toward one pm. As he looked on, she started to fly around the room in a frenzy at the news of this hour. As she was about to run out of the room, he gently stopped her with a brush against her arm and a gentle reminder to change back into her daytime clothes. In her initial haste to see him the day before, she had simply run without any forethought, therefore, when they finally finished talking late into the night and they realized that there was no way she could go home until the morning, she had simply worn a pair of his huge gray sweats. Although she could fit another half of her into them, they were perfect, and the thought of changing brought a look of chagrin to her face. This he took notice of with some amount of perverted pleasure.
How long he had waited for this.
For her.
After she had changed, and turned back into a full blown princess, skirts and all, they set off toward the big yellow castle, all the while thinking up excuses as to her never coming home the previous night. But when it came down to it, they decided that this was real life, they were grown up, and the only way was to be honest. "Whether it kills us or not." He stated-what he did not know, however, was how
very literal that may become.

She woke with a jolt the next morning, becoming suddenly aware that she was not in her own bed. An instant of fear turned quickly into wonder as she saw the now-familiar surroundings of his living room. Wondering how she had ended up there, she thought back to the night before as she wandered down his hallway-instinctively ending up in his room just as the events of the previous night came to the forefront of her mind. Endless talking. After she had fallen into his arms, they had talked for hours, enjoying their company, and every moment they were together, her heart healed a little more. The emotion of Joy grew deeper and deeper, planting itself firmly into her soul. When they had finally tired, and she had started to fall asleep gently against his stomach, they had discovered that it was an absurd time of night and it would be better to return her to her castle tomorrow.
As she entered his room she took in carefully her surroundings. A desk, bed, chair- all your basic accessories, and nothing spectacular. But it was beautiful to her. The natural colors bringing a refreshing change to the pomp she was so used to and tired off. It was perfect, and it contained the most precious thing in the world. As she suddenly became aware of the freezing temperature in the room she quickly slipped into the bed next to him, and rubbed his arm in order to wake him up. For it had been ingrained in her since she was old enough to talk that her honor was to be protected at all costs.

At her tender touch, several surprising things happened at once. He rolled over, his warm body melting into hers for a brief moment, and then a piercing scream. Higher than that of any princess she had ever encountered, and a look of utter panic for one moment flashing across his face. The combination of her lack of sleep and the complete ridiculousness of his expression and-whatever it was that came out of his mouth-made her completely helpless to the fit of hysterics that enveloped her body. After several moments of undying laughter, she felt a gentle grasp around her wrist, soon followed by a not so gentle tug onto his knees, and a very cruel period of tickling.
After she had finally gained her composure and offered him a proper good morning, the thought struck her that perhaps it wasn't quite morning. And as she remembered that she had never gone home the night before, something happened. Chains began to wrap themselves around her heart. As she looked on in wonder, she suddenly realized what it was. It was fear-encompassing her very soul and leaving her captive. However, that is the funny thing about Joy. Before, when her crown of tears was still intact, she could not realize what utter bondage fear left her in, but Joy opened her heart, and therefore her eyes. So now she could see. Now she could change it. But how?
While all this realization was taking place, she was also running crazily around his room trying to collect everything so she could go. As soon as she had discovered that it was one pm, she knew that it was all over. She was dead. But just as she was about to run out the door, his soft voice cut through her clouded mind like a sword, healing instead of destroying, however. Much like a surgeon's scalpel in very capable hands. And as he lovingly told her to change out of his sweatpants, she looked in awe as the chains of fear around her heart loosened, and fell rattling to the ground. And that is when she realized. She got it.
He was the key.
He knew her heart, he understood her pain, and because of that, he could fight her fear.
He was the antidote to the poison. And she loved him all the more for it.
As they walked hand in hand down the road.

Hours passing like a bright kite soaring against a blue sky, they soon reached the big yellow castle. As they drew up to the castle, she paused. She was just a girl, just an ordinary princess with a broken crown. And so she started to cry, but they were not from her crown of tears, for that was gone, they were instead tears of Joy. They were pure and unadulterated, and as he turned to brush them gently away, she saw in his own eyes matching emotion, and shimmering tears now longer being hidden.
Unparalleled beauty.
And so she reached up, and as she did so, it was as if her heart started to grow, but, not something so simple was the reality.
No, instead, as they shared in their pain, and also in their new-found joy, their hearts started to meld, much like metal fusing. And as they did so, she started to take on his own burdens, his own pain-and his own joy. His happiness was now hers, and her mind filled to overflowing with new experiences and new understanding.
He had seen her heart, and now she was beginning to see his.

Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities. Truth isn't. ~Mark Twain
Love to you all ~A