Notes
I hope I wasn't too OOC with Jesse and Leslie. If I do, please let me know.
For the last chapter, Leslie was actually teaching Jesse how to deal with the demise in the lives. That is my favorite part of the story because many people will wallow in the sorrow and sadness for a long time when their close friends are gone. I wanted to cultivate some optimistic attitudes towards the lives.
And for this chapter, Jesse confessed his feelings to Leslie and Leslie appreciated that… Hope you like it.
In retrospect, these words from Leslie sounded odd to Jessie. But to be honest, these words sounded more like her last words were supposed to be heart breaking, but he never felt any sadness or melancholies in her tone, saved from a tiny bit of wistfulness. Jesse shook his head. Leslie could be so mysterious and unreadable at time. He just can't fully understand her.
"Jess…" Leslie continued. There was a tiny hint of melancholies in her voice. She tried to hide it, but he managed to catch that detail.
"Yes…?" He was afraid that she would say something really, really sad.
"Please…don't come there as often as you did before, OK? You see, I am alive now, but Terabithia is not the place for a soul to stay forever. The gifted power from the Terabithians' can only prolong the time for a soul to stay. Indeed, I want stay here forever, but I can't."
"Leslie…" Jesse suddenly didn't want to hear her words.
"I… Well, I just don't know when I would leave. I do hope you are here when the time comes, but at the same time, I don't want you to see that at the same time." Leslie said in a causal tone as if she was not talking about her predictable demise—no, she had gone—and even smiled a little to Jesse. "It's for your own good I suppose, but I'm not selfless enough not to ask you something from you. Like… Er… What would you say if it is the last time you see me?"
Jesse swallowed audibly. What would he say?
I always think I am ready if this kind of situation occurs, but I'm not. When it really happens, I always felt lost of words.
"Leslie, I have so many things to tell you, but now they are filled in my brain and I don't know where to start. However, there is one thing—just one thing–that I always want to say…"
That I really like you…
It was one thing to think and another to speak out. Jesse now realized how exactly correct the words are. He never felt so needy to practice and prepare for hundreds of times before this finally come. He didn't have a chance when Leslie was alive in both reality and Terabithia, but now it was his chance. He had to take it carefully.
I have thought about it for a very long time...
Slowly, Jesse opened his mouth again. "Leslie…" He heard his hoarse voice. "That… I…" he swallowed hard, his heart pounded at a fast rate. Fearing he would blush madly like a complete idiot, he turned his face away.
Leslie tilted his had with such curiosity and arched her eyebrow. "What is it?" She teased, "Are you blushing?"
Jesse froze at this sentence and blushed harder. If here is a mirror in front of him he would see his face had turned into the color of the tomato. Taking several deep, hallow breaths and swallowed hard, repressing the grounded sound he made. He didn't want to see how nervous, how fidget and how blushing he was. It took everything from Jesse to keep himself composed.
I like you.
His stomach was flipping violently.
I like you.
I like you.
I like you.
He repeated silently, more and more rapid in his mind, testing the words out. It felt awkward at first, but slowly it became more comfortable
I like you. I like you. I like you. I like you.
Then he decided to whisper these words out.
"I like you."
The words flowed out softly, smoothly out of his lips. The time seemed stopped at that moment. He actually said it. Suddenly Jesse wanted to sob. He wanted to sob and sniff out of these surreal feelings. It must be a dream, the more he thought of it, the more he felt it was like a dream.
However, Leslie reacted before Jesse end the railway of thoughts and emotions in his head. She held out a hand to Jesse and interrupt his rumbling surmise, startled him by surprise.
What is she doing? Jesse wondered.
Leslie gave him a warm smile, as a beam of sunshine just glistered though the leaves and hit her at the right spot, decorating her beautiful and impish glow. Jesse felt his heart skipped a beat when he was preoccupied by her charm.
Leslie held out her hand closer to Jess, giving him more invited gesture. As he touched her hand—Jesse was really surprised to learn that souls could be so solid to touch—she gripped it tight and pulled Jesse into an embrace.
"I know", she whispered in his ears, "Thank you."
And Jesse could felt a single tear rolled down his face, but he didn't bother to brush it away.
For Jesse, he still couldn't believe Leslie was gone after a sudden accident, but that's why accidents were called unexpected, right? There are so many things in the world that no one can foresee it happening unless when it really happened. Leslie's demise was one of them. And there might be more.
Jesse looked back to the woods behind him. He knew he would never wallow in the sorrow and sadness when Leslie was gone. It was complicated. Leslie was gone and her soul was still alive in Terabithia. She wanted him to imagine she was no longer here when she was still there.
Well, to be honest, Leslie, you just want me to learn how to deal with the unpredictability in the life, right? You want me to live
"Leslie, hope you are not offend when I ask… but how can I know…or can you know when it was the time when… you left…?"
"Who knows?" Leslie replied, in her signature optimistic tone, "the only the only predicable thing in life is the unpredictability."
It was really subtle, Jesse thought, that the only predicable thing in life is the unpredictability.
Leslie was one of the unpredictability, so was her accident and demise. Were it not for Leslie, Jesse might not experience such a precious time in his school life, or even, a magical switch in his life.
Thank you, Leslie. I've learnt a lot from you.
Jesse looked up to see the views about. All he saw was the clarity of the sky. He walked through the trees, listening to the wind whistled, enjoying the calm and serene atmosphere around. He could felt the trees and leaves were calling and singing in the wind. It felt like the Terabithians were watching him. They watched as their king left their land, with a flash of relieved smile on his face.
I will try to update soon. See you later;P
