Almost pant done pant

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The Ripples Took You Away From Me

Chapter Eight

Rosalin stood in the snowy shore of a mountain lake. She dipped her fingers in the icy water as she shivered in her flowing white summer dress.

This was where she would do it.

This lake had been where her mum and dad had taken her when she was a small child, before dad had died. This was their safe haven from the death and destruction of the real world.

It could've been Harry's too.

She thought back to her father and her brother as she clutched her heart.

She thought of how it could've been.

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Rosalin smiled as her dad splashed her little brother Harry. They were having so much fun playing and romping around in the water that she was tempted to join them.

Almost.

She looked over to her mother with a grin and a shake of her head, both of which she returned. She would never understand them.

Boys, that is.

Her dad and brother finally waded back to shore after what seemed like hours of playing to eat what her mother had brought.

A picnic basket.

They each had their fill of pies, cakes, sandwiches, and other nice things that her mother had packed.

It was a perfect day.

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Rosalin smiled ruefully. If only that dream could've been true. If only her father was still alive.

That's where this all traced back to.

All of her problems had started when he died Her mother had first become depressed, the ignored her, then disappeared for almost a year. She had learned that she had a brother only to learn he was abandoned and her mother wanted to leave as well, but couldn't. Then of course they get him back only to…

Only to…

The tears were rolling down her soft pale cheeks, mingling and mixing with the snowflakes that fell on her upturned face as her dark hair rippled softly in the wind.

She wished it could've stayed the way it was before.

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Rosalin jumped off of her daddy's back as she rushed into the water. It was a hot summer day and she was eager to cool off in the crystal blue waters of the lake.

She dived in.

There were two cliffs overhanging the water. One was just high enough to jump off of and the other was high above their heads.

Her father was not far behind her.

Her dad cannonballed into the water and splashed her just as she surfaced.

She just splashed him right back.

She waved at her mum on the shore.

Her mum waved back as she set up her chair, mum didn't like to swim very much, she preferred to watch.

More fun for her and dad.

They played around for hours before Rosalin's growling stomach informed them it was time to eat.

They waded back in and dad rummaged around in the trunk of the car for the picnic basket that they always packed.

After they ate Rosalin stood on top of the taller cliff looking down at the sky blue lake that was the same color as her mother's eyes.

It was so beautiful.

It took her breath away every time she saw it and she saw it quite often this time of year.

But she wasn't complaining.

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That was one of her more vivid memories of this lake that they visited almost every day in the summer time until her father had died.

She clutched the locket around her neck. It had been a gift from her father around the time she was three.

She loved the locket.

In fact it was her most prized possession. Not only because it had been her grandmother Lilly's, but because of when she had been given it.

It was the day before her father left her forever.

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Rosalin was sitting on the beach drying herself in the sun. They had just gotten out of the lake so she was soaking wet and ready to eat.

But her mother couldn't find the basket.

Her father sat down beside her and leaned back on his hands. He looked over at her for a second before seemingly deciding something.

"Rosalin I have something I want you to have." He said at last.

She had looked over at him curiously, wondering what it could be.

He reached into his pocket and drew out a small silver heart-shaped locket on a dark green ribbon.

She reached out for it and held it in the palm of her hand. It had intricate flower patterns on it.

She opened it up.

In one side there was a picture of her mum and dad, hugging each other and waving to her. In the other was her grandparents James and Lilly. They were hugging too, but they looked sad through their smiles.

She shut the locket and pulled her hair up so that her dad could fasten it around her neck.

It was perfect.

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She unfastened the locket that had hardly left her neck in the thirteen years since her father had put it there.

She opened the locket.

On the side with her mother and father her father had taken on the same sad look as her grandparents and her mother looked distant.

Maybe it was a reflection of how they felt now instead of when they took the pictures.

Rosalin shut the locket and wound the small green ribbon around her fingers gently as she started the ascent to the top of the cliff.

She looked down.

Everything was as she remembered it. It was almost as if her father was waiting below to give his little girl the present.

Here time stood still for her and her dad.

She smiled as all the memories of this place rushed through her head. She would be able to relive them all soon enough.

She didn't notice as her locket slipped into the snow as she whispered.

"I'm coming daddy."

And with that she dropped.