Chapter 4: Memories
Author's note: As always, thank you so much for your reviews. They make my day, really, and they also encourage me to write faster. Hope you enjoy this chapter and don't forget to review. J
**********
After her meeting with Vaughn, Sydney drove home to pack her things for her trip to Spain. She hadn't been to Spain in a very long time. It was a beautiful country, specially in the summer. Most people in Europe went there to spend their holidays because of the sunny weather.
It had been exactly eleven years since she had left that country. When she was twelve, her father had been transferred there. At first she had complained endlessly to him, but she had quickly come to realize how useless it was. So she gave up. They had lived there for six years. When Sydney had been ready to go to college, her father had requested to be transferred back to the United States.
She threw some clothes into her bag, not really caring about what she'd wear there. In a matter of minutes, she was done. Her mind traveled back to her meeting with Vaughn, still trying to absorb everything that had happened.
She was brought back to reality by a soft knock on the door.
"Come in." She said, knowing already who it was.
"Hey, Syd." Francie greeted her, "Another trip for the bank?" She asked looking at her bag.
Sydney nodded, feeling awful for having to lie to her best friend.
"Uhm, yeah, the bank wants me to go to Miami. We have a client there, who has requested our services immediately." She explained, tucking her hair behind her ears.
Sydney turned around to grab some files, but they fell from her hands.
Francie eyed her carefully, "Are you ok? You seem kind of… I don't know, kind of weird."
"I'm fine, don't worry. It's just that.. well, I ran into an old friend today. I hadn't seen him for a long time and I guess that I'm still surprised we ran into each other. That's all." Well, at least, she didn't have to lie about that. She just hoped Francie wouldn't ask any questions.
"Do I know him?" Ok, no such luck.
She shook her head, "No, we met when we were… younger and like I said, we haven't seen each other for a long time." She wasn't ready to talk about it with Francie yet.
Francie seemed pleased with her answer, "Alright, then. It's just… you seem odd today."
Sydney was touched by her friend's concern, but it was beginning to annoy her. Was it just her or was Francie starting to sound like Will? She felt instantly bad for thinking that.
"Anyway, I was about to go buy some groceries and I was wondering if you needed anything." Francie said.
"No, I'm good, thanks."
Francie smiled and left the room.
Sydney was left, once again, alone in the room. She still had some time to kill before going to the airport to catch her flight. Suddenly, she got an idea. She went to her closet and started looking for it. It had to be there. After a couple of minutes, she found what she was looking for. She took the small wooden box in her hands and sat on her bed. There, in big red letters, was written 'Syd and Mike'. My box of memories, she thought. She took the cover off and carefully emptied the contents.
There was a picture of her and Vaughn hugging each other and smiling brightly at the camera, showing proudly their missing teeth. Sydney remembered when this picture had been taken, right before her mother's death.
"Syd, honey!" Laura Bristow called out her name.
Sydney and Michael were hiding in the backyard, behind a big tree.
"Mike, do you think she's noticed the missing cookies and the broken jar?" She asked nervously, thinking about their last mission.
"I don't think so, and if she has, she doesn't sound upset about it." He said. "Maybe we should go in and see what she wants."
"Yeah, you're probably right." She reluctantly agreed.
Both kids left their hiding spot and walked to the house.
"Hey," Laura greeted them, "I've been looking all over for you. What have you been up too?" She eyed them suspiciously.
"Nothing." They instantly replied, grinning.
Laura smiled, "Ok, I just wanted to take your picture. I realized that I've never taken any pictures of you two together."
They both liked the idea. These were the times they'd remember forever. Michael hugged Sydney and she returned the hug. Laura took her camera and told them to smile.
1, 2, 3. Click.
Sydney smiled at the wonderful memory. She put the picture aside and grabbed some paintings Vaughn had made. They were 'blueprints' of both of their houses. She looked at them and remembered how Vaughn always gave her blueprints so that they'd carry the mission successfully. That was another happy memory. Then she grabbed the letters he had written her after she'd left. Sydney felt a tear make its way down her cheek and instantly wiped her face. She treasured those letters. Next to the letters was a neatly folded paper. She carefully unfolded it. It was the poem he had written for her when she left. She could still play their goodbye scene so clearly in her mind.
Sydney was looking out the window, waiting for her dad to tell her they were ready to go. Michael hadn't shown up yet since lunch and that was starting to unnerve her. She wouldn't leave without saying goodbye to him first.
Suddenly she felt a presence behind her. She didn't have to turn around to know who it was.
"The back door was open." He explained.
"I thought you weren't coming back for a moment." She told him quietly, ignoring his previous sentence.
Sydney turned around and saw him standing a few feet away from her. She sat down slowly and motioned for him to do the same.
He looked at her in the eye, his green eyes full of sadness, an exact reflection of her own, "I'll always come back for you, Syd."
He took her right hand and squeezed it gently.
"I won't be gone forever, you know." She said, not breaking eye contact.
"You better not." He tried to make a joke and failed miserably. "I have something for you, Syd."
Sydney smiled sadly, "You didn't have to get me anything, Mike."
"Actually, it's something I wrote." He explained.
He took a small folded paper from his pocket and handed it to her. She was about to open it, but his hand stopped her from doing that.
"Read it later, please."
She just nodded.
"Thank you." She said with complete sincerity.
"Sydney!" She heard her father's voice calling her, "It's time to go."
She saw him coming down the stairs with their luggage. He told her that he would be waiting in the car.
After her father had disappeared through the front door, Sydney turned her attention back to Michael.
"I guess this is it." She stated the obvious, swallowing the lump in her throat.
Michael pulled her into his arms and hugged her. They stayed like that for a moment, unaware of anything else surrounding them.
Sydney disentangled herself from him very slowly. The fight was over. The tears were running now freely down her face. Michael was trying hard not to cry. He wanted to be strong for her. He looked at her brown eyes and wiped away some of her tears. He slowly bent his head down and kissed her softly. It was their first kiss. He pulled away reluctantly and so did she.
"We'll meet again, Syd." He promised and she believed him.
"I love you, Mike." She said looking down and quickly up to meet his eyes.
He smiled, "I love you too, Syd."
They hugged each other one more time and then she was gone.
Sydney thought about how cruel life had been to the both of them. She thought about how ironic this whole situation was. She was going back to the very same country that had taken her away from him in the first place. Would she come back?
She placed the items back in the box. She stopped when she got to the poem and traced her fingers over Vaughn's handwriting. She read it silently.
'Notre amitié
Le jour qui a passé,
Les personnes que nous avons connues,
Nos amis sont devenus.
La semaine qui a passé,
Les problèmes que j'ai eus,
Une amie les a résolus.
Le mois qui a passé,
Les larmes que j'ai versées,
Une amie les a sechées.
L'année qui a passé,
Le bonheur que j'ai senti,
Je l'ai partagé avec une amie.
C'est la vie que j'ai passée,
Avec une amie à mon côté.'
Sydney could just picture Vaughn reciting the poem to her, even though he'd never done it. She had read the poem for the first time, when she had arrived to her new home in Madrid. There, in the loneliness of her new room, she had read it several times, memorizing every single verse. Each time, more tears would fall, but she didn't care. They had written many letters to each other during the first two years, but then, they had lost contact with each other. She had moved to Barcelona and he had moved to San Francisco, both unaware of where the other was. It was their sad story. It was as if destiny had conspired against them, preventing them from finding each other.
Finally, Sydney closed the small box and put it in her closet. She checked her watch. It was time to catch her plane. She took her bag and exited the house. She was only going to be away for a couple of days. She kept repeating that thought over and over again. Then, why did it feel like she was never coming back? I have to get a grip, she told herself, I am coming back.
**********
Author's note: Hi again, so what did you think? I know it was sad, but keep in mind that the fluffiness will come later on. Oh, BTW, the poem was written by me a couple of years ago and I thought that it fit perfectly with the story. Anyway, the next chapter will have some action. Don't forget to review please.
Lorena J