Rose's total surrounding changed in a split second.
The darkness was chased away by a golden light and the coldness in the room turned into a warmth she had never known before.
As she turned, she faced a beautiful valley, covered up with flowers and trees.
Proud, high trees that stroke the sky with their tops.
In the sky a few snow white clouds alternated the blue sky.
Right under those clouds, fine colored birds cleaved through, singing breath - taking songs.
In the valley streamed a clear blue river with the gold sparkles of the mirrored sun.
Around her little butterflies flew with colors as if they were painted by Monet himself.
The soft humming of the hundreds of bees soaring eased her in an incredible way.
She took a deep breathe and could taste the nectar in the bright - colored flowers beneath her.
Apparently, she stood on a hill, gazing out on the world beneath her.
Something this beautiful, she had never seen in her entire life.
She sighted softly as she kept on looking.
All of the sudden, she felt strong and yet soft arms wrap around her and her breath stopped while her heartbeat accelerated.
She felt the touch she had missed for so long.
The scent of charcoal that she had grown to love and that smelled so familiar.
Rose closed her eyes and held on to this moment for life, she burned it into her heart.
Silently she turned around, afraid to look up, scared of waking up.
As she lifted he face up, she stared into a pair of the blue eyes she had seen a thousands times before, in her dreams and her memories but every time she looked into them, she discovered new.
The silver sparkles in the center captured her heart.
A smile formed on both their lips and Rose felt hot tears running out of her eyes.
"Jack." she said soft and in disbelief.
A hand tenderly brushed the tears of her face.
"Rose."
She took in the sound of the voice, warm and caring, strong and masculine.
They stared at one another for minutes, needing some time to believe that they were together.
It was Rose who ended the silence.
"Tell me it isn't a dream."
Jack's face turned dejected.
"I can't. It is, Rose. You know that."
Rose looked away, whispering: "I know."
Jack's eyes started to shine again.
"But we're still here, right?"
On his lips formed the grin of a schoolboy who's up to no good.
He quickly took Rose's hand and guided her to a small path down, to the valley.
Rose followed confused but started to laugh when Jack speeded up their trip down.
They ran towards the field and the dropped themselves in the middle of the flowers.
The pollen tickled their nose and made Jack sneeze a couple of times while Rose roared with laughter.
"I love that sound." Jack whispered softly in her ear.
Rose looked deep in his eyes and saw the glitter in it that she always searched for.
She pulled him close to her and finally their lips met, as if they had never been away.
Rose couldn't describe what she felt: it was a mixture of passion, love and sadness.
Sadness because she knew this was not real life, that it was merely a dreamed fantasy world.
But she didn't let that reality come to her senses and she was lost in the moment.
Jack suddenly broke their kiss and got on his feet.
Surprised Rose followed his example.
She looked at him incomprehensibly but there was something in his eyes that was far too revealing, she knew she could trust him.
"Come on." was all he said as he carefully took Rose's fragile hand into his.
The path was nearly visible and Rose almost tripped a couple of times but Jack always made sure nothing would harm her.
The gangway led to an incredible place: a willow that hung over the crystal river and offered some protection from the burning sun.
Directly underneath the tree lied a bank of soft grass covered with oxeye daisies.
Rose couldn't believe her own eyes.
The babble of the river and the twittering of the birds high above them, made her feel so at ease.
A soft spring breeze played with her hair and felt cooling on her skin.
Rose sad down on the chair of grass and she pulled Jack down with.
She cuddled into his arms and she never wanted this moment to end.
"Rose, we need to talk."
His voice sounded very serious all of a sudden and his face looked pale as she turned to him.
"What's wrong?"
"Rose, I can't watch you go on like this. You have to start your life again."
She searched for the right words but it was if they didn't exist in English.
"I can't bear to see you cry Rose, knowing that I'm the one you're crying for. I swore myself never to hurt you but I do."
Tears ran out of his eyes and he couldn't even look at her.
"All I want is for you to start over, live the life you always wanted. Even if that means you'll have to forget me..." he continued.
"Jack, ask me to climb the highest mountain or get water from the moon but don't ask me to forget you. I simply can't."
Rose felt strong pricking tears form in the corner of her eyes but she forced herself not to cry, knowing how much it hurt Jack.
"I want to finally live the life I always wanted but I hoped to spend it with you and now that's impossible. I thought I had it all figured out: we were going to see the world and we'd start a family, have beautiful children, and eventually grow old together. Now that dream is crushed, and I need some time to get over that, that may take days, months, years, maybe even my entire lifetime, but I will pick up where I left of, I promise. All I need is time."
Jack understood her but the pain in his heart from seeing Rose shutting the world out was too much to leave unknown to Rose.
"Rose, why do you let every inch of happiness pass you by?"
In her eyes Jack could read she had no clue of what was trying to say.
"Why did you say no to John?"
There it was, it was finally of his chest.
Rose turned pale when she heard that name.
"I'm not ready yet for someone else, Jack. You have to give me time to mourn and only when I'm back on my feet again, I could welcome another man in my life. You're too much in my heart to truly be ready to love again, whenever John would look in my eyes, he'd see you reflecting back. But one day, I'll be ready to let someone in my heart again."
At that Jack felt comforted.
An unpleasant silence followed.
"I'm sorry." he said softly.
"Why?"
"That I left you, that I didn't try harder to go on."
His eyes stared out to the horizon, his voice trembled.
"Jack, I know you tried you're best. We can't escape our destiny. Everything happens for a reason. No one could have survived what you went through."
Rose said as she tenderly stroke his arms.
"I should have been there for you..."
"You were there for me, and you still are."
"Maybe we never should have met."
"Don't say that! Without you, I never would have been able to break with my old life. Without you I never would known what true love is."
Jack still wasn't convinced.
"But you never would have gone through this pain."
"I would have been dead by now if it wasn't for you. I would have suffocated in that golden cage."
Jack kept on looking to that one point in the sky.
"I know I can't really be with you physically, but I'll be with you every step you take, I swear. I'll be that star high above you in dark and that little ray of sunlight during the day. I'll always be there for you..."
He brought his mouth to hers and they kissed passionately.
Jack broke the kiss for an instant and said: "I love you."
The darkness was chased away by a golden light and the coldness in the room turned into a warmth she had never known before.
As she turned, she faced a beautiful valley, covered up with flowers and trees.
Proud, high trees that stroke the sky with their tops.
In the sky a few snow white clouds alternated the blue sky.
Right under those clouds, fine colored birds cleaved through, singing breath - taking songs.
In the valley streamed a clear blue river with the gold sparkles of the mirrored sun.
Around her little butterflies flew with colors as if they were painted by Monet himself.
The soft humming of the hundreds of bees soaring eased her in an incredible way.
She took a deep breathe and could taste the nectar in the bright - colored flowers beneath her.
Apparently, she stood on a hill, gazing out on the world beneath her.
Something this beautiful, she had never seen in her entire life.
She sighted softly as she kept on looking.
All of the sudden, she felt strong and yet soft arms wrap around her and her breath stopped while her heartbeat accelerated.
She felt the touch she had missed for so long.
The scent of charcoal that she had grown to love and that smelled so familiar.
Rose closed her eyes and held on to this moment for life, she burned it into her heart.
Silently she turned around, afraid to look up, scared of waking up.
As she lifted he face up, she stared into a pair of the blue eyes she had seen a thousands times before, in her dreams and her memories but every time she looked into them, she discovered new.
The silver sparkles in the center captured her heart.
A smile formed on both their lips and Rose felt hot tears running out of her eyes.
"Jack." she said soft and in disbelief.
A hand tenderly brushed the tears of her face.
"Rose."
She took in the sound of the voice, warm and caring, strong and masculine.
They stared at one another for minutes, needing some time to believe that they were together.
It was Rose who ended the silence.
"Tell me it isn't a dream."
Jack's face turned dejected.
"I can't. It is, Rose. You know that."
Rose looked away, whispering: "I know."
Jack's eyes started to shine again.
"But we're still here, right?"
On his lips formed the grin of a schoolboy who's up to no good.
He quickly took Rose's hand and guided her to a small path down, to the valley.
Rose followed confused but started to laugh when Jack speeded up their trip down.
They ran towards the field and the dropped themselves in the middle of the flowers.
The pollen tickled their nose and made Jack sneeze a couple of times while Rose roared with laughter.
"I love that sound." Jack whispered softly in her ear.
Rose looked deep in his eyes and saw the glitter in it that she always searched for.
She pulled him close to her and finally their lips met, as if they had never been away.
Rose couldn't describe what she felt: it was a mixture of passion, love and sadness.
Sadness because she knew this was not real life, that it was merely a dreamed fantasy world.
But she didn't let that reality come to her senses and she was lost in the moment.
Jack suddenly broke their kiss and got on his feet.
Surprised Rose followed his example.
She looked at him incomprehensibly but there was something in his eyes that was far too revealing, she knew she could trust him.
"Come on." was all he said as he carefully took Rose's fragile hand into his.
The path was nearly visible and Rose almost tripped a couple of times but Jack always made sure nothing would harm her.
The gangway led to an incredible place: a willow that hung over the crystal river and offered some protection from the burning sun.
Directly underneath the tree lied a bank of soft grass covered with oxeye daisies.
Rose couldn't believe her own eyes.
The babble of the river and the twittering of the birds high above them, made her feel so at ease.
A soft spring breeze played with her hair and felt cooling on her skin.
Rose sad down on the chair of grass and she pulled Jack down with.
She cuddled into his arms and she never wanted this moment to end.
"Rose, we need to talk."
His voice sounded very serious all of a sudden and his face looked pale as she turned to him.
"What's wrong?"
"Rose, I can't watch you go on like this. You have to start your life again."
She searched for the right words but it was if they didn't exist in English.
"I can't bear to see you cry Rose, knowing that I'm the one you're crying for. I swore myself never to hurt you but I do."
Tears ran out of his eyes and he couldn't even look at her.
"All I want is for you to start over, live the life you always wanted. Even if that means you'll have to forget me..." he continued.
"Jack, ask me to climb the highest mountain or get water from the moon but don't ask me to forget you. I simply can't."
Rose felt strong pricking tears form in the corner of her eyes but she forced herself not to cry, knowing how much it hurt Jack.
"I want to finally live the life I always wanted but I hoped to spend it with you and now that's impossible. I thought I had it all figured out: we were going to see the world and we'd start a family, have beautiful children, and eventually grow old together. Now that dream is crushed, and I need some time to get over that, that may take days, months, years, maybe even my entire lifetime, but I will pick up where I left of, I promise. All I need is time."
Jack understood her but the pain in his heart from seeing Rose shutting the world out was too much to leave unknown to Rose.
"Rose, why do you let every inch of happiness pass you by?"
In her eyes Jack could read she had no clue of what was trying to say.
"Why did you say no to John?"
There it was, it was finally of his chest.
Rose turned pale when she heard that name.
"I'm not ready yet for someone else, Jack. You have to give me time to mourn and only when I'm back on my feet again, I could welcome another man in my life. You're too much in my heart to truly be ready to love again, whenever John would look in my eyes, he'd see you reflecting back. But one day, I'll be ready to let someone in my heart again."
At that Jack felt comforted.
An unpleasant silence followed.
"I'm sorry." he said softly.
"Why?"
"That I left you, that I didn't try harder to go on."
His eyes stared out to the horizon, his voice trembled.
"Jack, I know you tried you're best. We can't escape our destiny. Everything happens for a reason. No one could have survived what you went through."
Rose said as she tenderly stroke his arms.
"I should have been there for you..."
"You were there for me, and you still are."
"Maybe we never should have met."
"Don't say that! Without you, I never would have been able to break with my old life. Without you I never would known what true love is."
Jack still wasn't convinced.
"But you never would have gone through this pain."
"I would have been dead by now if it wasn't for you. I would have suffocated in that golden cage."
Jack kept on looking to that one point in the sky.
"I know I can't really be with you physically, but I'll be with you every step you take, I swear. I'll be that star high above you in dark and that little ray of sunlight during the day. I'll always be there for you..."
He brought his mouth to hers and they kissed passionately.
Jack broke the kiss for an instant and said: "I love you."
