OOOO

Part 3

The next day, as Harm and Sarah strolled through the orchard, he noticed that Sarah was looking a bit glum.

"Hey," he asked, taking her hand in his, "What's wrong?"

"I've got to go home tomorrow," she told him, mournfully.

"It'll be okay," he told her, "we've still got a whole day left."

Quickly, they set about packing as much fun into it as possible. Harm showed Sarah all of his favorite places to hang out. Later, as they sat on a hillside, watching a local farmer rounding up his herd, Sarah told Harm all about the city where she lived.

"There aren't a lot of places to hang out where I live. There are a couple of playgrounds, but nobody really likes their children to go in them, because once, a kid got stuck by a needle hidden in the sand. All of the drug addicts like to hang around there, after dark. No one stays out on the streets after dark, either. Gangsters drive around in their cars, with guns. This kid in my math class once got hit by a stray bullet, in a drive by shooting. He was alright after a while and he came back to school. He was showing off this bullet scar, that was right above his belly button. My Mom, Dad and I live in a two-bedroom apartment. It's nice, but it's not in a very good area of town. After the street lamps come on at night, you can see of the streetwalkers from my bedroom window. So, what's your house like? Where did you say it was in California?"

"La Jolla," Harm told her, "It's quite big. Me and my Mom moved there after she and Frank married. It's actually Franks house. It's by the beach."

"It must be really warm there," Sarah commented.

"Yeah, that's one drawback," Harm told her, "I really miss the snow at Christmas time."

"I wouldn't miss the winter weather," Sarah told him, "Last year, our apartment was like an icebox, because my Dad spent all the heating bill money on booze. We were freezing."

As Harm put a comforting arm around her, she continued, "I'd never get cold with you around, though.

As Harm grinned back at her, she hesitantly told him,

"When we met, Harm, I wasn't exactly truthful about how old I am."

"How old are you?" Harm asked her.

"I'm still only thirteen, I don't turn fourteen for another three months."

"Well," Harm told her, "As long as we're being honest, I've got something to tell you, too. I'm not actually sixteen. I turned seventeen over 8 months ago. You don't mind, do you?"

"No, I don't mind," Sarah assured him.

"Neither do I," Harm told her, "To be honest, I really thought that you were fifteen. You could even pass for sixteen. I bet you thought I really was sixteen! My Grams says that I could do with growing up a few years, sometimes!"

Sarah just chuckled.

After a while, Sarah reluctantly told Harm, "I think I'd better be going now. It's 5:06. My Mom will be looking for me."

Once again, Harm looked at his watch to see that she was right.

"How on earth do you do that?"

As Sarah rose from where they sat, Harm told her, "Wait a second. Will you meet me here, in the morning, before you leave? I want to say goodbye and show you something."

"That'll have to be early," Sarah told him, "we're leaving at seven."

"Well, will you meet me in the orchard at about six?"

"Okay," Sarah replied, then they set off back towards the van.

OOOO

The next Morning, Sarah was already in the orchard when Harm arrived.

"You're four minutes and fifteen seconds late," she told him.

"Sorry," He apologized, sheepishly.

"That's alright," she told him, "So, what did you want to show me?"

Harm grabbed her hand as he steered her through the rows of apple trees, until they reached a large specimen that looked worse for the wear.

"Is it dead ?"Sarah asked him.

"No," he told her, "it's still alive, but only just. Last week, the night before you came, there was a huge thunderstorm and it got hit by lightning. I thought that we could carve our names into it, to remember the vacation by."

"It won't hurt it, will it?" Sarah asked Harm.

"No," Harm assured her, "we won't carve below the first layer of bark."

So, with that, Harm and Sarah started to design a masterpiece to commemorate the vacation.

All too soon though, the hour was up and Harm walked Sarah back to the campervan. He kissed her goodbye as tears started to run down her cheeks.

"Hey, it's okay," he told her, "We'll meet up again, one day."

"I hate goodbyes," Sarah told him.

"This isn't goodbye," he assured her then added, "we'll always have our dreams." He gave her a hesitant kiss and pulled her in for a cuddle. Sarah responded in kind, then ran to the van and disappeared inside.

Harm sat on the hillside as he watched the campervan disappear into the distance.

"See you in my dreams, Sarah," he whispered, softly.

OOOO

As Harm and Mac wandered, hand in hand through the orchard, they suddenly came upon an old, twisted tree that looked immensely bent out of shape.

"Well I never!" Harm exclaimed as he traced around its trunk.

"This," he told Mac, "was hit by lightning about twenty years ago. I carved my name and her name in it, the first time I fell in love."

He and Mac looked at the large heart that was carved into the bark. The heart enclosed the words, 'Harm and Sarah. June '79.'

"Her name was Sarah," Harm told Mac, "She was my first real love."

He looked over at Mac and asked her, "You're not jealous, are you?"

"No, of course not," she told him, "I had a first love as well."

"Who was he?" Harm asked her.

"Just a guy I met on holiday," Mac replied.

She and Harm then turned and walked towards home.

"Perhaps I'll tell him the whole truth, one day," Sarah thought to herself.

OOOO Continued in SP 9: Scattered Photographs OOOO