Shelly's World
Chapter 13: A Sad Departure
"Daddy, I'm gonna get the mail, okay?" Ann said cheerfully the next morning. Her father acknowledged her with a nod, and she was out the door. A few seconds later, she walked back in the Inn with a puzzled expression.
"What's wrong, Ann?" Doug asked curiously.
"There's a letter here for Shelly," she said, confused. "I have no clue who knew she was staying here at our Inn, but whoever it is must know her."
"Bring it here," Doug said, motioning her his way. She handed the letter to him as he examined it. "It says it's from 'Dad'. He's writing to her again?"
"He's probably worried about her," Ann replied with a smirk. "Wouldn't you be worried if I were at some random place that almost no one knew about?"
"Well, yes," He said, chuckling. "Why don't you go hand this letter to her? She's upstairs."
"With Cliff," She added, laughing too. "Who knows what they're doing up there." She walked up the stairs anyway. As soon as she got to their door, she heard giggling. She took a big breath, and slowly opened the door. She then saw Cliff and Shelly cuddling and kissing.
"Ew, you guys," she commented. The two stopped what they were doing and their eyes bulged.
"Um…" Shelly stuttered. "What are you doing up here?"
"Well, I hate to interrupt your little…" Ann started, then coughed, "…um, romance scene, but Shelly just got a letter."
"Who's it from?" Shelly said, holding out her hand.
"You'll see," Ann pronounced, throwing the letter to her as she quickly bolted out the door. Shelly picked up the letter then opened it and read:
Dear Shelly,
Hi. Your mother told me I'm furious with you! I can't believe you left Shelly at that place all by herself, so here I am, writing this letter to you. She told me that Shelly needs to pack her things immediately because I'm worried sick about her. That's all.
Dad
Shelly's face turned melancholy as Cliff took the paper from her hands and read it solemnly to himself. "Oh, Shelly," he whispered, and then hugged her tightly.
"I don't want to leave," Shelly said. "I'm enjoying life here. Besides, I'm almost seventeen. I should be getting married soon."
"Your parents would probably get angry, though," Cliff said.
"What about your parents? You're a traveler, aren't you?" Shelly asked.
Cliff took a big breath. "You see… my dad died before I was born. He used to be a traveler like I was, and my mom told me he got attacked by a wolf in the woods. Then, when I was twelve, things weren't going so well in our family, so I ran away to a strange village. I came back because the village didn't suit my taste, and as soon as I reached my city, it looked as if a tornado had wrecked it all up. And, to top it all off, there was my mom, lying under all of the destruction."
"Wow… that's terrible," Shelly said silently.
"Yeah," Cliff said, his lower lip quivering. "No one knows what happened to my sister, either."
"I can't believe all of this happened to you," said Shelly quietly. The two of them said nothing.
"Well, we'd better pack your stuff. You're gonna have to leave as soon as possible," Cliff said, breaking the momentary silence. Shelly nodded sadly as she got off the bed and pulled her suitcase from under the bed. When they were packing her clothes, their hands touched. Shelly looked up at Cliff, and then started wailing. Tears spewed out of her eyes as she grabbed onto him. Cliff rubbed the girl's back, feeling the same way that she did.
"Oh, sweetie… I'll write to you as much as I can, I promise," Cliff said, smiling. He then kissed her lightly on the lips. "Come on, let's go downstairs. Maybe a glass of water will make you feel better."
Shelly nodded her head as she opened the door and walked out with Cliff behind her. As soon as she reached the bottom, Popuri came running up to her, sobbing uncontrollably.
"No! Shelly, you can't leave!" Popuri whined. "Everybody loves you!"
"I'm sorry, Popuri. I love it here, but I also miss my family dearly," Shelly replied, smiling sadly.
"But… but, you stood up for me!" Popuri exclaimed. "No one else here does that for me! Besides, couldn't you just bring your family down here?"
Shelly didn't answer her. Instead, she walked to a table and slouched down.
"Looks like I'm not the only one who's upset about your departure," Cliff whispered. Shelly turned around.
"Everyone's making me want to leave less than before," Shelly said, sniffing. She wiped her eyes. "My family would disapprove the idea of them moving here."
Popuri sat down at their table. "Why?"
"Well, my dad already ditched me here," Shelly started, "and my brother doesn't like trying new things at all."
"You have a brother?" Cliff said astonishingly.
Shelly, embarrassed, nodded her head. "Yeah. He's only ten years old and a pain in the ass, but I love him anyway."
"What's his name?" Popuri asked her.
"Jack. Annoying and obnoxious, like all little brothers were meant to be." Shelly choked up a laugh. "I sorta miss him, though."
Popuri's lower lip quivered. "Shelly... please don't leave Mineral Village!" She slouched over the table dramatically.
"I hate to do it too, but... I should. My family needs me, and I need them." She paused then thought for a moment. "Does anybody here have a phone I could use?"
Ann, overhearing the conversation, walked near the table. "Yeah, there's one on the counter!" She pointed to a small telephone to the right of them.
"Thanks, Ann," Shelly said as she got up from the table and picked up the phone.
"Oh, and here's ten cents," Ann said, reaching into her pocket and taking out some money. Shelly took the money and placed it into the little slot. She then dialed her home phone number.
"Hello?" the voice on the other end said.
"Mom, this is Shelly. I'm packing my belongings right now so I can leave," Shelly commented.
"Oh, honey, it's you!" Shelly's mother squealed happily. "Your brother and I have missed you so much! We'll get a boat to come get you, alright, dearie?"
"Thanks a lot, mom. I'll see you in a few days, I guess." She then hung up the phone and walked back to the table.
"Shelly," Popuri whined, "I can't believe you're leaving...."
"Me either, Popuri. Me either."
The next day, Shelly woke up earlier than usual. She got out of bed and opened the door. It was still pitch-black dark and no one was around. Quietly, Shelly tiptoed down the stairs to the first floor and looked around for a clock. Not being able to find one after a few minutes, she decided she'd get a flashlight from her room. So she quietly made her way back upstairs, then searched for her mini flashlight that she'd packed when she was supposed to go to India. As soon as she found it, she walked out of the door then tested it to make sure it worked. It did.
"Now... where the hell is that clock?" Shelly whispered to herself as she sneaked around the big Inn. She waved the flashlight in the air, hoping to find at least one clock. Having no success, she walked around again, not making sure to be quiet. She stepped on a creaky part of the floor, making it creak. Shelly stopped dead in her tracks.
"Oh, shit," she mumbled quietly to herself. "I hope no one heard t-"
"...The hell is going on down there?" a voice from within upstairs said. Shelly frantically searched around for a hiding spot where she couldn't be seen. Unfortunately for her, she was wearing white pajamas so she couldn't really hide anywhere without being caught. Just then, she found the counter and ran as quickly as she could. Footsteps could be heard coming down the stairs. Shelly figured she was safe where she was until she got curious. She moved her head to see who had come down the stairs, but bumped her head.
"Ouch!" She screeched, giving away her position. Shelly heard footsteps again, except this time they were clearer.
"Shelly?" The voice said. Shelly looked up. It was Cliff. He looked tired. "What are you doing down here?"
"I, um... couldn't sleep." The blonde said.
"Well, neither can I with all that noise that you've been making," Cliff remarked.
"Sorry about that. I've been trying to find a clock around here."
Cliff checked his watch. "It's 2:38, still really early. You should go back to bed."
"I can't, though; that's the problem," Shelly replied.
Cliff gave a long sigh. A small smile on his face grew. "Well, since I don't think I will either, maybe you and I could watch the sunrise."
Shelly felt a horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach, the feeling that this may be the last time that she could see Cliff ever again. "Alright," she said. She felt on the verge of tears as Cliff gently took her hand and they walked out the door together.
"I love sunrises," Cliff said silently as he and Shelly dangled their feet in the water at the beach.
"M-me too," Shelly stuttered as her voice cracked. "They're really pretty."
They were silent for a while as they listened to the soothing sounds of the waves lapping against the shore. Cliff swung his arm over Shelly's shoulder. It was the typical lull in their conversations, except this one was a better lull. A nice, romantic, gentle lull that only the two could feel. And it felt good.
"Cliff?" Shelly said.
"Yeah?" He replied.
It took Shelly a while before she could finally respond. "I'm going to miss you a lot." She started crying quietly. Cliff then cried too.
"I'll miss you too." He whispered. He then gave her a quick peck on the lips. "Oh, and don't tell any of the boys that I cried," he whispered with a chuckle. Shelly laughed too.
"I won't. It's not like... I really can either...." she responded as she grew sad again. Cliff didn't say anything.
After a while, the sky began to grow light. The sunrise was finally beginning. Cliff looked at Shelly.
"It's lovely," Cliff said. Shelly nodded, then paused for a moment.
"By the way, why did you ask me to watch the sunrise with you?" She asked.
Cliff hesitated before answering. "Because...because we may never get to see each other ever again."
That had brought tears to Shelly's eyes. She scowled. "Of course we're going to see each other again, Cliff. I'm going to come back to Mineral Village... and we're going to get married and have children who can start their lives here...." she whispered, her voice trailing off.
"That reminds me," Cliff said, reaching into his pocket, "I got you something." He searched around for the item, then after finding it, he took it out. Shelly couldn't believe her eyes when she saw the blue feather in Cliff's hands.
"Cliff, I..." she started, but never finished. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she took the feather and wrapped her arms around him lovingly.
"It cost me most of my money, but I knew it was worth it, especially for a girl like you," he replied.
"You shouldn't have," Shelly whispered in his ear. "That was so sweet of you to do that for me." They then embraced in a long kiss and didn't break apart for a long time.
(A/N) : Whee... big romancin' in this chapter! Hehe, sorry, it's been a while since I last updated this story, don'cha think? I hope this is still a good story, and that this is a good chapter! I finally got to it when Michelle (goddesskali) asked me when the next chapter of this story was gonna be updated. Maybe she's magical, but THANK YOU, MICHELLE! LOL! I prob'ly couldn't have done it without you reminding me about it! And I want to thank all of you that have reviewed or read this far! Your kind comments keep me happy and writing! :)
Fairy Friend
