Challenge #15

I eased my foot off the brake and cranked the car into park. I blew my bangs out of my face, and reached into the backseat to grab my bouquet of roses and a helium balloon in a shape of a heart. The words: "I Love You" written in fancy calligraphy made me smile. I made sure I had a secure grip on both items as I maneuvered my way out. I kicked the door shut and after I had locked the car, I wanted to cheer myself for being efficient with multitasking. I laughed at the thought of last year when I fell in the mud due to a surprise midnight shower. That was the last time I had actually put faith on the weather forecasters.

I turned away from the car and stepped off the gravel road to the soft earth. I had lost count when it came to the number of the times that I've tread on this ground. Other than the seasons, the place hadn't changed. It was looked untouched to the point I had deemed it sacred in my own mind. It felt like I had stepped into a whole new world entirely.

If I had been seen, one might have called it odd to see a young woman of my age with a bundle of roses in one arm and a heart shaped balloon in her other. By the look of things, I might have been told that I should have given such gifts to a man I fancied instead of wandering through the cemetery. But who were they to stop me from seeing a man I stilled loved and cherished although he was already gone? I spotted what I had come for and despite the lonesome image; I couldn't help but to smile at its familiarity.

It was not as grand compared to the other extravagant tombstones that littered the ground around him. But it suited his character as he found beauty in simple things. It was a priceless piece of knowledge that I held on fast in my memories and looked up to even now. I was besieged by a fierce longing to be swept into his arms again and to be comforted. I choked back the stiffness in my throat. It was a silly wish.

"Happy Valentine's Day Grandpa." I said. I shortened the distance between us and stared at the marble. I pressed two fingers to my lips and touched the cold marble that was speckled with sunshine. I laid the bouquet down on the headstone and fastened the balloon to the post at the right hand side. "It's been a year, hasn't it?" I asked as I began to fashion a bow out of the string. When I made sure that the line was tied down, I knelt on the grass and placed the roses under his name. The rich scarlet of the roses stood out against the black stone. "I've been doing well since the last time I visited. I have a new job now. It pays very well. The people who work with me are very nice too. Clara, our manager, acts like a mother to all of us. She's very sweet." Not a response came from the grave other than a whisper of a breeze… not that I had expected one. I inhaled the smell of the earth, of the roses and idly played with the grass at my fingertips. "The apartment is nice too." I said, in effort to keep my throat from constricting on me. "The only thing I'd have to complain about is about the people down the hall." I laughed breathless at the thought. "They are…very busy people; they have parties and friends over. It feels like they have people over all the time. I kinda wonder how they manage to pay for rent with all of that money used on food and things."

I swallowed, but I couldn't think of anything to say. "I miss you." I said. "Very much." I smiled weakly at the face of the tombstone. "You did a good job raising me. But," I laughed again though I didn't know why, "you don't need me to tell you that. I bet you knew that all along, huh?" I scooted closer to the gravestone, "I love you grandpa. I still do." I kissed the marble with my fingers again.

A sharp crack broke me out of my reverie. I jumped to my feet. My heart performed summersaults in my chest realizing that someone had been in the shade.

"I'm sorry." A voice said—a man's. "I didn't mean to scare you."

He stepped out into the sunshine. I retreated back to the gravestone and I pressed a hand against the cold stone for strength. I studied the man as he drew close. He had messy raven hair fell over his eyes as though he had just rolled out of bed. It completely contrasted against his lean suit that exemplified him of being someone of wealth or having a place on an important seat of a company. The stranger stopped to gaze at me. Was there something odd about me? I figured that it was the fact I dressed poorly in comparison to him. Maybe he was taking in amusement at sight of a wild haired woman talking to a grave.

"May I set this down?" He asked me. He held open his right hand where he held a single white rose. I was surprised that I hadn't seen it contrasting against his black suit. But the fact that he had asked me was what I found more astonishing. What sort of power did I appear to command? Speechless, I merely nodded and watched him come closer. He bent down and placed the single rose near mine. Who was he?

"You knew …my grandpa?" I asked him.

The stranger looked up at me. Sapphire-blue lightning pierced behind his bangs and straight into my heart.

"I did." He said softly looking away breaking the spell his eyes had on me. "He was like an advisor to me, a mentor. It's hard to believe that he's gone."

"Yeah…" I said. I admired his rose. "Thank you for the rose. I'm happy to know that he isn't forgotten."

"He was a good man."

I was flattered by the man's honest words even if they weren't directed at me. But I felt proud to be related to someone a person could describe as being "a good man". I inhaled the breeze that blew past us. It smelled of fresh rain; the scent of spring. I stepped away from the tombstone and sat down on the grass nearby. Instead of leaving as I thought that he would, he sat down next to me.

"Why are you sitting down?" I asked. His suit looked expensive and now he was sitting on the ground with it on.

"I'd rather sit down next to you than stand up and look down at you." He said.

That wasn't what I had been referring to, but for an odd reason, I couldn't speak. I inwardly shook my head. There was no reason why I should have felt that way. "I was talking about your suit. It looks expensive so I thought you would have been more cautious about getting it ruined."

"Oh." He muttered. He looked away. I stared at his face, mesmerized by how red his face become. Had I said something rude?

"Sorry." I said out of a habit.

"What?"

I plucked some grass out of the ground and pretended that I hadn't seen heard him or saw his blushing face. "I just was surprised. I thought you'd leave right away."

"It's a nice day." He said after a long thought. He stretched his legs out and propped his hands back. A perfect example of what it looked like to be relaxing after a hard day's work.

I smiled. He must be trying to kill time so he doesn't have to go back to work. I didn't argue with him. Who can compare an office to fresh air? I stared at the white rose he had offered on the tomb. I sat up and hugged my knees close. If missing work could be a crime, it'd make him a criminal. That's make me his partner-in-crime. "So…?" I asked matter-of-factly.

He glanced at me. "So what?"

"Why didn't you giving that rose to your sweetheart?" I asked.

A short laugh blurted out of his mouth almost like he had made an effort to hold it back but with no success. "I don't have one."

"You don't?"

"No, I don't." He repeated evenly and leaned back flat on the grass. I was taken aback by such a casual gesture coming from him. I chastised myself for judging him based on looks alone.

"I'm surprised. You're eyes are gorgeous."

He looked at me straight on. I stared back unable to break away. They seemed to glow against his face as part of his face was caught in shadow. They looked so bottomless in their depth. It was like I was trying to see the bottom of an ocean. I came to when he rolled away to put his back between us like some sort of wall. I could breathe again. After minutes of no talk between us, he rolled out of his position and fell forward against his bended knees. His face was flushed with a light hue. Had I said something wrong again?

"Sorry." I said.

"Why are you apologizing?" He asked. "You didn't do anything wrong."

"But you're blushing." At this, his face darkened but his hands covered his face and tried to awkwardly cover it up. He muttered something about how hot the weather was.

"That's nothing to say sorry for." He said. "I just haven't heard a woman compliment my eyes so openly before."

He's embarrassed, I thought. I felt giddy, hugging my legs tighter than before. I rested my chin on my arms and watched him. "That's very…cute." I said honestly.

He snorted. "Oh I get it. You plan to attack my weak points. Alright, you're eyes are beautiful then."

"They are nothing compared to yours," I said earnestly.

He analyzed me. A sapphire-blue fire smoked in his eyes. "They are beautiful regardless." He said, as if that ended the discussion.

A hard knot gripped my throat and tears threatened to gush from my eyes. "I'm ok. I just, I almost mistook you for someone else. He said the same exact thing years ago." I assured him when he scrambled through his pockets for a handkerchief that wasn't there. I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand. "Please stop. I'm fine, see?" I awarded him with a winning smile.

Carefully, he stretched out his arm and wiped away a tear I had missed. A shiver crawled down my gut. His finger was cool against my cheek. I felt hot in the sunlight and by his the serious set in eyes. "You're a terrible actress." He said in a low voice. "You can cry."

"No, I can't—"

He wrapped his arms around me and brought our bodies close. I inhaled the musky scent, the scent of a man. His voice was close to my ear. "It's ok. I'm here." He said hugging me tighter.

Those words transported me back in time and shrunk me back into a 6 year old child. I had fought so hard to hold my feelings back but in the end, I should have just let them go. Wrapping my arms around this man, I bawled. I was woefully unprepared for the emotions that racked my body. Gasping, ribs aching and throat raw, I tried to expel the smoldering sadness within. I clung to him as though he alone could keep me from drowning. He comforted me and held me. Once my breathing returned to normal, I sat back on my heels and wiped my face, smearing dirt and tears.

"I got your shirt wet. I'm sorry."

"It'll dry." He said dismissing the fact. He stood up and helped me up. "I'll drive you home." He said studying my eyes that were no doubt swollen.

"No," I said. "I have my own car. Besides I don't want to trouble you anymore than I already have." Why did regret tug my heart and guilt squeeze my chest?

He blinked in surprise. "Trouble? You haven't troubled me in the slightest."

"But your shirt…"

He sighed dramatically. "Forget about the shirt," He said. "It was my decision, not yours."

"But—"

He stopped my words with a finger on my mouth. "No buts," He said. Caressing my lips with a feather light touch, he looked uncertain. An amused smile distracted me from the shivers that ran down my side.

"What?" I demanded.

"I'm just thinking that you obviously look like you're forcing yourself to act tough. That's beautiful."

I jumped as if bitten. I felt warm suddenly like I was burning. I swallowed a sudden knot in my throat. Oh, I realized. He was teasing me as I had teased him. But my heart was still beating fast. I realized that I didn't know his name. I brushed off my hands against of my jeans. "I haven't introduced myself…I'm—"

"Elia." I paused, listening to him say my name. His sapphire eyes were fixed with an intense thoughtfulness. "I know. I recognized you right away."

"You know who I am?"

"He loved talking about you, in fact he would often look at the wallet sized picture of you." There was an odd lilt in his voice that made his voice sound strained. "There was a special look in his eye even when he merely thought about you. You were…still are, his pride and joy." He said the last words quietly, almost like he had talked to himself. "I'm Noctis but you can call me Noct."

"Noct? It's…"

"Weird?" He said. He must've been used to such compliments.

"Unique." I finished and shot him a powerful look. He stared at me with an emotion I could not name. For a moment, he seemed to be lost in his own thoughts and he stared beyond me. I wrestled with my hands. "I'll leave first. It was very nice to meet you."

"Wait." He said. His large hand held mine, and a sweet heat crept onto my hand from where we touched. I felt like snow being engulfed in the spring sun, as if our temperatures slowly melted into each other. Hand in hand...It was such a simple act, and yet, the warmth felt as if it ran through the palms of my hands and penetrated the deepest part in my heart.

"I want to see you again." He said.

"That's sort of a giant leap isn't it?" was all I could say. His confession shocked and thrilled me. But I was more surprised by how he said it. It didn't sound like a request. It was more like an order and that I had no choice to deny him. "I mean, we just met today."

"I know." He considered our hands as if the sight of it could give him courage, then at the roses I had left behind at the grave. "But I've been waiting to meet you face to face for a while. Not the one in the picture he carried around with him." He huffed with amusement. "Perhaps that was that old man's intentions all along, to get me aroused in curiosity to the point I'd feel the need to meet you."

"He played you right into his hands." I said.

Noct smiled a predatory grin. "You're familiar with his work?"

"I experienced that madness plenty of times. Just when I thought I wouldn't be fooled…I ended up doing the things he wanted me to do. It was frustrating. I never gained ground with him."

Noct laughed long and hard. "I. Know that. Feeling." He paused to catch his breath. I waited until he wiped the tears from his cheeks. "That sounds just like him. That sly bastard." Amusement returned to his face then smoothed out remembering the confession at hand. In an offhand way, he added. "So I'll see you soon?" His eyes probed at my face seeking an answer, no doubt a positive one.

"I don't have my phone with me but…I can call you when I get back if you give me your number." A strange feeling churned in my stomach. Fear? Excitement? Nausea? Perhaps all three; it was hard to tell.

He smiled at me then released his grip. Noct reached into his pocket and held out a card. "It's not what I would have liked to give out on the first day but it'll have to do. Ask for me right away and if they ask who you are, just tell them your name. I'll have them wait for your call." I turned the card over in my fingers reading the number.

"Caelum?" I whispered. "Hey, isn't that—"

He leaned in close and kissed my cheek. "Don't make me wait too long." Noct's eyes flamed with an intensity I had never seen. "I'll take that as compensation for my wet shirt. And this—" He planted a second kiss on my other cheek, murmuring in a soft voice, "Happy Valentine's Day, Elia."

NoctxElia fluff for my reviewers.