The lake had always been our favorite place and the sunset our favorite time to be there. We never talked much when we were there, we never felt the need to do so; that was the beauty of the place. However, today was different. I couldn't find the peace in the still waters of the lake throwing the reflection of the sun; I looked at him and somehow I knew that his thoughts were just as haywire as mine. I threw a pebble in the water and he waited for the ripples to settle before doing the same.
"My pebble clearly won," he says and I pass him the faintest of smiles. "Oh would you cheer up a bit!! I would be gone just for a year and also you are the one always complaining about how you would be better off without me in your life," he says to tease me but instead of cheering up I hide my face in his arms and start sobbing. "Why do you have to go to Boston? Why couldn't they set you up for an internship here? Do you promise that we'd talk everyday?" the lump in my throat grew heavier so I couldn't ask the remaining million questions.
"Jeez, Kiara. It's just 365 days, you probably won't even miss me for 364 of them so would you stop crying already?!!" he laughed. "Yeah, sure Ridge.You would talk about all the crap in the world but wouldn't promise a tiny lil thing I am asking for," I shrieked. He held up his hands in defeat and laughed while saying, "Okay fine. I promise." and before I could get a peep out of my mouth he looked into my eyes and said, "No, this isn't like one of the times when I promise that I would pick you up and forget or the time when I promise to take you out for a movie but cancel it at the very last moment." This did manage to make me smile in the teeniest bit and that managed to make him smile.
"Are you guys dating? What's so special about him?" I never had answers to these questions nor would I ever have. I never felt that it was a necessity to give our bond a label. We were totally comfortable with what we were and whatever we were not. Everything was perfect but then life happened. I am not disappointed that he chose to leave, I would've done the same; I am just upset about all the times I would have to be here watching the sun as it sets all by myself and about all the times I would sit on the swing in my backyard and he won't be there to push me as I scream "higher" and about all the times when I would be in a crappy mood and he won't be there to crack the lamest jokes one could ever crack.
The sun had set and the water was now reflecting the stars. His flight would leave in the morning and no matter how much I stomped my foot he wasn't going to take me to the airport. "You have to come to receive me after a year," he said. He won't admit but he hated goodbyes. After sharing our last hug which lasted for what seemed to be forever, we walked back to our homes and I went straight to bed; too tired to talk to anyone.
As the sun rays lit my room the next morning, it took me a moment to realize that Ridge's flight had already departed. I didn't feel like getting up, it was just too much to handle. As I was about to close my eyes again I saw a note tucked under my pillow. I unfolded it and was perplexed, for it said,
See you at our place, our time.
Love,
R.
I didn't have a single clue as to how he was gonna be at two places at once but the prospect of seeing him made me get out of my bed and get dressed. I was so frustrated that it was the sun who gets to decide when we meet that I took a novel and went to the lake. My heart raced as it was about time and my eyes searched frantically for him but all I could see was a tiny girl in blue shorts running towards me. She came to me, handed me a letter and left before I could ask her anything. I am pretty sure my heart did do a somersault as it recognized the scribbled writing on the parched piece of paper. I lay down on my back and crossed my legs and read,
Dear you,
I knew you were not gonna get out of your bed and be in your pajamas and cry till your eyes turn all red and puffy. I also know how you like reading chits and letters and mails. And I did promise that we're gonna talk every single day. Look at the sun setting and the birds returning to their nests and the still water and listen to silence. Has anything changed? I guess not. I have moved to Boston, it's not like I have abandoned you. You'll still be the first person I call every time I break up or when I want to ask what color suits me better or how does my hair look. That's never gonna change. Also, the tiny girl who gave you this letter, she's a friend of mine. She doesn't talk much but she'll be there everyday at our place, our time."
Love,
R
I couldn't believe he did that for me. I kept reading the letter again and again and again till it started to get dark. That's when I decided to go home and do something which did not involve sleeping or worrying or crying.
He had never kept a single promise till this day but he did keep the one that mattered to me the most. The lake was still my favorite place and I loved the sunset even more because that's when the tiny girl would come everyday. He did call me once a week if he wasn't too busy and we would talk about anything and everything for a while but nothing in this entire universe made me so happy as lying down on the soft grass and reading his letters.
"365 letters, one for each day," he had scribbled at the bottom of each one of them.
"My pebble clearly won," he says and I pass him the faintest of smiles. "Oh would you cheer up a bit!! I would be gone just for a year and also you are the one always complaining about how you would be better off without me in your life," he says to tease me but instead of cheering up I hide my face in his arms and start sobbing. "Why do you have to go to Boston? Why couldn't they set you up for an internship here? Do you promise that we'd talk everyday?" the lump in my throat grew heavier so I couldn't ask the remaining million questions.
"Jeez, Kiara. It's just 365 days, you probably won't even miss me for 364 of them so would you stop crying already?!!" he laughed. "Yeah, sure Ridge.You would talk about all the crap in the world but wouldn't promise a tiny lil thing I am asking for," I shrieked. He held up his hands in defeat and laughed while saying, "Okay fine. I promise." and before I could get a peep out of my mouth he looked into my eyes and said, "No, this isn't like one of the times when I promise that I would pick you up and forget or the time when I promise to take you out for a movie but cancel it at the very last moment." This did manage to make me smile in the teeniest bit and that managed to make him smile.
"Are you guys dating? What's so special about him?" I never had answers to these questions nor would I ever have. I never felt that it was a necessity to give our bond a label. We were totally comfortable with what we were and whatever we were not. Everything was perfect but then life happened. I am not disappointed that he chose to leave, I would've done the same; I am just upset about all the times I would have to be here watching the sun as it sets all by myself and about all the times I would sit on the swing in my backyard and he won't be there to push me as I scream "higher" and about all the times when I would be in a crappy mood and he won't be there to crack the lamest jokes one could ever crack.
The sun had set and the water was now reflecting the stars. His flight would leave in the morning and no matter how much I stomped my foot he wasn't going to take me to the airport. "You have to come to receive me after a year," he said. He won't admit but he hated goodbyes. After sharing our last hug which lasted for what seemed to be forever, we walked back to our homes and I went straight to bed; too tired to talk to anyone.
As the sun rays lit my room the next morning, it took me a moment to realize that Ridge's flight had already departed. I didn't feel like getting up, it was just too much to handle. As I was about to close my eyes again I saw a note tucked under my pillow. I unfolded it and was perplexed, for it said,
See you at our place, our time.
Love,
R.
I didn't have a single clue as to how he was gonna be at two places at once but the prospect of seeing him made me get out of my bed and get dressed. I was so frustrated that it was the sun who gets to decide when we meet that I took a novel and went to the lake. My heart raced as it was about time and my eyes searched frantically for him but all I could see was a tiny girl in blue shorts running towards me. She came to me, handed me a letter and left before I could ask her anything. I am pretty sure my heart did do a somersault as it recognized the scribbled writing on the parched piece of paper. I lay down on my back and crossed my legs and read,
Dear you,
I knew you were not gonna get out of your bed and be in your pajamas and cry till your eyes turn all red and puffy. I also know how you like reading chits and letters and mails. And I did promise that we're gonna talk every single day. Look at the sun setting and the birds returning to their nests and the still water and listen to silence. Has anything changed? I guess not. I have moved to Boston, it's not like I have abandoned you. You'll still be the first person I call every time I break up or when I want to ask what color suits me better or how does my hair look. That's never gonna change. Also, the tiny girl who gave you this letter, she's a friend of mine. She doesn't talk much but she'll be there everyday at our place, our time."
Love,
R
I couldn't believe he did that for me. I kept reading the letter again and again and again till it started to get dark. That's when I decided to go home and do something which did not involve sleeping or worrying or crying.
He had never kept a single promise till this day but he did keep the one that mattered to me the most. The lake was still my favorite place and I loved the sunset even more because that's when the tiny girl would come everyday. He did call me once a week if he wasn't too busy and we would talk about anything and everything for a while but nothing in this entire universe made me so happy as lying down on the soft grass and reading his letters.
"365 letters, one for each day," he had scribbled at the bottom of each one of them.
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