Forever

Author's Note: "This piece honestly took me forever to write. Anyways it's a creative love story. I would really like some feedback so comment what you think! Thanks(:"

Sarah:

The waves lightly crashed along the shoreline and the sun began to set into the water. The sky was filled with assorted pinks and oranges and the ocean stretched out as far as the eye could see. We walked that shoreline for hours talking about our futures until  it finally began to sink in that I had to leave tomorrow morning. We came from two different worlds, it would just never work. But I couldn’t shake the feeling that the place where I belong was here, with him. Would he run after me when I left?

“What are you thinking about?” he asked me.

I shook my head, “Nothing, just how I don’t want to leave you, to leave what we have.”

“Then I’ll come with you,” he said, “If we leave right now then I will have just enough time to get my things before we leave.” I looked up at him, his eyes radiating off the moonlight’s gleam. “I just couldn’t leave him,”  I thought.

Looking at his face, so determined, brought tears to my eyes. “I wish you could, but don’t you see Alex, you can’t come. You’re needed here.”

“But I don’t wanna leave you Sarah, you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

Now I was in a full-on meltdown. I couldn’t even look at him without having my heart shatter in every direction.

“I have to go now Alex,” I told him as I unhooked my hand from his.

He grabbed my hand again and said, “Sarah, don’t go. Please, don’t go.”

“I’m sorry Alex, I don’t have a choice,” I said as I turned away from him and started towards home.

This was it, all I’d ever wanted and I was walking away.  It was too late to turn back now, I had made my decision. I just couldn’t help but think that it was the wrong one. We may have only known each other for a summer but no one else had  ever made me feel this way: like I was special, like I meant something, like I had a purpose. When I was in his arms everything just went away, no worries and not a care in the world. It was just the two of us against the world. I thought about him the rest of the walk home.

~*~

Sarah:

“Sarah dear, where have you been?  You completely missed dinner!” My mother demanded.

“Sorry Mom, I had to say goodbye to some friends,” I muttered.

“You had your father and I worried sick!”

“I’m sorry Ma,” I said turning towards the stairs. I marched up the steep staircase and entered my room.  I laid down on my bed and stared at the ceiling all night. Thinking. Thinking about what I was leaving behind. Slowly my eyes began to close and I faded into a deep sleep.

I woke up the next day, packed a few last things, and I left.

~*~

Alex:

I woke up this morning with the worst headache. I couldn’t think straight at all, everything was a blur.

“You okay Son,” my father asked as I walked into the kitchen for family breakfast.

“Yeah dad, I’m fine. Just a headache.”

“How’s Sarah?” he asked.

Hearing her name made my fists clench. “She’s fine,” I said sternly.

“You know she’s leaving today.”

“Yeah, I know,” I said. “So how’s Ma?” I asked, trying to change the subject.

“Alex, stop this. You love her, she loves you. Go after her son.”

“Dad, she’s probably already gone,” I said as I trudged down the hallway and back to my room slamming the door behind me. 

~*~

Alex:

A couple minutes later I heard a knock on my door.

“Come in,” I muttered.

“Um son, I think you might wanna come out here, there’s something you’re gonna wanna see,” my Dad bellowed through the cracked open door.

“What is it dad?” I mumbled.

“Just come outside and I’ll show you,” my Dad suggested.

I opened the door and followed my Dad down the hallway and to our front door. He turned the golden brass knob and opened the mahogany door that lead to the outside world. There, on my door-matt, was a book that was addressed to me. I bent down to pick it up and realized it was Sarah’s writing. I tore off the blue bow and opened the front cover. It was full of pictures, pictures of the two of us. As I flipped through the pages I could feel my eyes begin to water. This was all I had left of Sarah, and now she was gone. I turned to the last page and found a note that Sarah wrote: a note addressed to me. 

~*~

Dear Alex,

I will never forget you. I will never forget the times that we shared. This summer with you is something I will cherish forever. I’m sorry things had to end the way they did, it was never my intention to hurt you. Take this scrapbook of all our adventures and memories and whenever you look at the pictures, think of me. Think of all the great times we had this summer, together. See you soon Alex.

Forever Yours,

Sarah

~*~

Alex:

 I reread the letter once more through just to make sure I didn’t miss a single word. Now I knew what I had to do. I had to go to that airport, find Sarah, and convince her somehow to stay. I grabbed my keys and started up the truck and raced all the way to the airport.

Parking took me a good half hour and it didn’t just stop there. As I walked inside I was lost inside a sea of people, I had never seen so many people in one place in my entire life.  Finally, after navigating through the crowds I found a ticket desk.

“Excuse me mam, I was just wondering if you could tell me what plane Sarah Bennet is on?” I sputtered.

“Sorry sir, that’s private information,” she explained.

“Please,” I begged, “I need to know where I can find her!”

“I’m sorry sir, the plane that she is aboard is ready for take-off. There is nothing I can do to stop it,” she said.

“Alright,” I sulked. “Thanks for your time.”

I kept myself collected until I reached my car. I opened the driver’s door and climbed inside. I slammed the door closed and rested my head on the steering wheel. I tried to stay calm and think this out rationally but everything just came bursting out. I couldn’t hold it in anymore, tear flooded my eyes and my nose was runny. I tried to convince myself that everything would be okay, but it wasn’t, nothing was. Sarah was gone and my Mom was sick. My world was coming down and I was lost in the landslide.

After a good hour of moping and tears I toughed up and put on a happy face. I looked at myself in the rear-view mirror but somehow it didn’t see myself staring back in the mirror. It was an essence of me yes, but that was surely not me. I came to accept the fact that me and Sarah were just too different like she said, that we came from two different places and our ambitions were so abstract from one another’s that we couldn’t be together because that would mean one of us having to sacrifice our dream.

After coming to the realization that I did everything I could I ignited the engine and road back towards home.

~*~ 

18 years later

~*~

 Sarah:

I rolled my driver’s seat window down and took a whiff of the nice cool country air. I turned onto the dirt road that used to be my old driveway remembering that summer long ago that I spent in this little town. So many fond memories of this small town. Sometimes I wonder where I would be nowadays if I hadn’t left that summer, probably my biggest regret, but then again if I hadn’t left I never would be where I am now.

I took the next two rights and then a left and that lead me to the grocery store. I needed a few things, nothing fancy, just some necessities like butter, milk, flour, sugar, and some bread. So I grabbed my handwritten list and strode into the market.

Walking aisle through aisle, I began my search.

“Sarah?” I heard a familiar voice ask, “Sarah Bennet is that you?”

I turned around and saw his face:  Alex’s face. “Alex!” I said with excitement, “Wow, you haven’t changed a bit!”

“You either! So what brings you to town.”

“Oh, just passing through,” I explained. “My grandmother died and lives up North a bit so I’m traveling to her funeral.”

“Gee, Sarah I’m really sorry to hear that,” Alex said with a kind grin.

“Thanks Alex, it’s been tough.”

I couldn’t believe I was seeing him again: not in pictures, not in memories, but here, in the flesh and blood. I was overwhelmed with emotions. Regret. Joy. I didn’t know what to feel, but one thing was for certain, as soon as I turned around and saw him I loved him just as much as I did 18 long years ago. We still had that connection, that unexplained love and need to be with each other.

“Listen Sarah,” he spoke. “I moved into that old house just a few blocks down, would you like to go there and catch up a bit?”

“Alex, I don’t know. I mean, I want to but I just don’t know if that’s such a good idea.”

“Oh c’mon Sarah, just two old friends hanging out,” he said winking.

“Alright, but only for an hour.”

~*~

Sarah:

 Time flew, and before I knew it half of the day was already gone. We found ourselves talking about old times and that one summer that neither of us would ever forget.

“Sarah, don’t go again. Stay here with me, we can live here and be together,” Alex suggested with complete seriousness in his voice.?

For a second I thought about it, I actually considered what life here, with Alex would be like. Holding hands on the porch swing all the while watching the sunset, long walks down the path in the backyard, lovely canoe rides in the pond just down the road: just like it used to be that summer long ago.

“Okay,” I told him, convinced of my final decision. “I will stay here, with you.”

~*~

Years passed and our love only grew stronger with every passing day that we spent in each other’s company. I can only assume that even though it didn’t work out that one summer long ago, we were meant to find each other again.