Chapter 1

[MEMBERSONLY]

She had finally gotten around to packing her things after many weeks of procrastination. Her bedroom was the last room and then she could finally be done and then move on.

As she was sweeping around her dresser, a small box came into view. It was squeezed between the wall and the dresser, with a thin layer of dust coating the cardboard. She slid it from its tight spot, coughing as a cloud of dirt billowed into the air. She grabbed the nearest pair of scissors to slice through the Scotch tape that held the flaps together. With a pounding heart, she carefully opened up the box.

A faded Polaroid gently lay on top. It was a photograph of the pair that had been torn apart and taped back together multiple times. They were standing in front of a ferris wheel with his arm thrown around her shoulder. Huge grins covered their faces; it was a perfect candid of the two. She replayed the moment just like it happened yesterday.

"No, Viren. You're not doing it right. It has to be perfect." She tried to sound angry, but it was obviously backfiring at the moment. A nice elderly couple agreed to take their picture and Viren was keeping them from doing that. He continued to make silly faces while she tried stifling a laugh. But, like everything else, it backfired again. His laughs started to join hers and the grandma snapped the moment perfectly. They had sent a quick thanks to them, before taking a good look at the photo. It wasn't the photo that she planned to take, but it turned out better than she wanted to share with him. She finally looked up to Viren and just smiled before he leaned down and they had shared their first kiss.

She couldn't help but smile remembering how truly awkward everything was leading up to that moment. She still remembers how he tasted like cotton candy and the tingling sensation that was left on her lips when he finally had pulled away. Looking at the picture felt a little surreal. She hadn't thought about him in almost two years, and it had been even longer since she had seen him.

They'd met when he was playing soccer at the park with his friends getting over a rough breakup. She was with her best friend who wanted to show her the new guy that she had been crushing on. Throughout the whole game, the pair was smiling flirtatiously at each other. He'd sent tiny smiles and winks towards her way and her cheeks would turn into a ferocious red color. It was a bold move on each of their sides since they didn't even know each other's name. But that was quickly changed once her friend had left to meet her new crush and Viren had approached her. As she batted her mascara-clumped eyelashes and he sunk his teeth into his lower lip, they exchanged names, then number, then stories.

The next evening they'd gone to the movies, where he let her have most of the popcorn. He claimed how it was a very considerate move on his part. She hadn't told him it was her birthday.

"You didn't ask," she would tell him a few days later when he found out.

"I would have gotten you a birthday present!" he insisted with a pout. She would never admit it, but spending a couple of hours with him was the best gift she could have asked for.

When had her feelings for him changed?

Placing the photo aside, she lifted another item out of the box. It was a simple ring with a heart placed on top. It was simple and wasn't worth much, but the memories behind the ring is what made the ring so pricy.

"Open it," he whispered while sending a gentle bump into her way.

"But I thought we agreed on no presents," she whined. She didn't want to make a big deal out of Valentine's Day. All she wanted to do was cuddle in bed and watch Disney movies, but of course, he didn't listen as usual.

"If I'm not going to spoil you, then who's going to?" he cooed.

She just sighed, with a wave of guilt overpowering her since she didn't buy a gift for him. She ripped the wrapping paper and gasped when she saw a small box. She looked up to his eyes, and he gave her a nod indirectly telling her to continue. That's exactly what she did. She let out a gasp once she saw it.

"It's not what you think it is." He said once he got down on one knee and took the ring into his hand. "In these past years where I was able to call you mine, I discovered this part of me that I never even knew existed until I met you. You've helped me through everything. You keep me sane and put me back into my place. We may be a little too young now to get married, so that's why I got you this promise ring. A promise so you know that you'll always be the most important girl in my life. And I know it's not much but-" that's when she had cut him off by placing her lips onto his. He always talked too much in situations like these. When they finally pulled apart, they placed their foreheads to each other. "I love you." She whispered, a smile reaching to onto both of their faces.

She had set the ring next to the Polaroid and reached for the third object. It was a mason jar filled to the brim with guitar picks. It was a gift she had planned to give him on Christmas, but they had broken up before the holiday had rolled around. She let out a small chuckle remembering his tiny phase with playing the guitar and singing. It actually wasn't a tiny phase; she actually enjoyed his voice very much. He even wrote her two songs, which was the greatest thing that she could have ever asked for. Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes as she held the container. She quickly blinked them away as she sought out a different memory. She pulled out a cracked CD case, with her name and a messy heart scribbled onto the disc. Wrinkled paper was next to the CD. She lightly picked up the paper where her eyes skimmed around the words written on it. She recognized the lyrics that were written around her and the memories the two had shared. She was tempted to listen to his voice on the CD that somehow still stayed intact, but she stopped herself. She didn't want to cry or feel any regret in the moment.

When they had ended, she didn't stick around. As soon as the clock struck midnight and welcomed in the new year a couple of months later, she bought a plane tickets and started packing her bags. She decided it was time to finally follow her dream, and that's exactly what she did. When she boarded her flight, she never looked back. The minute she moved into her new flat, she had the box of his memories and let it slip away from her thoughts. After a tough 12 months of regret and the feelings of sadness constantly clouding her mind, he was finally out of her mind. She didn't think about him anymore, or wonder how he was doing, or see him in her dreams.

Their love had been so innocent and beautiful, and she had been grateful for that, but she was even more thankful over the fact that their relationship hadn't crashed and burned out like so many other relationships. Instead, it had quietly dimmed and flickered to black.

The rest of the box was stuffed with photographs, documenting their years together and reminding her of days that were long forgotten. She spent three hours sitting through all the pictures the shared, grinning at each one as her heart swelled with affection. Had it only been five years ago that she saw him for the first time?

She wondered it time ever unwound and she crossed his mind. Hoe often did he think about her? Did he think about her at all? Was she a memory or just a casual remembrance flicking through his head on nights he couldn't sleep?

Getting to her feet, she brushed off remnants of dust and grabbed a notepad from her desk. After multiple tries of thinking what to write, she finally decided that to write.

"Do you ever think about me?" she scrawled, her large, loopy handwriting stretching across the paper. "Do I ever go walking through your memory?"

Satisfied with her short message, she went back to packed up the rest of her things so she's be ready in the morning to head over to a new location to start fresh. She hummed as she worked, never realizing that it was to the melody of the song that he had first played to her.

~

A week later, an envelope was waiting for her when she returned home from work. Tearing it open, she found a letter penned in an unmistakable hand.

Yes, I do.

Those three simple words brought a feeling that was indescribable to her. She couldn't help but think if they would ever meet again, and maybe, just maybe, they can end up together again. But she just smiled, thankful enough for the fact that they could start fresh again.

❤️ Likes and Comments Welcome ❤️

ginabieber2014-12-26 13:52:17