• CHAPTER ONE, THE BEGINING

    I tapped my fingers, thinking of what to write… I knew what the poem was to be about, but couldn’t quite find the words… What could I write for this drama that I have experienced? Maybe rain drops could be a good start… I wrote the words “Raindrops patter on my shoulder” in my used-to-be-empty notebook… Shoulder, shoulder… what rhymes with shoulder? Holder? Colder? Older? Okay, let’s try older. I continued trying to think of rhymes that fit my mood and eventually got a short poem.

    When Worlds Collide

    Raindrops patter on my shoulder
    It feels like I’m not getting any older
    When I think of you, my love,
    I want to find you and give you a hug
    Hold you in my arms for eternity,
    Knowing that nothing can hurt me
    For, I’m invincible with you by my side
    When the living and the dead worlds collide

    By Flarica Stevens

    Do you want to know what that poem is about? Me, Flarica… and Justery… Yes, this means that I was in love, and still am… But, you see, marriage vows only say “’Till death do you part”, not “You shall stay together forever”… So we are no longer together… We are only together in our hearts, I’ve attempted suicide, but I’m a famous author and poet, my publishers and my fans are all over the place and keep “saving me”; but it’s doing quite the opposite inside. In fact, I‘m already dead inside, and have been for years… If I die physically, I’ll be reunited with my love and be alive again… It makes little sense, I know, but it is only truth. I can feel that he’s here, but that’s not enough… I want to be with him in form and all… Would you like to hear my story? Well, if you enjoy romance, keep reading on… even if you end up in tears…
    ♥ ♥

    “Lily, do you seriously want to see The Rainbow Dragon instead of a comedy?”
    “Rainbow Dragon, Rainbow Dragon!”, Lily cheered in her high-pitched voice.
    “Okay, okay. We‘ll watch Rainbow Dragon…” When you watch your four-year-old sister, you have to give her everything that she wants, or you’ll get no money and your hair pulled out… So, it’s not the easiest to do, unless you give her what she wants, that is. Lily likes magical princess kind of stuff, so I just have to watch the kid stuff to make Lily happy. The happier Lily is when mom gets home, the more money I get; the more money I get, the sooner I get a laptop.
    “Yay!!”
    I handed some money to the person at the ticket booth and got two Rainbow Dragon tickets in return. When we walked inside theater three, we handed the tickets to the lady and sat down in the only back row seats left. There was a green and blue eyed guy with silky black hair down to his shoulders. and …his little sister by the looks of it. “Is that your little sister?” I asked him.
    “Hmm? Oh, yeah… I’m babysitting her, it’s my parents’ anniversary.”
    “Me to, except, it’s not my parents’ anniversary… It’s their divorce, which is gonna be hard to explain to Lily…” I sighed.
    “It’s okay, I’m sure it’ll be fine. Is there anything I can do to help?”
    I let out a single chuckle. “You sure are kind to strangers…”
    “Well, ever heard of the golden rule? If I were you, I would want someone to help me get through it, just not be able to admit it.”
    My heart skipped a beat. How does he know all that? “H-how…”
    “Hey, I’m no psychic. I just know that most humans need help, and that’s what I’m offering you. I could help you baby-sit, I could be a shoulder to cry on, or anything else.”
    “Do you do this to everyone?”, I laughed
    “No, not really. I‘ve seen you at school, you seemed really lonely…”
    “How am I any dif-”
    “Look, when you first came in here, I saw fear in your eyes. I don’t usually see that in people, so I thought you needed some help… And I don’t know exactly how you feel, but I’ve been through something similar, and I know that it’ll pass eventually. My parents divorced last year and my dad moved half-way across the world, he said he was tired of being anywhere near my mom, the only way I could describe it to Gemie was to say that dad went on a long business trip. Soon after, my mom married another man… I know that life can be hard, but everything has a reason, without suffering, there’s no joy of getting it over with. But, you should make your life go as slow as possible; if you don’t, you’ll never fulfill your purpose in life… If you die before doing your purpose, your soul will wonder the earth, trying to find it’s purpose. Then, when that’s over, you can rest peacefully and eventually get reincarnated. Then life start all over. Most likely, you’ll be a different species.”
    “Wow… I didn’t think that a person could handle so well… And how do you know all of that?”
    “It’s my own personal theory.”
    “Well, about your offer, yes, I‘d like you to help me baby sit and stuff…” a faint blush painted onto my cheeks.
    “Cool.”
    “… Your eyes, they… are different colours.”
    “Yeah, they actually are both hazel; they just don’t change to the same colours at the same time. I know it’s a little odd-”
    “No, no, no; it’s quite unique! You’re that only person that I’ve seen with such beautiful eyes with two different colours. I mean… I just thought aloud, didn’t I?” We both giggled and I flushed. We stared into each other’s eyes, me, studying the natural designs that his blue and green eyes held……
    Before I knew that it started, the movie was over.
    “Sista! Who’s that?”
    “Umm… he’s going to help me baby-sit you for now on. Right, umm… what was your name, again?”
    “Justery, Justery Xaqson. You?”
    “Flarica Stevens.” I smiled. “Oh, and you can be friends with Gemie, Lily.”
    “Yay! New friend!”, Lily squealed.
    “Friend!” Gemie squealed along with Lily.
    “’Kay, guys, let’s get home.”
    “My parents won’t be home for a while, can we go to your house for a bit? I’m sure Gemie and Lily would like to get to know each other.”
    I nodded. “Thanks again, you gave me a different point of view on the world…”
    “You’re very welcome.” Justery smiled at me.
    After Lily and Gemie were done holding both hands and spinning in circles saying “best friends, best friends” over and over, Justery and I gave our little sisters piggy-back-rides to m house.
    “Excuse the mess.” I laughed sheepishly as we walked in with giggling girls on our backs.
    “Don’t worry, my house can be a lot messier.”
    “Phew. Hehe…”
    While we watched our younger sisters, we just chattered about our life, like how he wanted to go to war, and commented on each others’ life, like how I wondered why he wanted to take such a risk…
    “I don’t fear death, but pain, mostly only emotional.”
    “What if you got a friend and saw him die before your eyes, knowing that there was nothing you could do nothing to help? I wouldn’t be able to do that, even if it was a complete stranger, or even an enemy…”
    “I want to protect the country, to protect can be sacrifice, but no one should ever give up so easily…”
    I thought about that, and realized that he was more caring then I had thought… he cares about everyone, complete strangers, he… I can’t even describe it…
    “Is bed time, Sista, right?” Lily asked me in her cute little voice.
    “Yes, that’s very right, you’re a fast learner, thanks for reminding me.”
    “Every day when da little hand reaches the twirly thing, wait, six, you call me for beddy time!”
    “Yes, you’re very smart, Lily. Now, you can dress yourself, do that and I’ll tuck you in, ‘kay?”
    “M-hm!” She sprinted up the stairs and into her room.
    I laughed, “I guess I better go tuck her in… So, nice to meet you, Justery.” I liked the way his name felt at the tip of my tongue… “Are you gonna come here tomorrow?”
    “I don’t think I could remember where this place is…”
    “Here, I’ll give you my phone number since it’s quicker than writing directions, here.” I grabbed a post-it and a pen, wrote down my cell phone number, and handed it to him.
    “Thanks.” He took the post-it from my hand and slipped it in his left jean pocket.
    “No prob. Bye.”
    “Bye, come on, Gemie.” He headed out the door with Gemie silently following him.
    Once the door closed, I said to myself, “Justery… I can’t wait ‘till tomorrow…” and stood there, completely spaced…
    “Sista?!” Lily squeaked, which echoed down the stairway.
    I suddenly became conscious of my surroundings and called back, “Okay, I‘m coming” and headed upstairs. “Good night, Lily.” I kissed her forehead.
    “Night, night, Sista…” She yawned.
    I exited her room, leaving a little creak in the door to replace her broken night-light. When downstairs, I lied down on the couch, spacing out again… Justery…Kind Justery… I need to see you again… Justery Xaqson… That is pretty much all that lay my mind at that time… That I needed to see him again…
    So time would go by more quickly, I went to sleep early, which made him in my thoughts more, for I had dreamt of him that night…
    ♥♥♥

    I felt something poke at me. Then felt it again… and again. I heard a very familiar voice say, “Flarica? Flare, wake up.”
    It was soon later that I realized who it was. I opened my eyes to see… “Justery!”
    “’Ello,” he laughed.
    “What are- what time is it?”
    “Umm… About 11:35, I think.”
    “Oh, sorry. Who let you in?”
    “Your mom, I told her that I was a friend helping you baby-sit, which is what I am.”
    I wish you could be more than that, Justery… I thought, not daring to say it aloud.
    “So, are we gonna let our sisters roam free like monkeys or is there a schedule of some sort?” Justery laughed.
    I laughed back. “No, play time and movie time is most the time, but, other words, 12:30 is lunch time, 2:00 is nap time, 5:30 is dinnertime and 6:00 is bed time. Then you can either stay for a while or head home… I’d like it if you’d stay, though…”, I said, the last sentence was said in a soft mumble.
    Apparently, he could hear me. “I’ll stay if you want me to…” He wrapped his arms around me, “I’ll stay for days if you want…”
    A blush painted on my cheeks for the second time from him, but darker than the last time. “Y-you can’t do that… even if I wanted you to, where would you sleep? What would your parents think?”
    “My parents would understand. In fact, they would like it. She would like a vacation from kids running around the house. As for where I would sleep, I could sleep on the couch, floor… or even with you.”
    My blush grew darker. “U-umm…”
    “Don’t worry, I won’t do anything you don’t want me to.”
    But what if I only want you, my love… but I don’t want you to do what you don’t want to…
    “… Wait, where’s Lily and Gemie?”
    “Apparently, I gave them lunch early. Besides, your mom’s still here, she has no work today.”
    “…”
    “’Ello?” he let go of me and looked at me, waving his hand in front of my face. “’Ello? Space Captain?”
    “… Huh?… Oh! Sorry!”
    He laughed, “Don’t worry, I don’t mind. It’s perfectly normal.”
    “Thanks…”
    “It’s only the truth.”
    I giggled.
    “What?”, he asked curiously.
    “You like that term, don’t you?”
    “Oh, I don’t know…”
    There was a long silence…
    “I think we should go down stairs.” I stated.
    “Yeah.” He answered.
    We headed down stairs and I noticed that I forgot to change into my bed cloths last night… oh well. My mom said that she was heading to the store, she said she also needed to think, after the divorce being final and all. I made a sandwich for a quick lunch and sat on the couch with Justery sitting beside me. He was watching PBS kids along with everyone else. While he did that, I just stared at him…… He turned to me and I quickly turned away. Justery put his hand on my shoulder; I turned back to him…
    We stared into each others’ eyes, slowly getting closer until we were less than an inch away. After I flushed, he brushed his hand against my cheek… Justery pressed his lips to mine, which lead me kissing him back… It was so sweet, delicate. As I felt his soft lips by mine, I was truly happy… I’ve always been so lonely until then… I was sorry to have to unattached those sweet lips from mine.
    “Don’t forget, those kids are only glued to the TV when there’s actually a show on, a commercial might pop up,” My Justery laughed.
    “Aww…” I complained.
    “In an hour and a half, it’s nap time. And four hours after that, it’s time for them to go to bed.”
    “True, but I can be very impatient.”
    “Don’t be, my love.”
    I leaned onto My Justery’s shoulder, getting his arm around me in return…
    The alarm on my phone set off. “Okay, guys, time for nap time.”
    “Aww… Okay, I’s s’eepy time…” Lily complained and agreed.
    “Yeah, s’eepy time… Where does we s’eep?”
    “Umm… You can sleep on the couch. I’ll go get some blankets.”
    “M’kay.” Gemie nodded.
    “Come on, Justery. They need to sleep on the couch.” We both got up and walked upstairs.
    “I’ll wait in your room.” My Justery suggested.
    “See ya then.”
    He laughed “It’s not that far away.”
    “Oh, but it is.”
    “Well, see you then. I’ll be waiting.”
    I waved, not wanting to be separated, for I savored every second with him. I snatched two blankets from the storage closet and headed downstairs to give them to the waiting little girls. When I got to the living room, my mom was there.
    “You’re back,” I said “I was just giving the girls some blankets for nap time.”
    “Okay.” She waited, it looked like.
    I gave the Gemie and Lily the blankets and started going upstairs, but mom stopped me. “Honey, I see something between you and the ‘friend’ of yours.”
    “Mom… He’s, well… He’s not like the others I’ve dated… He’s… Do you believe in love at first sight?”
    “Flarica, I just don’t want you to get your heart broken again.”
    “Don’t worry, he’s different, he-he’s the one I’ve been searching for… Please, don’t worry…”
    “Okay, well, don’t do anything until you know for sure th-”
    “Come on, mom!” I interrupted. “I’m not planning to lose my innocence any time soon!”
    “I know, I’m just making sure.”
    “Urg, mom! I’m almost 18, I can make my own choices!” I ran upstairs, frustrated at mom.
    When I entered the room, My Justery was on my bed, fiddling with his fingers.
    “Hey. Sorry I took so long…”
    He looked up, his bangs covering his blue, or right, eye. “As long as you’re here now, Flare.”
    I situated myself by him. “My mom… she doesn’t like you…”
    “Do you like me?”
    “Yes!… But not her… she thinks you’re just another guy that can break my heart… She just got through a divorce, so don’t… I don’t know…”
    “Hey, it’s okay.”
    “She doesn’t trust me to make my own choices.”
    “Don’t worry, she’ll understand in time. She’ll understand that I love you more than I love all my family and friends, and I’ve known you in a lot less time.”
    “Really?”
    “Really.” This time, I pressed my lips to his. I wrapped my arms around his neck and decided to use a little tongue. He instantly responded and did the same, which was the start of a make-out-frenzy. It continued until he knocked me backward onto the bed, but I couldn’t let it get that far.
    I separated my lips from his. “I’m sorry… This is all going to fast.”
    He rolled off me, to my side. “It’s okay. I shall fight against my hormones until you’re ready, I’ll wait as long as you wish…”
    “You don’t have t-”
    “I will wait, my love.” My Justery didn’t seem disappointed when he spoke… I think all he wanted was what was best for me…
    There was a short silence, but I broke it soon enough. I yawned like a lion, “I’m tired, Justery…”
    “Then you shall sleep.” He gently pulled me towards him and I laid on his chest… He’s so warm… I… can’t believe that a breathtaking angel like him would choose me, out of all the people in the world… I think… I love him… I continued thinking about My Justery before drifting into a wonderful dream…
    ♥♥♥

    After my dream, while I was mostly awake, I heard someone walk in to my room, it was mom. She said, “Flarica, honey, it’s dinnerti- oh. Justery…will you promise to take care of her? I have no problem with you, but I need to know that she won’t get another heart break… No one can repair it constantly, every time it breaks… a piece falls off.”
    “I promise to not only spare her heart, but to give her my own,” I heard My Justery answer.
    I decided to open my eyes and speak. While I slowly opened my eyes, I softly yawned. “What’d I miss?”
    “It’s dinnertime.”
    “’Kay…” got up unhurriedly with Justery right behind me. We headed downstairs to ate spaghetti and garlic toast. When we were done, My Justery and I washed the dishes.
    “Do you have to go?” I begged.
    “Your mom will not let me stay…”
    “I don’t want you to go…”
    “I’m sorry, goodbye, my love. I’ll see you tomorrow at school.”
    “Do you have any classes with me? I haven’t seen you before yesterday…”
    “First, third, and fourth period… I’m always quiet and my hairs always in my face at school… I‘m not much of a people person.”
    I nodded. “Bye…” I kissed his gentle lips and gave him a hug, I felt a paper of some sort slip into my pocket. When he walked out, he held up his finger to his lips and quietly shushed. I mouth the word “Okay” and went upstairs, saying goodnight to my mom.
    As soon as I got to my room, I grabbed the folded note from my pocket and opened it, anxious. It read: I’ll be back, my love. I will never leave you, I just have to bring Gemie home and we will reunite. Love, Your Justery
    I held it to my chest, He’s coming back…
    So, I waited impatiently for awhile until I heard something from outside of my window. I rushed to the window and looked out. There, I saw him in red pajamas outside my window, gripping onto the edge of the window. I opened it and pulled in My Justery. “I’m back, my love.”
    “Yes, but… we can’t get caught.”
    “I know, I’ll even hide under the bed if I have to.”
    “Oh, but you can’t… there isn’t any room…”
    “Why?”
    “Well… look under and you’ll see.”
    My Justery did as I said and his eyes widened. “Wow, that’s a lot of notebooks…”
    “There’s more in the closet.”
    “Really? There’s more?” He slid a thin, green notebook from my un-organized notebook stash and opened it… “This is amazing! You should be an author or something!”
    I blushed at both the new nickname and that he licked the beginning of a story that I wrote purely out of boredom. “You really think so?”
    “I know so, Flare! This story, I would read, and I’m not much of a reader. I also can be pretty picky.”
    “Picky? It doesn’t seem like that considering that you chose me out of all the girls in the world that you could date.”
    He smacked my head, not hurting me. “Bad! Learn to good self-esteem, Flare. You’re the most modest, caring and beautiful person I have ever met! I love the way your long, wavy, ember red hair flows through the breeze as you run. I love how you can take control over yourself and ignore peer pressure… I love you, Flare… Isn’t that enough?”
    My blush grew from the flattering speech. “I-I’m sorry…”
    “Don’t be, just don’t be to modest, okay? You’re a great person.”
    “… Okay.”
    “Now, lets go to sleep.”
    My heart skipped a beat… “I-I’m not dressed…”
    “Oh, sorry, I won’t look.” He turned around and glued his eyes to the green notebook.
    “Okay, I trust you…” I undressed and searched for night clothes. I found a teal night gown that went down to my thighs… it would have to do. I slipped it over my head and said, “It’s okay to look now.”
    “’Kay,” he said, still reading.
    “… Is it really that interesting?”
    He looked at me… “I’ll keep my place.” He left the notebook open and placed it on the desk by my bed.
    We both collapsed onto my bed. I went under my blanket and so did he. He held me close, keeping me warm and feeling protected… I drifted into a deep, sweet sleep…











    CHAPTER TWO, HAPPENING SO FAST


    When I woke up from my screaming alarm clock in the morning, My Justery had left… I guess he couldn’t stay long enough to get caught… As I turned off the alarm clock which was on the desk beside me, I realized that the book was gone, he must’ve taken it… How many teenagers fall in love in a single weekend? Well, I was one of them and wanted to see him again…
    I stripped and slipped on a pare of black jeans, a white v-neck shirt with silver butterflies on it and a black beanie and headed to school, forgetting all about breakfast.
    I saw him at homeroom and sat down beside him. “Hello, Flare,” he smiled.
    “Hi, I missed you.”
    “Me, too…” He leaned towards my face half way and I instantly put our lips together. We had to stop when class started, we had stop… But we held hands throughout class…
    “See ya third period, Flare.”
    “See ya, Justery.” I was anxious to get through the classes quickly, besides third and fourth, but it was vise-versa; each class besides the ones with My Justery went slowly ,while the ones with him went by quicker than a snap.
    He walked me home and went off to get his little sister. Lily’s pre-school teacher brought her to our house, leaving her with me when I walked in.
    Justery came with Gemie soon enough. The two of us watched our siblings and took them to there beds. When My Justery transported Gemie to his place, he came back immediately. We talked and kissed only until we plopped onto my bed with the door closed.
    This became a routine throughout the week.
    When Sunday came, my mom watched Lily and My Justery and I went to the movie theater. We saw a romance comedy called “When I Met You”. We each had a bag of popcorn, so we kept on stealing from each others’ bags.
    When the movie was over, we walked in no specific direction, or so I thought…
    “We’re here,” My Justery sighed.
    “Where?”
    “Look around.”
    I did that and noticed that we were by a large field of really tall grass that sunlight shined on and that waved in the breeze… “It’s so pretty!” I gasped.
    “I thought that it could be a great place for you to write.”
    “And think… How did you find this place?”
    “My real dad used to take me here… When he left, I visited this place less and less… I haven’t been here in a while.”
    “I’m sorry that he left…”
    “Don’t be, it’s not your fault… He and my mom often fought… dad got so tired of that that he filled divorce forms and my mom was sad to make it final… She really loved him… He went to Asia, not even coming home to say goodbye or to get his stuff. He said that it would be harder to leave his children… He kept calling less and less until he found out that we had a step dad, then he stopped completely…” A single tear slid down his pale cheek…
    I hugged him, keeping him close, and kissed each tear that fell out his bi-coloured eyes… I constantly muttered the phrase, It’s okay… and It’ll be alright…
    “Thanks for bringing me here, Justery… We should go here every Sunday, but not if you can’t handle it…”
    “No, I’ll be fine… It’s not like I’m the one abandoned, that’s my mom… But she must be way over him… I’ll take you here on Sundays…”
    “I’d like that… But, I’ll bring some writing supplies next time.”
    We just laid there, watching the sunset…
    “I should go.”
    “Yeah, me, too.”
    “Are you staying at my place?”
    “If you want me to.”
    “Yes, of course!”
    “Then, yes.”
    We silently walked to my place. I took the stairs while he climbed to the roof, he couldn’t get caught.
    He just read one of my notebooks while I got dressed. We cuddled under my blanket and fell asleep…
    ♥♥♥

    Something changed, when I woke, My Justery was still holding me… He hadn’t left…
    “Justery?” I whispered.
    “H-hmm?” he hummed sleepily.
    “You… your usually gone by now…”
    “Oh, oops… Wait, what time is it?”
    “6:30, why?”
    “Your mom leaves for work at 4:45... She already left.”
    “So, you’ll stay?” I asked hopefully.
    “Yes, my love. I shall stay.”
    I grinned. “I don’t have to get ready for another hour… What can we do ‘till then?” I kissed his forehead.
    “We can get up and watch a movie?”
    “Sure, what do you wanna watch?”
    “Whatever you wanna watch.”
    “Um… The Princess Bride?”
    “As you wish.”
    I giggled at the fact that he used a phrase from the movie we were about to watch.
    He found The princess bride from my movie collection and placed it in my DVD player.
    “Thanks.”
    We watched the first hour of the movie-well, we were kissing through half the movie…- and got ready for school. My Justery was already in day cloths, so he just brushed his hair and slipped on his shoes, he also grabbed his backpack.
    Since we figured that my mom wouldn’t check in, My Justery always stayed and we did from watching a movie to just making out and snuggling. But, whatever we did, we always spent time together. That’s all that mattered.
    On Sunday, we went back to the grassy field; this time, I brought a pen and notebook. I wrote things from action and horror to comedy and romance. I pretty much just wrote whatever came to mind. While I wrote, My Justery read over my shoulder… Usually, I would find it annoying, but not with Justery there… He’s so different then everybody else… Everyone’s special in there own way, but I like My Justery’s personality best…
    ♥♥♥

    A couple weeks went by and I still hadn’t seen My Justery’s house… So, when it reached May 6th, my birthday, al I wanted for my birthday was to go to his place,; but, I got more of course.
    So, I met his mom in person for the first time.
    “Hi! I pictured you a lot differently from Justery’s descriptions…” His mom greeted.
    “Yeah, I pictured you different from when we talked on phone…”
    “…Well, Happy birthday! I made you a cake!”
    “Thanks,” I thanked and looked around. “Can I see your room, Justery?”
    “It’s a mess right now… but okay. Follow me.” He lead me to a messy room with a big, black lab laying on the floor, Gemie was petting it.
    “Gemie, do you mind going somewhere else?” My Justery asked her.
    “Okay, broda. Happy Birthday, Flare.” She exited the room…
    The black creature looked and barked at me.
    “Steady, girl. Chelsea, this is a friend. Flare is welcome, don’t bite her.” He patted her head.
    “Bite me?!” I instantly responded.
    “Don’t worry, just let her sniff you. She just… likes using strangers as chew toys.”
    I squeaked.
    “Just do as I do…” He held out his hand and let her sniff it and she rubbed her head against his hand.
    “Okay,” I said nervously. I repeated what My Justery did and waited for Chelsea’s response…. She did as she did to him, just more hesitantly.
    “See, she likes you. Good, Chelsea.” He took a piece of jerky, which popped out of no where, and through it into the air, letting the dog catch it.
    “Where’d that come from? And if she likes it so much, why isn’t it gone by now?”
    My Justery laughed his prettyful laugh, yes, that‘s a word. You can even ask my little sister. “ I hide the jerky bag under the bed.”
    “Oh.” The was a silence as we gazed into one another’s eyes…
    “I still haven’t shown you my gift,” My Justery broke the silence.
    “You mean gave?”
    “No, shown. We’re gonna need a blind fold.”
    “I don’t like surprises…” I hesitated…
    “You’ll like this on, trust me.”
    “So, where’s the blind fold and how long will it take?”
    “It won’t take long.”
    “And the blindfold?” I asked.
    “Right here.” He popped a bandana out of thin air and carefully wrapped it around my upper head, covering my eyes… I saw nothing, but let him guide me… I felt the cool outside air through my thin, long sleeve shirt… I walked by his side until we stopped…
    “Are we there?” I asked impatiently.
    “Yes, my love. We have arrived.”
    I felt him untie the bandana from the back of my head and carefully take it off, making my eyes hurt from the sudden change of light. I blinked several times, trying to help my eyes adjust to the brightness.
    “… It’s the field…”
    “Look to your left,” My Justery suggested.
    While turning my head, I saw a giant pile of wood. “I don’t get it…”
    “It may take a while, but I could build a shack of some sort. In summer, it provides shade; in winter, warmth. You could store your notebooks and stuff in it. We could fridge, bed, micro wave… we’d need electricity and we’d need pluming…”
    “So… Does this mean we’re moving in together?”
    “We don’t have to if you don’t want us to…” he said shyly.
    “No, no! Of course I do! I just… don’t want you to do so much work… I could get someone to help-”
    “Flare, don’t worry… I want to work for you, my love… for us… And, don’t forget my last present.”
    “You d-”
    He put his finger to my lips and shushed me. “I have something very important to ask you. I love you more than love it’s self, want your life more than my own, and feel like I need to take care of you as long as I live… I promise to provide you with everything that you need… Flarica Melanie Stevens… Will you marry me?” He bent down on one knee and grabbed a tiny box from his pocket, opening it and holding it out to me… There was a beautiful silver ring with sakura tree designs and tiny pink diamonds in the flower centers… I was speechless…
    I stared at the beautiful ting, wide-eyed in amazement… Finally, I decided to say, “Yes, I will… I love you, Justery.” He slipped the gorgeous device onto my bare finger and we intertwined our lips, but it didn’t last long.
    “We have to tell everyone.”
    “No, not everyone!”
    “Well… our family.”
    “’Kay, only one problem… How would they react? We’ve only been dating for four months and I just turned 18... My mom has been pretty over protective ever since the divorce…”
    “Problem already solved,” My Justery said confidently.
    “Huh?”
    “Of course, I asked permission. I prepared a speech to long for her to sit through, so she just said, ‘Okay… as long as she agrees and you take good care of her… I can’t believe she’s already so grown up…’ So, we have nothing to worry about.”
    When we reached his place, there was four cars in the driveway. And, as we entered the door, a crowd of cousins and my aunts and uncle screamed, “HAPPY 18th BIRTHDAY!”
    “I‘m engaged!”, I yelled back, holding out my right hand.
    “You are?!” A flock of everyone except Uncle Phil, who was the only guy there besides My Justery, headed towards me to see the ring and ask me questions.
    “When’s the wedding?” One of my cousins, Sierra, asked.
    “Umm… I don’t know… Justery?”
    “We don’t know yet, but I’m thinking that July 4th would be best, then we could have fireworks after the wedding.”
    “That would be awesome! When are you sending out the invites?” a 2nd cousin, Hana, asked.
    “As soon as possible,” My Justery answered.
    “What about the honeymoon? Where are you going?” Aunt Ana asked.
    “It’s a surprise.”
    “So, who wants cake?” my soon-to-be mother-in-law asked.
    “Me!!!!!!” I responded, hungry as any thing.
    “What happened to dinner before dessert?” Sierra laughed.
    I watched the fire dance at the tips of the candles… What should I wish for? My life’s already perfect… I decided to just wish for a great wedding. I blew out the 18 candles and got the first piece of cake. How could it get any better than this?
    “Sista! Open my and mommy’s pwesent first!” Lily told me.
    “Okay, Lily.” I grabbed the poorly-wrapped present and tore the shiny, bright blue wrapping paper off. “Knee-high converse!” I squealed.
    “I pickededed it out,” Lily smiled.
    “Cool!” I slipped of my old tennis hoes and put on my new awesome black converse. It took a while to tie, but it was done eventually. “There awesome! Thanks!”
    “And, from the rest us,” Aunt Ana said, handing a box shaped gift with the same wrapping paper, only a different colour. I opened it, revealing a black and silver laptop bag. Inside, there was a laptop that matched the bag. I grinned. “Hehehe, thanks.” I took a bite of my cake. “And thanks for the delicious cake.”
    “Thanks for the compliment, I took cooking classes in college… speaking of college, where are you going for college?”
    “Umm… I don’t think I’m going to college… I wanna be a writer… You know, poet, author, maybe sonnet.”
    “Yeah, mom. She has the best writing I’ve ever read! And you know how I am about reading, her writing, I’ll read.”
    “Really? Wow! That’s pretty dang good, girl. Do you have an editor or publisher?”
    “Not really…”
    “Well, you’re in luck, then.”
    “Huh?”
    “My husband is both a publisher and editor. I can write down his work’s address and his e-mail address… does anyone have a writing utensil and paper?”
    “Yeah,” I spoke, and pulled a pencil out from behind my ear and slipped a blank piece of notebook paper from my back pocket.
    She looked at me weird, probably wondering Where’d those come from? but wrote down the two addresses anyway.
    “Wow, it’s already dark out… I better get going,” Sierra said.
    “Yeah, me too.” Hana followed.
    “We all better get home, bye.”
    “Bye,” my several cousins and aunts uncles muttered.
    I said good bye to mom, Hana, Annabel, Sierra, Molly and Phil. Once everyone was gone, My Justery asked, “I have one more present for you.”
    “You d-”
    “I want to.”
    “… Okay.”
    He smiled his irresistible smile and, once again, lead me to the field, this time, with two blankets. He laid one of the blankets I a comfy place in the grass. My Justery looked up to the sky.
    “Oh, that’s why we’re here, stargazing…”
    “Yep, your final gift…”
    I squeaked, releasing a smile. “Thank you…”
    “You’re very welcome, birthday girl.” My Justery kissed my forehead with his oh-so-soft lips…
    So, we laid down on the blanket and as I cuddled close to him, My Justery placed the blanket which wasn’t under us on top of us. After a while of looking at the shining dots in the sky, I fell asleep in My Justery’s arms…