Once upon a time, there was a little girl named Julie who was always curious about everything. She would always think about all that surrounded her and ask herself why or how did it happen. Why would flowers smell, how would clouds form, why was sand the color it was, how could the sea be heard when you put a shell next to your ear, and many other curious questions.But one day, she went walking down the park, which was as green as could be, had an enormous playground and a huge space to relax, birds always sang, and people were nice and friendly; there she was, walking across the swings and passing by some benches, where she would always find couples, hugging, others walking and holding hands, or one of them giving a tiny peck to the other one, having a great time. Julie could see all of them were having a great time together, but whenever she saw them, another thought would come to her mind, but this time, a different one, one that by its sight, meant more than the rest of the doubts she have ever had, "what's love?"...
A few days later, Julie dared to ask her mom what it was, but she only answered "You'll be learning little by little as you grow up", then she caressed her hair gently and left. She had never had a doubt without an answer, for what she thought that this could've been a special one, and she would have to discover it herself. After a while, she remembered she had a friend named Jack whom she would always get along and had a great time with, which made her wonder if that had something to do with her question in some way.
Days passed, and so the years; Julie was now almost a teenager and had left all of her good memories in the past, like moving to a different house, changing of school, friends, and life in order to live her future, and still, with the same old doubt that roamed around her mind since she was a little girl. Even though ambiance would be different at her new school, people seemed to be pretty much the same she has always been with, talking about personality. Julie would rather be by herself, which she really didn't care of, and decided to focus on what she wanted to know.
One windy day outside at recess, she sat on the grass by a tree, reading her notes, when a sheet of paper hit her face due to the wind. She took it off with one hand, when she heard an "I'm sorry", which by the way it sounded, it surely came from a guy. "It's ok" she said with a lightly smile looking at him, when she noticed that it was Jack, her very best company from childhood.
Both looked at each other for a moment, not believing what they were seeing. "Julie?" he said, "it's me, Jack!"; she then got up and hugged him, like if it had been a self-impulse. He hugged her back, both seemed very happy. "I can't believe it's you!" said Julie, "nor I can" he said. After that, they sat next to each other the whole recess, talking about what had been of their lives and everything that would come to their lives; time just wasn't enough. A few days after, Julie waited for Jack outside as she used to from now on, but he didn't appear so she waited and did so for the next days. Sometimes he would come, sometimes not, saying he was busy with stuff. But later on she noticed she wasn't the only one Jack would hang out with like it all was before, which would leave her with a sense of deppresion and a little bit of jealousy, feelings she found strange to feel since it had never happened. She would sometimes see him with other girls, maybe from his classroom, having a great time with them just as he used to have with her.
With the time, she realized maybe he didn't need her anymore. And that's why she decided to change of school before even getting to half of middle school there, until loosing complete contact with him.
A couple of years more passed, Julie was now in high school and a complete teenager. The school she changed to was close to a beach, and the park she used to go to was no longer of her existence, and by that she decided to go there, just like in the old times.
Once there, she noticed a lot of things had changed, the playground where she found other kids playing didn't look as new and conserved as it was, rather old and dusty; some of the benches where some oldies sat were rusty and paint would keep falling off, nothing was as green as it used to, but some grass and trees remained or at least still looked alive. And yes, one thing for sure, that couldn't be missed, were the couples walking along and spending time together, which seemed to be the only thing that wouldn't die there.
She looked at all that ambiance with dissapointment, to see how much it all had changed since she wasn't there, knowing what was going on. Sad and deppressed, she went back home, but not before heading to the beach and spending some time there for a while. Standing on one of the sides of the pier, looking at the sunset and listening to the birds that were there by that hour and how the sea seemed to increase over the sand. She was quiet, thinking about all the things that have been going on and the way she felt she was changing, specifically on that day at middle school when she found Jack and how her perspective about him seemed to change.
Julie never thought feeling so confused and for a strange reason, lonely in her life, as she tried letting it go with each sigh she let out until she felt two last steps behind her. "Um...hi, Julie" the guy who was behind her said, whose voice seemed pretty much familiar, but much deeper. Julie stood there for a little moment, then slowly turned around, and saw the pretty well-done hair which used to be combed like an egg head, those eyes that remained the same sparkle she used to see when she was little, a tall, fit body that used to look skinny and weak, and that face which still even grown-up, could be recognizable no matter what, and much harder for her to forget since he was someone in her life. "Jack...?" she said, he nodded "Yes...I've been looking after you for the past four years, I never knew about you anymore since the last time you changed of school". She looked down a little and said "I thought maybe you didn't care about me anymore...", "And why woudln't I?", "Because...well, I felt as if you had left me apart for, you know, the rest, i mean..", "Julie... are you trying to tell me that...you were jealous?", she sighed and said "Yes...", "But, they were just friends, and nothing else, besides...nothing could replace what I feel for someone else that I know from long ago, and which reason that I looked for her for so much is that I'm here for", Julie looked at him then and said "What do you mean?", "I think you'll know what I mean", he then cupped her chin and brought her face close to his slowly, kissing her softly.
"I love you, Julie" he said in a gently way, " I always did, but never realized how much until now".
Both looked at each other for a while, she couldn't believe it, and at the same time noticed he had gone through the same question she had always lived by, but that in that moment, she finally understood. "I love you too Jack" she said, as both hugged and watched the sunset together.
"Everything may change, but love is the only thing that remains the same and lasts forever..."
Great job!
ResponderEliminar