Far and Away

Final bell rang, and I made my way slowly out of the building. The dream from earlier was still replaying over and over in my mind’s eye. I couldn’t figure out what brought on such a dream. Maybe it was because, somehow, I knew we were going to be brought back together very soon. Maybe it was because I had been thinking about him a lot lately. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but I knew I knew it deep in the back of my mind.

I sighed, and got into my car, starting the engine. I pulled out of the lot, and headed home, exhausted from worrying so much. I wondered briefly if my parents would be home, and if I really wanted to talk to them yet. I shook my head, not really caring what happened anymore.

Pulling into our driveway, I turned off my vehicle and headed inside. My parents were indeed home, but I ignored them, heading up the stairs instead. I flopped on my bed, not wanting to move.

”Stella. Don’t be like this. You can’t change the fact that you’re moving, so you might as well get over it.”

That was Dalton. He was always so straightforward with me, never sugarcoating anything. I sighed.

“I know. But I don’t want to move away from this town. It holds so many memories, old and new, and I don’t want to leave them behind.”

“I’m aware. But you know what they say, those memories will just become stronger.”

I shrugged.

“That doesn’t mean I want to move silly face,” I said, poking him in the chest. He didn’t respond, so I took this time to examine our surroundings. We were in a forest, but it wasn’t a dark, scary forest. Sunlight was streaming through the canopy of trees, and the air was cool and dry. We were sitting in a small field of grass, wildflowers growing here and there throughout the entire field. I laid back, my hands behind my head. I felt Dalton lay next to me.

“Stella. I miss you so much. Did you know that? It’s been 6 years, and I’ve been thinking a lot about you lately. I could just feel that change was coming. I knew it had something to do with you,” he said quietly, not wanting to disturb the peace.

“I’ve missed you too, Tinny,” I replied, reverting back to my childhood nickname for him. He grimaced. “I’ve been thinking about you lately too. I don’t know why though.”

He sighed.

"I’m not sure either, but I’m not complaining.”

“I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I broke down into tears yesterday because all these memories of us came flooding back to me. It was a bittersweet moment.”

He moved to his side so he could look at me. I stayed on my back. I turned my head to look at him, and he was surprisingly close. He moved closer, and our lips met.

I gasped and sat up. What was that about? I felt my lips, sure I could still feel where he kissed me. I crossed my legs, thinking about my dream. I’d never had a dream so real, so detailed before. I was puzzled. Yawning, I stood up and stretched, various joints in my body popping. I took a deep breath and headed downstairs. My parents were still sitting at the kitchen table, many papers spread out all over.

“Hello sweetheart,” my mom said. I grunted, still tired from my nap.

“Answer your mother with words when she speaks to you dear,” my father said. I merely nodded my head, not wanting to open my mouth. I still hadn’t fully forgiven him for his actions the other night. I sat down at the table with them. I looked over some of the paperwork and I was overwhelmed.

I glanced at my parents. I had a question that I needed answered.