I Don't Want the World to See Me

Tom yawned as he made his way through the boxes in the living room. His life had completely changed since he had decided to move permanently to his family’s vacation house in a sunny city with pure air and nice people. He was born and raised in London but too many things had happened and London meant nothing more than sad memories to him, at the moment. He needed to start fresh, desperately, so when his mother suggested that he moved, he couldn’t even argue with her.

He just moved without a second thought and he had never felt so free in his life. He could get up at the time he wanted and do whatever he wanted without any restraints. He could get up and go for a jog or just for grocery shopping, he could adopt a dog if he wanted or even plant a tree or go to the beach at 6am. He smiled at these thoughts, he had missed his freedom and he had earned enough in the last couple of years to give himself the luxury of not looking for a job. He had dedicated himself so much to his Acting career that, aside from completely ruining his social life and skills, he ended up ignoring other things he loved like painting or music.

As he sat in his kitchen facing the sun and the calm street of his neighborhood, he thought about all the things he loved doing and he smiled, knowing exactly what he missed the most: painting. With that thought in mind, he quickly went upstairs to get himself dressed and then head for the local stores to buy the materials he needed.

When he returned, he stopped on his tracks before entering the house. There was a very soft piano melody filling the air and he turned around towards the house from where it was coming and he couldn’t help but to smile with nostalgia. He remembered exactly the family that lived there: the Jenkin’s. He got to see them every year when he went there with his family and, sadly, he also got to accompany the tragedies that fell upon them and ended up leaving Clara, their only child, on her own with no one but her grandmother to support her.

Tom sighed at the thought of Clara. She was a sweetheart, very kind and gentle, but always too shy to let him be close to her, which he felt as a pity because he would have loved to talk to her more if she had allowed it. He was 5 years older than her and he had not seen her for years. His career had stopped him from going over for about 3 / 4 years and he knew that if he looked different, Clara would be different as well. He started doing some math in his head and concluded that, if she was following everything correctly, she would have finished college by now.

He nodded his head at the thought and headed inside. The melody continued and he did not dare break its perfection so he kept silent. He quickly set up everything he needed on the garden and allowed himself to start to paint whatever came to his mind.

After a couple of hours, the music stopped and Tom heard a voice. A female voice, a very soft voice and his heart filled as he melted into a smile and quietly stood up to peek at Clara’s door. His jaw dropped when he recognized her. She had grown to be even more beautiful than she was and the sparkle in her eyes was still there every time she smiled. Her hair was darker and Tom liked it, it only made her light hazel eyes pop out. From the distance he could only perceive that indeed, Clara, was no longer the little girl he knew, she was a woman now.

“I’ll pick you up tomorrow after school, cheery pie!” She said waving at the young girl that was leaving her house. The girl giggled and waved back, saying goodbye to ‘Miss Jenkins’.

Tom’s smiled grew again. She was a woman but the Clara he knew was still there. He easily realized that she was probably a music tutor since music had always been her passion. He dwelled in the memories of her parents being utterly proud of their little pianist, so much so, that she was always asked to play for the Hiddleston’s when they were around.

‘But dad…’ Clara frowned as her father smiled and placed his hand on her shoulder.

‘Don’t be so shy sweetheart. You’ve know the Hiddleston’s your whole life. Play for them, my dear.’

Tom watched Clara blush madly but attend to her father’s request. Everyone sat chatting in the living room but the minute, she started playing Vivaldi, everyone fell silent and listened. Her parents were beaming with pride and Tom was astonished.

Clara was completely focused on it, smiling. Vivaldi always made her smile and Tom felt his heart fill up, something he had never felt before. He was young and still immature, he had no idea of what love was or what felt like but Clara… Clara was special. He felt very attracted to her and now that she was playing piano for them, he could really see how special she was. Her soul was written all over that song and it made him grin from ear to ear. '

He chuckled at his teenage memory and watched her as she closed the door and headed back inside her house.

Clara stretched her arms over her head as she headed towards her grandmother’s room to make sure that she was alright. The older woman was sleeping her nap peacefully and so Clara headed to her bedroom to listen to Mozart for a bit before she had to head downstairs and do her chores.

Even though she was 26 years old, she had inherited her parent’s house when they died in a car crash 10 years ago. She still remembered that day and the twist her life suffered.

‘Miss Clara Jane Jenkins?’

‘Yes?’ Clara replied as she looked over the two officers at her door.

‘Are you alone?” One of them asked and she nodded her head. Both of them looked at her with pity and she immediately had a bad feeling. Her parents had left for a trip to celebrate their 15 years of marriage and when the officers told her that they had been in a terrible car accident, she did not believe them.

They spared her the horrific details and as the girl burst into tears, they asked who to call and she gave him the Hiddleston’s number. The whole family was quick to come but Tom’s reaction was the most surprising to Clara.

‘What are you doing?” She asked as she sobbed and he placed a blanket around her.

‘I’m taking care of you as you would take care of me.’ He said looking into her eyes.

With that he sent his family to their house and stayed with her during the whole night. He made dinner for her, watched movies with her and ended up staying for the whole week until Nana Jenkins arrived.’

Clara smiled at the memory that despite painful, Tom was able to lighten up. She remembered exactly how her heart was beating when she looked into his eyes that night and she realized that Tom really was and would always be special.

Her grandmother, Nana Jenkins, moved in with her to take care of her but, as the years passed, her health started to decline and Clara stepped up to the responsibilities. Aside from playing in a few bars and events, Clara was also a piano tutor. She loved her job and, despite wanting to be a professional pianist and composer, Clara was glad that she could at least keep working with the piano every day.

As she went to the living room to clean it up, she opened the curtains and caught a glance of the house in front of hers: The Hiddleston’s vacation house. She smiled warmly. The Hiddleston’s were like family to her and there was one member that she missed dearly: Tom. Despite being a very shy teenager, Clara always liked Tom, more than just a friend. He was fun, intelligent and charming but she hadn’t seen him for years because of his Acting career. She felt so proud of him, though, at least one of them had their dream come true and she always wished the best for Tom.

Suddenly her eyes widened when she saw a tall figure with light brown short hair get out of the door and walk into the car that was parked outside. She froze on her spot as she watched him closely. The physique was the same: tall and lean but he was missing the ‘Simba’ curls that she would recognize anywhere.

She felt her heart speed up a bit but then she sighed and shook her head. Why would Tom be there without his family? He wouldn’t and Clara knew it so it was impossible that, that was him. She concluded that the man must be a friend of the family or a cousin and she resumed to her chores, without even considering for a moment that the Tom she knew, could return completely different from what she was used to.