The Chime of Bluebells

1

It happened on a Friday night. I barely remember sitting in front of the mirror, doing my makeup and tying my hair in a high ponytail. Inspecting the reflection of a woman just at the beginning of her life, I smiled at her, happier than ever as I swung a handbag over my shoulder and strolled down the stairs.

"I'm leaving now!"

"Alright, honey," Mom's voice broke in from the living room and she popped her head out. "You sure you don't want a ride?"

"Yes, I'll soon have my licence. Until then, I can manage the bus."

I left Redpine Lane and headed straight to the bus station of the small town Greenwood Lake. The night was still young and the colourful sunset slowly descended behind the treetops of Weria Park as I hopped onto the bus, giving the driver a quick smile and took a seat further back. Leaning back against the greying seat, Arcade blasted through my headphones, and my eyelids started to droop. The ride wouldn't last more than an hour, but that was time enough to let my tired brain a quick reload before date night. When the bus finally stopped at the final destination, I took my belongings and stepped off to walk the short distance of Aleensburg, the second largest city in the state, to Malachi's cosy apartment.

It was beginning of spring and some trees lining the roads had already begun blossoming along with purple and yellow crocuses popping up underneath. This time of year was the most prospering for the mind, with promise of brighter times and a colourful transformation from the gloomy winter. Birds tweeting during the mornings was a welcoming sound, if I wasn't sleeping in, then they were nothing but a pain in the ass.

I turned right down Xelver alley and opened the iron gates toward the courtyard of the apartment complex. My stomach was twisting and turning as I ascended the stairs and came to Malachi Knox's door. It had been almost a month since we last saw each other due to our busy schedules. I was in the second semester of my bachelor program in marine biology and Malachi was a full time employee at the Italian restaurant, Famiglia, downtown. He also did some stray jobs for the organisation Aeroline in the warehouse district at the Harbor, loading and unloading the cargos of their shipment. That, in combination with living in different cities an hour away by bus, caused an unwanted distance in our relationship. But so far, I thought we'd handled it quite well. Some nights we missed each other badly, but when occupying my thoughts with schoolwork it was surprisingly quite easy to manage.

I didn't have to knock, I had my very own key he had provided me with a couple months ago, telling me I could come whenever I wanted. A week later, when we coincidently had our lectures cancelled, I took the high-speed train from the capital to Aleensburg to surprise him. He hadn't been home upon my arrival, unsurprisingly, so I'd gone to the store and bought the ingredients to cook his favourite meal in time for the end of his work shift. When he'd opened the door to find a pair of sneakers, noticeably smaller in size, he'd frozen at the threshold—cautiously crouching a little as his eyes squinted down the hallway. Then, I'd decided to jump out with a "surprise!" and he'd stared at me a few seconds longer, registering my presence, before exhaling with a leer tugging at the corner of his mouth and a small shake of his head.

"You're unbelievable."

"I know," I'd rolled my eyes, but then jumped straight into his embrace.

Now, the key slid into the hole and I turned, pushing my weight slightly on the unbudging door before pulling it.

"Hello?"

"Hi, beautiful," a raspy voice was heard from the kitchen. It smelled lovely, a heavy scent of garlic, parsley and his...

"Have you made your homemade tomato sauce?"

"Can't surprise you anymore, huh?"

I shook my head and hung my jacket on the hook to stroll into the kitchen. "Not since that first time you cooked pasta with that heavenly sauce of yours. I guess you could surprise me, if my olfactory nerves somehow got damaged."