a cottage secret

remember her

That day, they waited for the sun to set on the edge of the lake. It was a weak sun due to the many clouds that covered it, but to look at its reflection was still a blessing. Everything turned slowly into purple and orange and the lake shined like magic.

After they finished eating all the food they had, they went back into the boat to go back to the spot Barbara had left them. The wind, however, was strong. It wasn't an easy ride and the boat kept trying to turn.

"What do you think about jumping in the lake and swimming?", Florence asked.

They hadn't spoken anything until the last declarations of love. They had spent their time making out on the grass. Their heads were full of leaves and little branches and they looked like mystical beings in the moonlight.

Betty agreed. They left their shoes on the boat and jumped on the lake with their clothes on. They started to joke around with each other, throwing water on each other and trying to catch each other. Some fishes swam close to them. They dived in to grab the reflection of the moon and danced underwater. With their faces pulled close, they shared a kiss.

They went above water and heard someone shout at them. Suddenly, they realized the water was extremely cold and they shivered together. They were scared it was a man, telling them to get out or stop loving each other because their love bothered him. They weren't sure what to do. They tried to get on the boat again but they failed miserably.

That voice kept calling them. However, they weren't scared anymore. Nothing had happened while they were in the water, so they assumed they were safe. There was nothing to hurt them.

"Hey", Florence said, expecting for Betty to look at her and pay attention to the next words she was going to say. "I know we're both sad that I'm leaving. But let's use these two weeks we have without melancholy. I just want to spend time with you like it's still the first week of summer. I don't want to think about how sad I am or how sad you are, because we can't do anything about it. So let's just not."

Betty wanted not to be melancholic, but she couldn't do the same as Florence and simply forget about it. Her anxiety killed her from the inside. But she also knew she had to try, otherwise she'd just miss more good days with the girl she loved. So she nodded, even though she felt like crying every time the inevitable good bye was talked about.

"Girls!" The voice kept calling them. "Let's go home, it's too windy!" It was Barbara standing on the other side of the lake, desperate for them to get to the other side safely. As soon as they realized it was her, they started to swim in her direction, pulling the boat with them. The wind was too hard for only one of them to do the hard work, so both of the girls pulled it from different sides while swimming with their stomachs to the sky.

With their heads underwater, they could listen to each other's movements very clearly. They could hear each other breathe and look at the sky full of stars at the same time. There, they were one and the same. Their hearts beat as one.

When they arrived at the edge of the lake, Florence's grandmother helped them get up and gave them both some towels. She had taken some from home because she had assumed they'd swim in the lake. The girls thanked her and asked how her day was, even though they couldn't pay attention to her words from the amount of cold they were feeling. They sat on the backseat and held each other close, pretending to listen to Barbara, to keep each other warm.

Betty's hands were shaking and Florence put them between her legs to warm them. The redheaded girl was surprised by it but accepted the gesture and laid her head on her girlfriend's shoulder.

In her head, there were only thoughts about that beautiful girl sitting by her side. Her green eyes, her black hair and her pink lips. Her fragile skin, her wild determination.

Betty smiled. She wanted that wild determination for herself, to be able to let go of her own melancholy and anxiety so they would enjoy the last fortnight together. She wanted Florence to remember her in the most glorious way possible. She wanted her girlfriend to have beautiful and happy memories about them together, and she couldn't smudge that with tears.

She kept smiling because she knew she was capable of that. And she also smiled because she was, indeed, happy. Even though sadness tried to destroy her memories, they were too indestructible for it to have a decent effect on them. She was happy for she was in love.