Lost & Found

The tale of a bewildered girl

Emma was frozen, completely statuesque on the steps of the old church. Her eyes stared into his as he stared back, but she couldn't move, she couldn't speak.

"Your jacket. You forgot it," Aiden said, holding the peacoat out to her. His voice was much, much deeper than she remembered. And she could barely contain the way it affected her.

"Are you okay?" Aiden asked as his brow furrowed.

"Uh... um. Thanks," she said, grabbing the jacket from him, only breaking her eyes away from his to replace it on her body. As she did, Aiden pulled out a cigarette and lit it.

"Terrible habit," she found herself speaking before thinking. Aiden scoffed with a slight laugh.

"Well, there are worse things," he said, looking out across the street as he puffed on the cigarette.

"I'm sorry. I-I... sometimes I don't have a filter," she said, trying to make up for her snap judgement.

"I remember," he nodded, before taking another drag.

His words cut through her, slicing away at her, making her feel like she couldn't breathe. 'I remember'. A part of her thought she was dreaming. Another part of her imagined the man standing in front of her wasn't the same boy she grew up with, the boy she loved. But his words made everything feel so real again, so present, so conscious. He remembered.

Emma caught it when he looked over at her out of the corner of his eyes, because she was doing the same. She quickly looked away, feeling like an adolescent with the way she was averting her entire self away from him.

"I never thought I'd see you again, Emmy," he breathed through the night air, cutting through some of the tension.

"I never thought I'd be back," she admitted quietly. He nodded, drawing in a ragged breath.

"Why are you back?" He asked a moment later.

There was a hesitation in his question and Emma knew he already knew the answer to it. He was in a therapy group for widows and widowers. What more was there to say?

"I-I..." She stammered.

"It's okay. I... it was rhetorical. Should have stayed in my head," he said, brushing it off as he threw down his cigarette at his feet and stomped it out. Emma didn't speak.

"It was good to see you, Emmy," Aiden said as he began to descend the steps outside the church.

"Aiden!" She found herself shouting. He turned to look back at her with his sad eyes.

"Something bad happened to you, didn't it?" She asked with worry-filled eyes.

"Yeah. Yeah, it did," he nodded, staring at her for a few moments before turning to continue down the steps.

A few moments later, he disappeared behind the church where the parking lot resided. Emma took a deep, shaky breath in, trying to calm her nerves, just as Piper pulled up to the curb.

...

"How are you feeling about your sessions?" Emma's mother asked as they sat eating their dinner a few nights later.

"Hmm?" She hummed, pulling her brain back into the conversation. She found herself zoning out more and more, usually thinking about Aiden. Her mind wouldn't let her forget their run-in.

"I asked how your therapy sessions are going," her mother asked again.

"Oh. Uh. Mostly, they're pretty depressing," she said with a shrug, taking a sip of her wine.