Love & Serenity

Chapter 11

Lillian carefully walked down the rocky path towards the shore. She'd set out about half an hour ago and she could hear the waves crashing not so far away. She smiled as she quickened her pace, excited to get there. Just as she stepped out of the trees, she came to a stop and just froze there staring ahead at the beauty of nature.

It took her breath away and she inhaled deeply and let it out ever so slowly almost at the brink of tears at how beautiful and peaceful it was. The waves crashing onto the shore, the singing birds flying above, the sweet sound of the trees dancing in the wind made her heartache ever so sweetly. It brought a smile to her face and a twinkle in her eyes she only had whenever she wrote.

Lillian's gaze stayed fixated on the ocean as she gently walked down the rest of the rocky path towards the shore. It wasn't exactly the right choice but she was so lost in the serenity of it all she felt like she was being transported to a different realm. A few steps forward and she took a wrong step and cried out in pain as she buckled. She was down soon enough trying to get the pain off her ankle. Rolling up the hem of her jeans, she inspected the ankle and tried to see if anything was wrong with it. Of course, she came up with nothing because she didn't know what exactly she was looking for.

Sighing, she tried to get up resting all her weight on the good leg as she limped the rest of the way, in pain, towards the shore. She slumped down on the sand when she got near enough to the water and released her breath in relief. Removing her sneakers gently, she rolled up the hem of her jeans. Her ankle was starting to swell and she just leaned back and let herself relax. She wasn't about to let her ankle ruin this moment for her.

Lillian was soon on her back, eyes closed as she listened to the waves crash.

Jax walked towards his truck at the city market's parking lot and placed the shopping bags at the back of his truck then slammed the door shut. He headed straight for the payphone giving himself a pep talk and trying hard not to talk himself out of it.

He dialled his mum's phone and it took only a few rings before she answered.

"Hello."

"Hey, mum."

"Jax, I've been expecting your call one of these days." She said happily.

"Well, here it is." He smiled. "How are you?"

"I'm great now. How are you?"

"I'm doing alright. How's dad?"

"Your dad's doing fine. He's been keeping busy with the horses."

"Of course." He said, "So, catch me up."

His mum chuckled before she gave him the full rundown as she usually did. She went on and on about the new neighbouring ranch and how they're from the big city and have no idea what they're up for trying to run a ranch. He was all smiles when they ended the call and said their goodbyes till next year. Jax left the payphone relieved, happy and sad as he got into his truck and headed back.

Later, Jax emptied the bags and put all the items he'd gotten into the pantry. He stepped out to his patio outlooking the ocean. His place was nearer to the ocean, unlike other houses that were far up the rocky pathway. He'd gotten this place just because it was closer to the ocean than other places.

The night was coming quick and the sun was setting. Jax walked down the stairs towards the shore. This was very different from the life he had. It was peaceful, calming and his other life had been loud and filled with so much adrenaline. He never would have thought his life would've taken a complete one-eighty and here he was happier than he'd ever been doing something he'd never thought he'd do.

When he was very young, he used to watch his grandfather in his workshop and as he grew, he took interest in it. His grandfather had made him an apprentice and shown him the ropes of wood construction. Jax was always present when his grandfather got started on a new project, at home or away from home and when he wasn't at school or helping out his dad at the ranch or practising with his music band, he was always helping out his grandfather. On a few occasions, his grandfather had let him handle some of his smaller projects and Jax had loved it.

Then his grandfather died and he'd never touched another construction tool until he'd moved here. He'd drowned himself in his music and all the time he'd spent with his band or alone in his room with his guitar had paid off because a lot of the songs he'd written during that period became one of his greatest hits.

Jax breathed in the cool night air as his gaze roamed the expanse of the shore. He did a double-take when he saw some movements in the distance. Frowning, thinking he imagined it, he narrowed his eyes and knew he wasn't seeing things. He made his way in that direction.

Lillian pushed herself up from a little confused as to where she was from the nap she'd taken. She was starting to come around as she took note of where she was and what time it was. Seeing the sun setting made her pause for a moment. She couldn't decide which was more breathtaking; the sun rising or the sun setting. They were both so surreal, she felt like she was in this world.

Realising it would take her half an hour to get back to her place and night would've fallen by then, she quickly reached for her sneakers and put them on only to wince as the pain radiated from her leg. She sighed when she recollected what had happened and how she'd gotten the rather very swollen ankle.

Discarding the sneakers for her injured leg, she left her sock on and held the one sneaker as she tried to get up putting her weight in the good leg. She ended up falling back on the sand, out of breath. She tried again, a different approach this time but the pain in her leg was so bad, she couldn't even put it down for a nanosecond to get back up.

Trying the downward dog position and putting all her weight on the good leg, she moved her hands backwards until she was able to come up shakily on the good leg. Wincing when she accidentally rested on the bad leg.

"Are you alright?"

Lillian turned around so fast, scared, she forgot about her leg and ended back in the sand her face scrunched up in pain.

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