Peculiar ♡ Alma Peregrine

Chapter Twenty - A Not Very Happy Ending

Three Years Later

I slowly chip away tiny bits of the beautiful stone with a knife, carving here and there to make it the perfect shape. Other small bits I carved into smaller circles. I used my fire hands to slightly melt the metal - another part of the power being that hot things don't burn me. I stuck the tiny stones onto the metal band and dunked it into icy water to cool it off quicker. That was the moment that Alma came into my room, telling me it was time for us to go. 

I set the ring in a small box, along with the long note with what I was going to say. Today was the day I planned on proposing to Alma, and I suggested going on a picnic to do it. I stood up from my desk and linked my arm with hers, walking out the door and downstairs. The children were waiting by the door, Emma and Olive each holding a basket. We all wore clothes that we could wear in warm weather and we all had swimming clothes, too so we could go to the beach after just like last time. It was (hopefully) going to be an absolutely amazing day.

We all left the house, breathing in the cool air as we walked. Alma and I hung back behind everyone, hands held together as if soaked in superglue. Our footsteps were synced - almost everything was synced. I wouldn't be surprised if my heart was beating at the same speed and pattern as hers. We listened to the children's quiet but excited talking, a few of them started running over to the spot when we were close enough to see it. I remembered when we first went there, smiling at the memories that were still fresh in my mind.

At the actual spot, by the time Alma and I caught up to the children and had the chance to sit down everything was already set up and a lot of them were already gone, playing in the large tree over near us. Emma kept on peeking over at me, she was the only person I had told my plans. I wasn't sure why, a lot of the time she sucked at keeping secrets... I was surprised she had been able to keep the secret for the three weeks she'd known about it - I'd planned this ages ago, I just wasn't confident enough to do it earlier and I wanted it to be special. 

The small velvet box felt like it was one hundred pounds heavier in my pocket now, I don't think I'd ever been so nervous - and I hadn't even gotten up to the point where I would show Alma the ring. My face felt a little warm, but I was able to keep it under control for a few minutes until I started panicking. What if she said no, and if she did, where would that leave us? It would make all the work I put into the ring for nothing. What if she made me leave the loop? Even if she didn't, I would probably end up being so embarrassed that I would leave anyway.

"Are you alright?" Alma asked, snapping me out of my panic. I felt a little pathetic, but it wasn't so bad that I couldn't control it and keep myself in check - I managed to calm myself and somehow convince myself that everything would go to plan. But there was nothing I could do to stop the thought that kept annoyingly creeping back into my head.

"Yup, I'm fine. Completely and utterly fine," I said. I reminded myself of those'cringey' characters from movies who are so obviously so not fine. I laughed at the thought, making Alma a little bit less worried. I picked up a small container of grapes and started munching on them. They were really good, so good that I almost didn't hear the screaming coming from over by the edge of the cliff. I threw the almost empty container to the side and shot up, seeing Fiona dangling over the edge of the steep cliff and everyone stood frozen, watching horrified.

I jumped right into action and raced over to her, after than Alma since she was wearing heels and I was wearing sneakers I got from outside the loop. I didn't get there in time, I was reaching for her hand when the thin layer of earth gave out from under her fingers. She fell, shrieking. It was the loudest sound I'd ever heard her make considering she didn't speak. I didn't think, I just jumped after her, diving so I could move faster. It only took a few seconds to reach her and wrap my arms around her waist, twisting around so I was under her. 

None of my logic was there, all I knew was what I needed to help her. I didn't remember that I could heal her or bring her back to life. I didn't remember that I could turn into a large, flying animal to catch her and save us both. All I knew was that I needed to save this wonderful child from being killed. I knew there wasn't enough time to turn into a bird and save Fiona, so I just held her closer to me, holding her head to my chest, and waited for the impact which came just a few seconds after. The last thing I saw before everything went bright was a beautiful blue bird flying next to my face - such a beautiful thing to see before I die. I wouldn't wish for anything else.