to the ends of the earth

eight

In the early afternoon, Nelson and I strolled into the first-class lounge. The sun streamed through the windows of the room, highlighting the wooden interior.

The lounge was wide, felt open and inviting. There were tables to sit at, two sofas in the back of the room and two big mahogany bookcases, forming a path to disappear in.

There were very few people, which made it quite peaceful. As we sat down on one of the sofas in the back corner, I noticed someone scanning through the collection of books.

I only needed a glimpse of her to see it was Julie.

Nelson, sitting next to me, nudged me playfully. "A reader, huh? Maybe you should find some poems about love, try to woo her with some romantic words."

I rolled my eyes and slapped his arm. "Stop it, you!"

He let out a laugh, then watched along as my eyes followed her every movement; from the way her fingers traced the spine of every book, to the determination in her eyes to find something.

Nelson then nudged me again. "Why don't you go talk to her? This is a perfect moment."

I hesitated, torn between the desire to approach her and the fear of intruding her private moment. "I don't want to interrupt...."

Nelson let out a chuckle, then placed a hand on my shoulder and looked at me with reassuring eyes. "Trust me, she'll appreciate the company."

With Nelson's encouragement, I finally decided to follow his advice. She was skimming through a book as I approached her. "Find anything interesting?"

She looked up at me in surprise at first, but that quickly changed into a warm smile. She held up the book, shaking her head with some sort of disbelief. "This is the first time in two years I've held a book in my hands. I missed it so much."

My brows were furrowed. "Did Colin really just forbid you from reading any books?"

She nodded, her eyes avoiding mine as she lowered her voice, "The last time he found me reading a book after he'd burned everything else, he..." She looked up at me again, her jaw tightening. "He hurt me."

Julie gently closed the book, her fingers lingering on the cover. I could sense how badly she wanted to just go back to enjoying what she loved most, yet there was this fear eating at her; that fear being Colin.

"I'm so sorry you had to go through that," I whispered, my gaze meeting hers. "Over something as harmless as reading a book... I can't believe he's doing this to you."

She managed a small, saddened smile, then placed the book back on the shelve, before turning to me. I was finally able to take her in again. She wore a crème coloured dress today, covered by a pattern of burgundy coloured flowers with sleeves that fell just over her elbows. She wore golden studs in her ears and her brown locks were pinned up, highlighting the beauty of her face.

She looked absolutely captivating.

Julie then tensed all of a sudden, her eyes fearful. I could feel a cold chill surrounding us, and I knew exactly who she was looking at. "Well, well, what do we have here?"

I quickly turned around, taking a step closer to Julie to, in a way, shield her from her own fiancée. He stood there in his grey suit, a stern look plastered over his face as he looked us over.

"Julie, my darling. I've been looking everywhere for you," he spoke, his eyes reflected with fury as his tone became more controlling. "You know you can't just wander around like this. I've told you that."

"She was just helping me find some interesting books," I quickly said, hoping it would stop him from getting angry. "I'm sorry if I caused any misunderstanding."