Missing Piece

Chapter Twenty-Six

Melanie

Life can be quite unpredictable.

That's what I've learned in my twenty-three years of existence on this planet Earth.

Things always don't work out the way you want them to be. No matter how strategically you plan out your whole life, it doesn't always follow the route you designed. In life's cruel game, only those survive who could adapt to the change and embrace it with open arms.

I've always been a person acceptable to changes. That's why it didn't take long for me to accept my new life as Benji's wife.

I never planned to marry Benji. In fact, I had planned to stay as far away as possible from him.

And when had I planned that? In my last year of high school. What led me to make that decision? Now, that's a story for another time.

There are some firsts in your life that you'll always remember, whose memories will always linger in your mind. Those firsts hold a very special place in your heart.

For an instance, your first crush. The butterflies you felt by just looking at them. Those shy sneaky glances that you stole of your crush. Or the way your heart would melt at the same time you'd feel like it's going to burst out of your chest, if they ever returned your hello. That kinda feeling you felt for the first time is hard to forget.

Or the first time you ever kissed someone. The first time falling in love. This list is endless.

You have some fond memories of those moments that are forever imprinted on your very soul. And when you think back to those moments there's always a nostalgic smile present on your face.

Just like these firsts, I still remember about my first crush. It had happened almost a decade ago, but I can recall every single detail from that day very vividly. Afterall, you don't really forget the day, where you thought you had found the other half of your soul.

It was just the end of summer. And Roger had been called up for some urgent work that day and he had brought me to Wyatt mansion with him. I might have been twelve. Just about to enter my teen years.

There was a birthday party for Mr. Lawrence Wyatt's eldest son- Chris. Roger was needed to bring some last-minute supplies and he had left me in the kitchen. And being the curious person that I am I had wandered through the big mansion and found myself in the gardens.

The whole garden was lit up by various colored lights. There were golden and silver balloons and the elegant flowers everywhere. The extravagant decorations were clearly screaming that the Wyatts had paid a hefty sum to the event planner.

The whole surrounding looked magical.

The guests only had started to arrive, so, there weren't too many people there.

In all that mystical setting what had caught my attention was a boy. He looked like he was in his early teens, and he was glaring at everyone and everything. He was standing alone at the far back. The light blue shirt was hanging loosely over his scrawny frame.

As curiosity got best of me, I found myself taking small steps towards him. It felt like there was this invisible thread that was drawing me towards him. As I neared him, I saw his face clearly. And my younger self was a goner for this boy.

The lights were casting an incandescent glow on his face making him look like an angel. His raven hair was neatly swept to one side. There were two tiny pimples on his forehead. With his arms crossed over his chest, he was leaning against the tree. His lips were turned down, a frown marring his face. That frown almost reminded me of my grumpy neighbor, Mr. Chelmsford. But this boy was adorable, Mr. Chelmsford was the very definition of scary.