Loving Rain (Watty Awards 2011)

Chapter 6 - The Sweet Sixteen

Loving Rain - Ch. 6

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The dawn of my sixteenth birthday was a beautiful day. I woke to the sunshine streaming through my curtains and a gentle touch to my cheek. Alan was there sitting on my bed, his smile so big that you could see almost all of his teeth; and there were a lot of teeth in his bear-like mouth. I reached up and put my hand on top of his. Mmm. His warmth was so…refreshing.

               “Happy Birthday, Rain!” he said in a sing-song voice without losing one little bit of his gigantic smile.

               I inhaled his smell and closed my eyes. “I like mornings like this. Can you wake me up that sweetly more often?” I somewhat teased him.

               “If that’s what you want. Anything for my Rain, my future princess.”

               I sat up on that note. Now that I was sixteen, I only had two more years until my…wedding. To Alan. Did I even want to be married that soon? my mind wondered. But then I looked up at his bright, deep blue eyes and every doubt vanished.

               This day also meant that he had less than two years before he would change back. The day of his eighteenth birthday, which was always exactly two months before mine, the enchantress would come back to see the one who truly loved him. Me.  I would have to convince her Alan was the one who knew my heart, and I was the one who knew his. But looking up at him again and I knew one thing beyond a shadow of a doubt.

               Convincing her wouldn’t be a problem.

               “Get up and get dressed!” he told me. “It’s your sixteenth birthday, and I have a ton of surprises for you.” He swept out the door before I could inquire further, but not before I could laugh at how hyper and excited he was acting. It was almost like it was his birthday instead of mine. Which, I guess he had every right to throw my birthday celebrations out of proportion, because he would never let me do anything for his.

               The first thing I did after I got out of bed was decide which dress to wear. My birthday was in the beginning of fall, and it had started to get a little chilly in the castle. I definitely decided to go for a long sleeve dress. When I opened the door to my wardrobe, a little piece of paper floated silently to the floor. I picked it up and smiled as I read it.

Happy Birthday, Rain!

This is surprise number one. (Of five. Be prepared.)

I was trying to make this day all about the important times that we’ve spent together in the past two years. What day is more important than the day we met?

As you obviously know, you’ve…changed some. Physically. Not in a bad way! I’m just saying, uhm… You’re more of a woman now than you were at fourteen.

And that is why I decided to have your dressed altered. The beautiful green one that you were wearing when I first saw your beautiful face and knew you’d be the one who saved me.

I hope you like it.

With love,

Alan.

               I wiped away a few stray tears those words had brought to my eyes. This Alan, the one who wrote me this note and did this thoughtful thing for me, was the one that I had fallen for.

               Wait. Did I just admit that? I had fallen for him? Well…

               Yes, I guess I did. I was going to marry him, wasn’t I? I might as well embrace the fact that I loved him.