E&E- Timeless love

Far away, so close

A week later

Elena and her brother Jeremy agreed to meet every Thursday for lunch, dinner or a drink. After their parent's death and Elena busy with her studies, she didn't want them to lose touch as she had seen it with her father and his brother maybe exchanging one phone call, usually around Christmas.
Jeremy continued living in Mystic Falls. After his graduation, he wanted to take time off. Do nothing, except draw. He was a great comics buff.

"How is your stuff going?"- Elena asked as they waited for the food.

"I found a publisher-well, actually Jenna found him"- Jeremy replied.

"That's great news. When did that happen? She didn't tell me anything- and I spoke to her last night."- Elena was happy.

"I wanted to tell you myself."- Jeremy said.

"Ok- I am so happy for you"-

"And you, did you find out more about our mystery tenant from the future?"-

"Yeah- he is the writer Joel Goran-but his real name is Elijah. But, ahm... it all stopped. I didn't get any more letters. I also didn't write back."

"Maybe it was just one of those crazy things of Mystic Falls."- Jeremy said.

"I got something about mom and dad though- and the Secret society."- Elena now said.

"I am not interested"- Jeremy replied to it.

"Don't you want to know what really happened?"

Jeremy didn't want to hurt his sister but he could not obsess with the death of his parents. It would have prolonged the pain of the loss.

"They're gone. Even if you find out that some strange something killed them- we won't get them back. will we?!"-Jeremy reasoned.

Elena sighed a little nodding in acknowledgement.

They changed the subject and the lunch went on in a much lighter mood.

Her mind had one other preoccupation. It was Elijah. She didn't want to think about him. And the books she ordered, she left on her desk. Not opening them.
As she said goodbye to Jeremy, she got into her car. She was ready to drive home but she turned left instead of right and was now heading to the Lake house.

It was stronger than her will to forget about it. About this man, who she didn't know, but who she felt had a connection. Unexplainable. Why does everything have to have an explanation, she thought. And yet - it was exactly the need for explanation that led her to the house again. As she arrived, the first thing was to check the mail box. She walked to it with feelings of anticipation rising making her stomach flip. And she stood in front of it scared to open it. Her heart skipping up a beat as she reached for the flap. She opened it and....

Nearly at the same time in 2013, Elijah looked at the finished book. He feverishly worked on it and could not stop till he finished it.

"Done."- he said faintly and then looked at the creased paper of Elena's last note he had found in the basket bin a week earlier.

"Dear Elijah,

I don't know if you will get this. Anyway, I am writing - don't really know why. My friend thinks that all this is a mad thing anyway. And so... well, -"

Yes, it was a mad thing. He knew that. There have been way too many mad things in his existence, and why discard this one? This one had an unusual pull. But how can he explain to her that he was not there in 2011, that his syblings had to dagger him to sleep, that he was not a fellow human, that he in most part was a monster plagued by dark magic set upin him.

His mind floated again to the woman in New Orleans he saw at the Mardi Gras. She was so full of life, that one brief moment remided him how beautiful it was to be human. Elena's letters and her forwardness had the same energy.

He now took a paper out.

"Dear Elena,

thank you so much for your letter. As you probably know, well, I presume you found out that I took time off because a family matter, there is, unfortunately, no way I could set up a meeting with you, although this is something I would very much want. There is no easy way to say this, and I would perfectly understand if you never"

He now scrambled that- shouting out- "I can't - I can't-"

He stood up now taking the paper ripping it in pieces. Then it dawned on him that her crumpled up paper was there and so she would probably find this if he threw it in the bin. He was determined to get rid of it so he threw it in the fire and burnt it.

He sighed. He then walked over to the desk and took another piece of paper and wrote out-

"Dear Elena, thank you so very much for everything. Elijah"

He folded it once. Then he looked around and saw flowers he had brought from the town, having bought them from girls who were selling it from a stool in front of a shop for a good cause. He took out a stalk and wrapped it in the note. That would do. His heart was heavy, but he made a decision. He now walked out of the house to the mail box.

And now- if you readers can picture the moment- back to where I left Elena -
at the exact same time as she reached out to open the flap on the mail box, Elijah did the exact same thing- and it was as if a forcefield opened its curtains- Elena could see Elijah and Elijah could see Elena.