A prequel to Letters to Ellie.
DISCLAIMER:
You do not need to read Letters to Ellie to understand Through the Years. Both books can be stand-alones but can also be read one after the other. If you will be reading both, I recommend reading Letters to...
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ELLIE LOVED SUNNY DAYS MORE THAN SHE LOVED WATCHING ICARLY.
except for today. today was the only day she didn't appreciate the warmth the sun provided her with.
today was the day tristan was leaving.
ellie and her family, ana included, accompanied the parker's at the airport. ellie was holding onto tristan for majority of the time. she didn't want to let go of his hand, thinking that it would make him stay but she had to let go of his hand when she had to scratch her nose or wipe the sweat forming on her forehead.
it was a very humid day.
usually ellie would rejoice because of the heat, roll around the grass in their yard and just get sweaty, just not today. her other half was leaving, her best friend was leaving, her tristan was leaving. the moment she heard of the news, it was from her mom while they were eating spaghetti for dinner, she was overwhelmed. all so suddenly, as her mother uttered the words tristan, leaving, england, the spaghetti didn't seem appetizing anymore.
and, spaghetti was her favorite pasta.
she remembered her dropping her fork on the plate and gulping down her water. she remembered her mother telling her to stop drinking too quickly. she remembered how she, herself, struggled to breath because of too much water intake. she remembered her mother and father rushing to her side trying to get the water out of her system. she remembered her nose hurting after that.
but, that wasn't the point. tristan was leaving and she couldn't do anything about it.
she had asked why they made a sudden decision to move across the world. aunt claire, tristan's mom, explained to her that tristan's grandfather was ill and they had to be there for him while he was still you know, alive.
it would seem selfish of her to ask for them to stay after what aunt claire had just said but she wanted nothing more than her best friend to just stay.
was it too much to ask for?
in this case, yes.
the parker's were about to board their plane but tristan stayed put beside ana and ellie. of course, he was sad when he got the news of his grandfather being ill. he was even more saddened that his grandpa's sickness meant that he had to go. he wanted to stay with ana, with ellie, but where his family goes, he goes.
tristan still had his fingers intertwined with ellie's. neither of them had said a thing to each other throughout the trip to the airport, they just held each other's hands. it was something ana wouldn't understand, she hadn't been friends with tristan as much as ellie have been anyway.
"..please proceed to terminal five. again, please proceed to terminal five."
tristan looked down to his and ellie's intertwined hands. he thought that they would be together forever, just like what ellie thought. but in this world, there was no such thing as forever.
as the final goodbyes were said, tristan and ellie stood glued to the spot. ana even came to wish tristan a safe trip, hugged him, and said the usual 'i'll miss you' but still he wasn't ready to go.
ellie hadn't said a word, she thought that this was too much for her. but tristan wouldn't just leave without his best friend saying a word to him.
"ellie-bell.."
tristan grew desperate, he just wanted her to say something before he left. his mother came up to him with a pained expression on her face and told him that they had to go or else they would miss their flight. tristan thought if it was selfish of him to wish that they would miss it. all his life, he had all that he wanted handed to him on a silver plate, and he felt that it was time for him to sacrifice for other's needs.
"ellie.."
he called out again. he looked at her and saw a tear running down her face. she didn't want to cause a scene so she forced the tears that threatened to come out in but a traitorous tear fell down her face and that was all it took.
she let go of tristan's hand and hugged him tight, you couldn't blame her though, she had no assurance whatsoever if they would see each other again. she kept sobbing and whispering 'don't go' to tristan's ear as he rubbed her back in a comforting manner. he had to be strong for her, it was the only thing he could do for her now.
tristan pulled back from their hug and put his hands on ellie's shoulders. ellie busied herself by wiping her damp face with the back of her hands. tristan grabbed her hands and held them away from her face.
"just know that i'm very thankful that you saved me from that bully in kindergarten school."
a new wave of tears fell down her face as tristan said that. he hugged her again and rested his chin on her head. he was never going to forget the height difference, the little quirks he had grown to love about her, and just her in general.
"i.. ah.. i'll see you again, right?"
"of course."
after those last words being said, they both pulled away from the hug and waved at each other as tristan and his family finally went to their terminal. she smiled at tristan and looked to ana who was very much worried about her state at the moment. she hugged ana tight and said, "i'm okay."
although, it seemed more of like she was convincing herself instead of convincing ana.
on their journey back to her house, she thought. even if her best friend had left, life would still go on. ellie knew that all tristan wished for her was happiness and so she smiled.
she knew that they were going to see each other again anyway and she was going to hold on to that hope for as long as he isn't by her side.
