My Heart Aches

Ch 1

A light breeze gently tussled my hair as I ascended the moderate inclination. I breathed in slowly, trying to savor the earthy scents of grass and water before exhaling. I could sense everything from the birds and various creatures in the foliage of nearby trees to the small brook babbling nearby. As I stood on the modest hill, I felt as if I were on top of the world. I felt alive. Then I remembered why I was here. So many feelings and thoughts rushed to me all at once as I considered how this would go.

You need to make up your mind, said the voice in my head, all but helpfully.

But I can't, I whined. There's too many options to consider.

Just follow your heart, was the reply. I huffed. I've had forever to make a decision, but I still couldn't. Then I froze. A scent I had forever been anticipating suddenly caught my attention. I listened quietly for a sound, waiting as the source of the intoxicating scent drew near. Everything else seemed to have gone still too, and I was sure that my heart was going to leap out of my chest. The voice in my head was silent. Suddenly, he appeared.

•••••••••

"C'mon, Leah! You're such a slow poke!" Call me a downer, but I wasn't as eager as my friend Melissa to go back to school after winter break. She'd been talking about it for days, going on about what outfit she was going to wear and wondering about who would have the best stories from winter break. But I knew the real reason for her excitement: she wanted to see her boyfriend. Melissa and Tyler had know each other for years, and had been dating since freshman year. Now juniors in high school, he was all she talked about. No matter how annoying it got, I thought it was kind of cute.

"Just go on without me," I told her with a smile. "I'm right behind you. Besides, I know you want to see him." She blushed, but shook her head.

"No, I'm not leaving you." Melissa slowed her pace to walk besides me. Out of the corner of her eyes, I noticed that she had a torn expression on he face. Although I had been dreading our return to school, I quickened my pace for her. The first half of the year had been so busy and filled with drama and sleepless nights that I hadn't cared if I ever saw our campus again. Yet here I was, approaching it with one of my three best friends. Soon we were in our first class. As I sat down, I noticed Melissa looking around the room anxiously. I found her behavior strange. It had only been a couple of weeks since they last saw each other. When the bell rang, and Melissa realized that her boyfriend wasn't in the classroom, she slumped down in her seat. I felt sad for her. She had really been looking forward to seeing him.

He must still be on vacation, I thought to myself, and I shrugged the matter off without another thought.