A Doll of Hope

Chapter 32

Late that night, Christie got out of bed and put her clothes back on. Tiptoeing to the doorway, she made sure that the girls were all asleep. Bethany, Sandra, and Greta were all still in bed completely out. Letting out a sigh of relief, she reached into her pocket and took out the piece of paper she found earlier. Forming a smile, she straightened it out and left it on her bed. As she quietly tiptoed out of her room, the moon light shined through the window hitting the paper revealing what it said. 'It's time I told you the whole truth. Meet me at the beach later tonight after everyone's asleep.' There was no name on the bottom, but Christie knew right away who it was from. Quickly and quietly, she sneaked out of the house and hurried down the staircase to the beach. As fast as she could, she ran through the sand towards the shoreline. In the distance, she spotted someone next to the water.

"Matt!" She called out. With the waves splashing and the moon shining in the background, Matt turned to see her running towards him. He smiled as she stopped for a second to catch her breath.

"I take it you got my note." Christie took a couple more deep breaths as she pulled herself together.

"Yeah, I found it on my bed. Is that why you took so long to use the restroom?" Matt chuckled.

"Yeah, it was the only chance I got to slip it in there." Christie pushed her hair out of her face as the wind blew through it. Looking down, she spotted something in his hand. She formed a surprised look on her face.

"M...Maria?!" Matt lifted his hand and looked at her.

"Yeah, I grabbed her while I was there." He said as he held her out. Taking her from his hand, she just stood there.

"Matt...what's...?" Matt looked right at her. With the moon shining brightly, he had a silent smile on his face.

"Even if things aren't always easy, just keep on fighting." Christie gasped.

"Good things will surely come your way, as long as you never give up" Matt stated. Christie stood there unsure what to say.

"Those were the same words I said to a young girl a long time ago. She was crying and couldn't stop the tears. She also had a toy cat in her arms which she clung to as tightly as she could. Because of that, the other kids picked on her. I couldn't just stand by and do nothing. So I stepped in and towed them off. Unable to say anything, the girl just cried on my shoulder. I could tell she was hurting deeply. So I just let her cling to me." As Matt spoke, Christie stood there frozen. Her eyes were wide open as she could hardly move. Visions of the boy came to her mind as she remembered exactly what happened the day he saved her. It was exactly as Matt described. The more he talked, the clearer that day became.

"Matt...does that mean...that you..." Unable to finish, she just stood there as her lips quivered. Matt looked at her and smiled.

"Yeah...the boy from your past...it was me." At that moment, Christie was sure her heart had stopped for a minute as her body went completely numb. She could hardly even breathe as her mind went blank.

"But...you said...that you..." Matt lowered his head.

"Yeah, I know. I said it was someone else." Matt looked out towards the water.

"In a way, that wasn't a lie. Who I am now, is not who I was as a child. I came to believe that I had become someone completely different and all the things I did as a kid were the works of someone else. But yet...when you told me your story, I knew right away you were that same girl. Still, the boy you had kept alive in your memories, was someone I could no longer be. At least... that's what I thought. But...I guess I was just being cowardly again." Matt looked at her and smiled.

"You told me that I was the one who saved you from your sadness and loneliness. But the truth is...it was you who saved me." Christie gasped.

"You kept my old self alive in your memories and I was gradually reminded of who I used to be. It made me think that I had a chance to be that person again. And then when I told you my story, you didn't flinch. You stayed by my side and made me feel as though I had finally been forgiven and that I had been given a second chance." Turning around, Matt stared at the moon.