Past, Present and the not-so-distant-Future

Leaving Memories

Crystal Lumia shut her multicolored Louis Vuitton suitcase and sat on her bed with a sigh. She glanced at her clock and saw the red digital numbers glaring at her. 1:30. She knew she had to get to bed. She had a 7:45 flight the next morning that was going to take her somewhere she hadn't been in a long, long time.

San Francisco. 710 Ravenclaw Street. Home.

She couldn't believe how quickly four years could pass by. Then again, her entire life was a whirlwind of motion, she never stopped. Her job, although she loved it, was extremely demanding. Her eyes scanned around her luxurious Paris condo. But it was also extremely rewarding. There were a lot of perks that came along with being one of the hottest up and rising fashion designers on the scene.

She was 25 years old and living the life she dreamed of. She was now equal partners with Maria Zuño and had offices in New York, Rome, and Paris, in addition to the one in San Francisco. She had her own designer label, CLin with her signature line, LinC. People had been wearing her clothes for a couple of years now, but she still loved the feeling she got when she saw someone wearing something of hers and a part of her always wanted to run up to them and be like, "That's mine, I made that. You are rocking that outfit!" Or, "Girl, you should not be wearing that skirt with those shoes." Though she cringed when fashion-challenged people attempted to wear her clothes, it still thrilled her to pieces that they even bought them in the first place.

She sent money to her parents and Her brother Reg regularly although they hated to take it. Well, her parents at least. Reg was loving it. It wasn't as if they really needed it, the three restaurants her parents had opened were extremely successful, and of course, Reg still had every cent from the day he was born, which had probably tripled by now due to his 'investments' he was always bragging about. She grinned as she thought of her brother, who was now 21 and finishing his last year at Stanford where he was an accounting/business major. They talked on the phone constantly and exchanged e-mails but it wasn't the same. She never thought she'd ever say it, but she really missed him. Her parents too, it had been hard for all of them when she moved away and it had been really hard for her to adjust to not having them around anymore, but when Maria Zuño had offered her the opportunity of a lifetime to run her Paris office, she just couldn't turn it down and she forced herself to make the decision to grow up and become an adult.

And as the years passed, the homesickness went away and although the phone calls were fewer the busier she got, she always made time to talk to them as often as she could and she flew them out to see her at least twice a year. It had been a long, hard struggle, but she was finally at the point in her life where she wanted to be. She was busy as hell, but she was happy, she was comfortable, she really was living her dream. At that point in time, she really saw no reason to ever return home.

Then the cream-colored envelope arrived in the mail and turned her comfortable life completely upside down. It was a wedding invitation. Raymond Gonzaga was getting married. Her boy Raymond. Also known as DJ Ray, one of the most recognized names in the hip hop world. She was so proud of him, he'd really done well for himself.

She felt a pang in her heart, the reality of how much they had drifted apart hit her hard sometimes. She smiled fondly, remembering the second to last conversation she'd had with him.

It had been last December, he had called to wish her a Merry Christmas and see how she was doing. He had mentioned that he was dating a girl named Kacia who, according to Ray, could be Jessica Alba's long lost twin. They had been dating for 6 months at the time and he had sounded really happy.

He had even mentioned that she might be the one and sure enough, that's who he was marrying. She was happy for him and it was ironic that they last words she said to him before they hung up were "You better invite me to the wedding." He had laughed and said "Yeah right," but now, almost a year later the invitation had arrived, proving her right.