within the meadow √ h.s.

t w e n t y t h r e e

as months passed, delilah sat in the meadow realizing it had been over a year since that day at the end of february when harry and her had met. she smiled at the memory and continued reading her book. phone calls were less frequent, although letters and postcards were still weekly.

when there were phone calls harry would somehow always sneak in the question of, "has anyone caught your attention?" and he would throw in a chuckle to mask the pain that would be evident if she were to ever say yes.

there was a breeze sending chills down her spine as the sun said hello to the world. delilah figured it was time to head to work and packed up her few belongings.

lenny greeted delilah as she stepped foot into the cafe and smelled the brewing coffee. mila seemed to be a few minutes late, but that was always typical of her. delilah considered her a friend, and she really didn't have many of those.

when mila rushed in she apologized profusely and quickly dropped her belonging off in the office before grabbing an apron and washing her hands. "hey li!"

delilah had become accustomed to her nickname quickly and enjoyed it. there weren't many nicknames she was given. "hi! how's your morning?"

"i left my place without my purse, so i had to drive all the way back and sweet talked my way out of speeding ticket!" mila explained her morning with animated hand gestures and delilah laughed.

when delilah took her lunch break, she stuffed her face in the pages of a book about clinical neurological psychology cases. she doesn't remember why she picked up the book, but didn't care because there was knowledge in front of her eyes.

"the man who mistook his wife for a hat?" a voice spoke from behind delilah's book. "i wonder how the wife felt about that."

her eyes met warm brown ones belonging to a young man at the table in front of her. he had a coffee in his hands and a smile on his face. delilah didn't recognize him as a regular customer and just smiled at him before returning to her book.

"delilah, dear, your break is over," lenny called out. she marked her place on the page and closed it softly before grabbing her apron and returning behind the counter. mila was behind the counter as well trying to finish her assignment for class. soft brown eyes glanced at delilah often trying to find out anything about the girl with her books, but delilah remained unaware.

when delilah refilled his coffee, he got her name out of her, and introduced himself as josiah. delilah didn't pay much attention to it until mila mentioned it to her.

"he's been staring at you since he's been here," she pointed out. "he's cute, what's his name?"

"jeremiah? no, that's not it. josiah?" delilah said unsure of herself.

when he got around to leaving, he waved at delilah with a smile before pushing the door open and disappearing. "he'll be back for you."

"no he won't, mila. besides, i'm not interested," delilah brushed it off.

"yeah, that's what i said when i met my boyfriend."

+

weeks of josiah finding himself at the cafe to see delilah went by. he tried to spark up a conversation every time, but delilah always kept her answers short and sweet.

it was nearing spring and the meadow was waking up from its long slumber through winter. she saw the vibrancy of it all for the mile long stretch and felt at peace. she wanted nothing more than to see her sacred sanctuary flourishing and alive. with her book in her hands, she found her spot against a tree and absorbed the fresh air and printed words.

her phone rang, and at first she didn't notice it, too focused on her book. after a couple more rings she was brought back to earth where her phone was going off and birds were chirping.

"hello?"

"hey, sunshine. it's been a while."

harry.

she missed him dearly and felt sad looking out at the meadow and not seeing him sketching away. she wanted him back. she wanted him home, but she couldn't let him know that. she missed their loud love and quiet nights.

"are you still in amsterdam?" delilah inquired, remembering the last postcard she received.

"yeah, but it's my last day here then i'm going to tokyo." harry was smiling on the other side of the world. he was smiling like an idiot because delilah's voice was something he could listen to for ages. he was listening to her speak with an aching of love in his chest as he yearned for her touch.

harry missed delilah dearly and felt nostalgic as he heard her tell him about a book she had recently read and how interesting it was. he wanted her there with him. he missed their loud love and her warm touch.

although they weren't quite lovers anymore, they were friends that couldn't let go.

"met anyone special?"

"no i haven't," delilah chuckled. she would never meet anyone as special as harry. "but there's this guy that always comes into the cafe and lauryn keeps bugging me about him."

"no doubt about it he's interested in you," harry was still smiling, but it was more of a sad smile. "you should go for it."

delilah felt the bending of her bones for the first time in a while. she remembered that harry was yet another loss, and she had to accept it.

"yeah, i don't know. we'll see," delilah's voice was quiet, and harry could swear he heard it crack. he almost didn't want to say anything because he knew if he were to speak, his voice would sound as if it were shattering.

harry and delilah loved each other so much that the distance was breaking them all at once. they knew time was not on their side. it never was.

+

richard deiss as josiah