And Then You Left

Can It Be?

EMILY'S POV:

"Come on Julie it's not like we're actually engaged..." I said rolling my eyes, but at the same time smiling. She looked at me with wide open eyes and said "Oh come on!! He bought you a golden ring with a diamond on!"

"Still it's just a kind of promise of being together for a long time. I don't think of getting married to him too fast." She smiled and pulled me into a warm hug. "I know. But you know I'm glad that you finally got back on your feet and started holding on to life again..." It was true. After all the times about Daniel and that awful relationship I had with Charlie it was a miracle for me to be OK again. But still I think life is giving me a second chance.

3 MONTHS LATER IN THE UNIVERSITY CAFETERIA...

It was 8 am in the morning which was a bit awkward as I would usually arrive later. Chris wasn't around so I was sitting on a puffy seat at the cafeteria with a book in my hand, drinking coffee.

Looking away from my book to reach over my coffee a stranger got in my sight. He had brown messy hair with chocolate brown eyes. He was wearing a basic patterned t-shirt with a pair of jeans. In a way he seemed so, so,so familiar that I dropped the cup in my hands and poured the hot coffee all over my blouse.

"Ahh crap!" I mumbled to myself as Chris raced beside me. "Oh honey you OK?" he asked worried. "I guess, yeah." I replied and got on my feet. Fortunately I had a tank top underneath my blouse so I took the blouse off and crammed it in my bag.

DANIEL'S POV:

She was sitting there with a sky blue blouse and jeans. As she ran her hand through her light brown hair I realized the diamond ring over her finger. She was reading a book and I could swear that I knew her.

Can it be? I thought to myself and that moment she looked directly at me. Giving out a small smile she suddenly spilled her coffee all over herself. I wanted to go and help but just as I started making my way to her table a guy came beside her. "Ohh..." I thought to myself "Here comes the owner of that ring.

LATER THAT DAY IN THE EVENING...

EMILY'S POV:

Pushing away all those dusty, old boxes and other staff away I finally reached for the one I was looking for. The box that I locked away two years ago and never ever came back to open. It was covered with a thin dust layer but other than that it was filled with memories full of love, regret, pain and tears.

There was a reason why I took everything about "him" from my usual memory box and put them here. I just wanted to forget. Forgive the past and forget about everything. With the box in my hands and confusion in my head I made my way to my bedroom to find the keys.

***

Soon after opening the box and looking at all those pictures, notes, poems, stories...memories I started crying. But it wasn't a usual cry I was nearly gone mad. Even at some point I threw my ring to somewhere that I didn't know in the room.

I didn't care anyway all I wanted to do was cry for hours, until my pain was gone again. I forgot that years passed, I forgot that we grew apart, I forgot that the stranger I saw might not be him, I forgot about everything and let myself cry.

Until I heard the voice of Julie..."For God's sake what are you doing?" Throwing her bag on the floor she flew beside me and hugged me.

***

I cried for something that felt like forever and Julie just stayed there without making a single noise. She somehow, after all these years knew when I really needed to cry. After calming down a bit (I mean with still silent tears running down my cheeks) Julie took me outside to our garden for some fresh air.

I really needed it though especially after seeing my reflection on the mirror with puffy, red eyes and messed up hair. "So...you ready to tell me what is going on?" asked Julie with a polite voice and I started telling about everything. "I was sitting in the cafeteria when a stranger caught my eye..." With a confusion expression in her face she nodded waiting for more.

"He looked like someone from my past. It was like he took a huge part in my life but somehow I got over. It was like greeting an old friend. The moment I met with his eyes it felt...pure strange. I felt like I was in a dream or something until I poured coffee on my blouse..."

Her expression changed "Coffee? And then...?" "Chris arrived as I was taking my blouse off. But it wasn't a really good thing cause he saw my tattoo..."

Now she was really surprised cause she know what exactly I was talking about. A "D" letter with the quotation "and then you left..." was written on the back of my left shoulder. Chris have never seen it until today as my clothes and hair was covering it.

Taking a deep breath I continued "Anyway when I told Chris about the tattoo and made my way to the class the stranger was already gone. But it's not right to tell him "the stranger" as I can swear that it was him..." Julie didn't speak for a long time trying to take in everything I told her.

"Y-you really think it's .... Daniel?" It was hard for her to say and hard for me to hear his name as we never said it for a long time. I nodded in reply. Fresh tears started forming in my eyes and I covered my eyes with my hands.

"When I came home I opened that box. And let out every each painful memory of mine. Re-lived every each of them once more." She rubbed my back gently and whispered "But I don't get it. I know you loved Dan but it was 6 years ago. Now you have a relationship."

I was crying silently again. I shut my eyes tightly and again spoke with a shaking voice "The only one I truly loved is Daniel. This fact is something that I once known but chose to forget. I thought I could keep him away forever by locking away his memories. I-I thought that I got over him. But the moment I saw him everything crashed down again. It was like a huge earthquake happened in the depths of my heart."

We both didn't speak for a long time because of that emotional speak of me. I was crying again and again. I wasn't able to stop. It was just hurting too much. "Wait...where the hell is your ring? Don't tell me you gave it back."

That moment I came crashing back to the reality and looked at my finger. "Oh shit!!" I mumbled under my breath and ran upstairs to find it. Searching for minutes I found it under my long curtains and put it back on.

SAME DAY LATER AT NIGHT...

DANIEL'S POV:

"Dude you don't get it! I tell you I saw Emily and you still talk about pizza!! Seriously Chase that's you being a best friend?" I half shouted at him.

He yawned like a bear and lying on the sofa went on talking "Oh buddy come on! I'm sure you saw someone similar...If we are done about this "chick incident" can we go on playing FIFA or at least order a pizza?"

He was wrong, I knew he was wrong. The girl I saw was Emily. I could feel it in my veins. She was back and she was there. I gave Chase a evil expression and said "Whatever...you do what the hell you want. I'm going to sleep."

His jaw dropped open and shouted as I walked to my room "Now who is the one being a horrible best friend? It's just a girl..." I didn't even bother to turn back but just said "Oh shut it!!!" He went on mumbling but I didn't care. All I cared about was Emily that moment and of course that guy who was with him.

He was in the same hight and weight with me but more muscular. He had really light brown hair, almost blonde. He had green eyes as I could see and hell...he looked way too better than me. So whether it was Emily or not, I really didn't stand a chance over him.

On the other hand Emily (or the stranger) was beautiful. She was just like I remembered. Even the way she looked was familiar. Lying on my bed I took out the little, black, locked box from under my bed. Unlocking it I found a few photos of Emily and a letter she gave me at the graduation. I wanted to read but I just couldn't take the risk.

Was I afraid of re-calling memories? Well maybe a bit. But the real question to be asked was "Did she recognize me?"

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