Abigail Scarlett was sitting on a burgundy L-shaped couch, her feet tucked up beneath her. If you had been in the room, you would’ve thought she was a statue, so immersed was she in things only she knew about. She was thinking about a time long ago, about a boy, or rather two boys, and about a necklace, the pendant of which she had come across earlier that day when she had been trying to find her car keys.
For almost six years after Abigail had opened Jake’s letter, she had worn that necklace everyday, it meant everything to her, a token of something amazing, it made her feel closer to the boy she would never, could never forget. All this time, she never stopped loving Jake, but she knew she would go mad living her life on mere memories of him. And as it is, life has a funny way of presenting you with opportunities when you most need them. Abigail found hers, as a fourth year university student, trying to pursue her career in medicine research, he was there with her and they bonded over the way their lives had been changed by the condition that they one day hoped to be the ones to find the cure for. Overtime, Abigail grew to love him as she had Jake, with an unquenchable flame, and it wasn’t long before they had moved into a quaint apartment in the city together.
Time passed and her feelings towards him grew ever stronger, but she couldn’t stop going back to that shaggy-haired, dirty blond boy from high school. When rumors flew that he was going to propose to her, Abigail broke down, though she should’ve been ecstatic, she felt miserable, she couldn’t breathe under the immense weight of loving two people and the never-ending regret she felt when she thought about the way she was not able to give him all of her heart.
But as she had come to meet him, her answer came to her one day as she walking through the park, her head on his shoulder, they stopped at a crowd of people, arranged in a semi-circle, in the middle of which stood a young woman, tears streaking down her face, screaming joyously as a young man, who was on his knee slid a simple, yet beautiful diamond ring onto her slim finger. Everybody clapped, Abigail included, and as she did so, she could feel the chain of her necklace give way, it fell away from her neck and fell to the ground, she knelt to retrieve it, the word Always sparkling in the sunshine, her heart began to beat fast, as she let a gasp escape, it was amazing, when she had needed one most, Jake had sent her a sign. She could feel his presence now, and as she stood up, she could almost feel his arms around her. He was telling her it was okay to move on, to get married, to start a life with this guy who had stolen the heart of the girl he had loved so. She closed her fingers around the necklace, holding it tight. “I’ll still always love you though.” She whispered.
With a sudden start, Abigail broke away from her reminiscence, as she heard the sound of a key in a lock. She watched as a tall, fair-skinned, dark-haired girl, of about fifteen made an appearance in the doorway. “Hey Amber, how was school?”
“Hey mom, it was....you know, school.” Amber replied, as she entered the house, closing the door behind her with a slam. She kicked off her shoes, and flopped down on the couch next to her mother, a troubled, exasperated expression on her face.
“What’s wrong, honey?”
“Mom, is it wrong to be in love with two people at once?”
Abigail didn’t answer for a second; she was lost in thought once again, lost in memories of long ago. “You know, when I was older than you were now, I asked my mother, your grandma that very same question, of course the circumstances were a little different, but I know exactly how it feels.”
“What did she say?”
“She told me that the heart doesn’t linger in the past, and that fate has a funny way of working. People were designed to end up with one person, but to love infinitely. Whatever is meant to be will happen, trust in life, trust in your heart, trust in yourself.”
“Do you believe her?” Amber asked, shifting into a more comfortable position.
“I do, because it led to me meeting your father, it led to us, to you. Of course when you love someone like I did, especially when they had such a huge impact on you, changed you for the better into the person you are today, you can never truly stop loving them, but that doesn’t mean you can’t love someone else with all of your heart.” Abigail replied, a soft smile on her face.
“How come you never told me any of this?”
“I was waiting for the right time, when you would be able to understand...Now I’m glad I waited.” She fixed her daughter with a loving look. “But before I tell you anything, I want you to know that I love your father as much as I could ever love someone, he means the world to me, and he makes me happy. Nothing is ever going to change that, okay?”
Amber nodded. “Of course, mom.” She murmured, turning to stare at her with expectant eyes, willing her to go on.
Abigail smiled at her daughter, and took a deep breath. “Well, you see, in high school, there was this boy.” Abigail’s heart thudded, as she thought about him and a thousand memories flashed through her mind. “His name was Jake.”
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(You are Never) ALONE
Teen Fiction"Sometimes, when you're trying to find yourself, it takes more than just yourself to do it." It's a story about love, about hardships, about hope, but most of all about finding yourself especially when you never thought it was possible. Because ever...
