Her

: : Part X : :

: : Part X : :

The night flew past you, the walk to the ice skating ring was long and not worth it. The sign indicated that it was closed and would be open again the next day, but it left you, Benson and the girls to walk back again.

The walk back wasn’t the problem; the problem was you had to walk back side by side with Sienna. That doesn’t sound too bad, honestly, but when you are in love with her it is. Her laugh makes you want to envelope her with you and kiss her like she needs to, her smile makes you want to do the same. But her kind nature was the worst, the way she is affected by her surroundings, the way her amazement is played on her face. It makes you want to be better, it makes you want to be the man she comes home to every night, to be the person to share their life with her, you want to be the man who grows old with her.

“It is only ten- thirty, do you want to chill somewhere?” Avery turns around and asks you and Sienna.

You just shrug while Sienna bursts out, “The Park.”

“What?” Benson and you say simultaneously.

“Come on, I will show you.” Sienna mutters, grabbing your hand and began leading you away. Avery and Benson just follow.

You try to ignore the warm feeling that you earn from that one, simple, touch. Sienna let go of your hand and told you to follow her, and she skipped ahead of the group.

“She means the space behind the old Engineering Unit,” Avery whispered catching up to you. “She goes there a lot, I asked her why and she just said that it ‘speaks’ to her, whatever that means.”

You just nod. “Do you know why they rebuilt the Engineering Unit, I mean, it is still fine?”

“Well, they began to redevelop some areas around the university like the library, some dorms and the Engineering Unit. But unlike the dorms and the library the old Engineering Unit wasn’t demolished.”

“Why?” Benson chimed in, walking on the other side of Avery.

“I honestly don’t know. But I think it might be because of the space behind it, I think that the space means something different for everyone.” Avery explained. “It is hard to get into words, but the aura surrounding the space, it feels like home. Where ever that is.”

You walk through the campus, in between units and dormitories. Until finally you stand at the entrance of the old Engineering Unit.

Sienna was, literally, jumping for joy. “Okay, let’s go.”

Avery laughed, “Come on, Sienna.” She grabbed Sienna’s arm and they walked with their arms entwined down the narrow walkway to the back of the Unit.

“I see it.” Benson said, next to you. “I see what you see in her.” You just nod. “Don’t give up on her, just- just don’t. Make her fall in love with you. Make her want to be with you, for as long as she can. We will help.”

“I can’t. I shouldn’t feel this way about her.”

“Yes, you should.” Benson paused. “Give her a chance; give her a chance to love you. Don’t walk away from this, from her.”

“I…” Benson cut you off.

“Give her a chance.”

“How?” You whisper.

“I don’t know, but you can start with trying not to feel it. Let yourself go, let yourself sweep her off her feet. We will help you, Carson. You aren’t in this alone.”

“Okay,” you whisper almost inaudibly. Benson cracks a smile and you tune out. He leads you to the space behind the old unit meanwhile he filled in the conversation, you smile every now and then to give him the impression that you are listening. But you couldn’t you had to think about Sienna, about your next move. How you are going to do this, you need a well thought through, well-constructed, plan with no flaws.

“There you boys are; we were beginning to think that you left us.” Avery said, pulling you out of your thoughts.

Your breath hitches in your throat as you take in the surroundings. The back of the Engineering Unit was beautiful, regal, and mind-blowing. It was perfect.

There were a few trees scattering the edge of the space, and a few smaller ones amongst them. The grass was the greenest you’ve seen and it sunk under your weight. There was a path that led around the space in a circle; it was lit up with little poles that were attached to each other by a sting of fairy lights. And settled dead in the centre was a small pond, it had reeds and authentic plants surrounding its edges and a Chinese styled bridge connected the paths together. On the other side of the bridge there was a small gathering place, it held a small pavilion. The pavilion was white and had four timber posts supporting it; the posts had translucent white fabric, to obscure unwanted viewers.

“So where to now?” You asked.

“Over here,” Avery led the way, over the bridge and into the pavilion.

It seemed impossible, but once inside the pavilion was more beautiful and bewitching than it was outside.

“It is called ‘The Lily Pavilion.’” Avery introduced. “It was made, along with the rest of the space, by Elliot Mayer. He studied Architectural Engineering a few years back, and this was his final piece. It was inspired by his girlfriend, Lily, she had a terminal cancer and this garden was made in memory of her. Everything in this space has a purpose, some have engravings others are just symbolic. The head mistress here decided to keep the garden up, not only as a memorial for those who loved Lily, but as a metaphor to the other students.”

“What metaphor?” Benson asked.

“I don’t know yet. I am trying to figure it out.”

You look over at Sienna and she stood back, taking in the space. You go to her and she smiles weakly, “I thought I knew what real tragedy felt like. But this… it’s over whelming.”

You nod; for once you don’t know what to say.