Breaking our bonds

Chapter three

The figure that was standing so large before us now disappeared amidst the houses. It was tall. I'm guessing it was nearly six feet or possibly even more. It strode with confidence before disappearing from our view.

"Well, don't just stand there, Elizabeth, " Joan said before tearing after it. It was no use. Aside from some small footprints in the sand, we saw nothing but the dark fabric night had put around us.

The stars surrounded the earth with pinpricks of their silver light. There were millions of them. It was the light of these stars and a strange gold sparkle that illuminated the street.

"Whoever this person was, he's gone, " I said resting my chin on her shoulders. "Let's not have him spoil our night".

Joan, however, did not hear me. Her dark eyes were fixed on something deep in the alley. Something that shone bright gold.

" Wait, what is that?"

"Maybe something someone dropped, " I said with a dismissive shrug of my shoulders. "Perhaps some coins or....."

Joan was curious and as she picked the object up she said, "It's a book". So it was. The gold of my journal sparkled in the dark like a flame, making my heart beat a thousand beats of happiness. It was not lost. I could write the story I was craving to write.

" It's not lost, " I said giving Joan a kiss on her cheek. Happiness flooded through me as I laughed for joy.

"You say I'm the one who needs glasses?" she said, raising her thick eyebrows. " If you would use your eyes for a while you would know that your journal was never lost. It was stolen".

My journal, which was curiously untouched by the dirt in this street, lay in her hands. It was opened up to a page that used to be blank. This page was now scared with someone's neat block letters.

'SOME BONDS ARE MEANT TO BE BROKEN.'

Joan and I read it together. As I shivered at it, Joan grew angrier. Her hand crushed mine as a grimace struck her face. She did not look happy.

"You shouldn't have come here Elizabeth, " she said, her voice sounded thunderous.

"Hey, I came looking for this and I don't care. It's me who has to deal with some kind of stalker. Not you."

" But it's you I care about, isn't it?" she said. "Listen, whoever wrote this knows about us. And they want us to be apart. I'm not going to let that happen."

" Well, neither will I."

That's when she kissed me. The warmness of her lips spread mine apart banishing all my fear of the stalker and the self-consciousness I had. I knew I wasn't as tall as her. I knew I had thin, chapped lips and body that was slightly thicker than an old broomstick. Yet I didn't care. Feeling loved is a powerful thing. It is the one thing that drives away hate. So maybe that's why the haters and the laws and the stalker didn't matter. All that mattered were us.

"Come on, " she said, finally breaking away. "Let's get you home."

She held my hand as we walked along the cobblestoned pavements. The dim lighting of the streetlights did not scare me one bit. I felt safe in her arms. Safer than I had felt anywhere else.

At last a neat house with a well-mowed lawn came to view. It was my house. Outside were two tall figures arguing in hushed voices. One of them was Caroline. The other was a boy whose dark hair and sunburnt skin stood out to me. It was Ian.

" Ian, what are you doing here?", I asked. He didn't answer me. Instead, his eyes wandered to my hand, which was held in Joan's.

"Elizabeth?", he chocked. " How long has this been going on for?"