26 Letters ( A Harry Styles AU )

E stands for Elephant

Sorry for the long wait, that was ridiculous. But this is short, cause it's supposed to be. That's what I've decided, they're not going to be long 'chapters'. As a side note, whenever I say "her" I'm talking about Harry's girlfriend, who you will find out about relatively soon. Also, I'm going to make a sequel to this book I think. So yeah, tell me what you think. Comment, vote, fan, whatever floats your boat.

~Cat xx

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•E stands for Elephant•

Harry spent a lot of time staring at the elephant picture in the living room. It was huge, and he easily got lost in the detail, and in the memories that go along with it...

It was a late spring afternoon, Harry was curled up with her on their couch, sipping carefully at a cup of tea, which was still very hot even though he had waited a considerable amount of time for it to cool. Following the usual lazy afternoon routine, the two were chatting aimlessly about whatever slipped into their minds.

"Let's go to Africa."

Four words and the plans are set into motion. The savings accounts are nearly emptied, change is fished out from between cushions and dug out from under the couch, parents are begged. Then, the tickets are booked and the bags are packed and they're finally off.

Off on a glorious, spur of the moment trip to somewhere new.

Two weeks of non-stop adventuring, trying to get a taste of everything. Their young minds craving more and more of the newness of it all.

Nearly everything has been captured on camera by a smiling girl. Harry's smiling girl. The girl he loved to the moon and back.

Looking back he never thought it would end the way it did.

Abruptly.

Nothing.

Every trace of her gone. No trail his desperate feet could follow.

Harry forces his mind back to Africa, of the exact time the picture in front of him was taken.

They'd gone on a safari tour. One that takes you to see all sorts of wild animals that as a kid you'd always dreamed of seeing. Both of them were smiling from ear to ear, truly wrapped up in the magic of where they were. At the time they'd been driving across a particularly grassy expanse when the driver stopped and hushed the small group in the Jeep. Their eyes followed his extended arm to a small grove of trees to their right.

Harry looked closely and found that there were several elephants all lounging in the shade. Watching in awe, he heard several shutter clicks go off beside him. He peeked over to find her leaning out the window, elbow against the door frame to steady her camera. One more click and she leaned back against the seat to look at what she's taken. Harry smiled for what had to be the millionth time that day as the Jeep rolled forward again.

The memory fades away and Harry is left standing in the middle of the living room. He can see his reflection in the glass of the picture, the dim afternoon light coming in from the window casts funny shadows across his face.

It takes him a minute, but he realizes things can't go back to the way they were.

All he'll have left are memories.

There is a boy in the glass.

An unhappy boy.

There are tears running down his cheeks.