Redemption

Chapter XVI

Their sleepless night didn't take away the energy required to enjoy their last day together to the fullest. In the morning, they filled the bathtub and played like kids splashing each other with water, until growing back to their ages and helping each other shower. He helped her get dressed in a white dress, and holding her hand over her head he guided her into twirling, with the skirt blooming in the air and giving her the appearance of a rose. She collided in his arms feeling dizzy, and he held her to his bare chest as they laughed. He was getting dressed in a black shirt when she approached him and helped him close the buttons, stopping before closing the last one, to leave a kiss over his chest. She looked up at him and he placed his hands on the sides of her face, "I love you," He said, leaving a kiss on her forehead and then on the tip of her nose, as she returned his gesture with a smile.

They had breakfast at a coffee shop, and instead of sitting facing each other, she sat next to him, leaning her head on his shoulder while holding hands. Looking through the window, he observed the little birds eating the leftovers of somebody's food, and how they flew away and vanished in the horizon with the same freedom he had the hours counted. He invited her for a walk in the park, and once in there, she remembered the day they casually met when she was skating, causing her to unconsciously squeeze his hand, with him corresponding by squeezing back. When they reached the spot they usually sat, both laid on the ground under the rain of falling leaves from the dying tree. She commented how strange it was for the tree to be dying so early when it was still summer, and fall was a few weeks away, he brought up the possibility that the watering system might not be working properly because the other trees were in good condition and that the one they were under was the only one dying. She dropped her head to a side to look at him and with a smile admitted how she actually liked it, since they got to enjoy the rain of leaves, and he agreed with her, kissing her on her lips, turning around to face her as she watched the falling leaves.

After having lunch, they went to the amusement park like they agreed, and upon their arrival, both looked in anticipation at all the things they could do, and debated for a few minutes into what to do first. Safiye laughed in the middle of their argument, saying how if they kept discussing what to do first, the day would be over before they did anything, so she grabbed his hand and told him to follow her lead, and without protesting but with a playful groan, he allowed her to pull him. They went from one ride to the other. On the roller coaster they never broke the union of their hands as their arms went up and down along with the ride, as they reached the clouds and fell to the ground. In the Haunted house, witnessing the horrors within and trapped in the darkness with random hands touching his shoulder, it reminded Renato of the horrors from Hell and holding tighter into Safiye's hand, he asked her to guide him out even before they finished the attraction. Outside the Haunted house, he sat at a bench hugging her waist as she patted his head, he looked up at her with a smile and thanked for being a guardian angel, and considering it a sweet exaggerated joke from him she laughed at it. Taking a break he bought cotton candy for the two, keeping from her how it was the first time he ever ate it. Walking around the park, by accident they encounter the bumping cars. Safiye pursed her lips, as the laugh of the kids sounded like screams and brought to her the image she so desperately kept burying every time it came to the surface. Renato pressed a piece of the cotton candy on her lips, surprising her, and when she laughed, he carefully shoved it on her mouth as she laughed even more, and pulled her hand taking her away from the attraction, distracting her with random comments helping her bury the sad memory for a few hours.

They got in line for the Ferris Wheel at sunset, and made it to the top at night time. The momentary stop made to allow new riders to walk in at the bottom sits, provided Safiye enough time to comment to Renato how she had lately been thinking of the day they met, and how she thought destiny meant the union of their souls, and that evidence of it was how he already knew the meaning of her name. She said how she couldn't resist the curiosity of learning the meaning of his, and told him his name meant 'to be reborn.' He thanked her for letting him know, but that hers was even better. He placed his arm around her shoulder, and gazed at the moon and the different lights of the park as the wheel kept rotating. At the end of the day Renato was satisfied with the memories he made, unaware of the price he would have to pay in a year from then.