The one I always loved

                                                                                   6 years ago

"Follow me! But come on! "She laughed and held out her hand to him as she ran barefoot in her white summer dress along the little path. The raspberry blonde hair surged and billowed like shimmering waves down her tanned shoulders. He laughed, caught up with her and took her little hand in his larger. Together, they ran into the bewitching June morning muffled lights, right into the woods, towards thier goal. In their memories, to freedom.

"How many fingers do I keep up?"

"But I do not know, I have told you" he muttered sullenly with shut eyelids.

"But! Guess! "

"Three?"

"No."

"Eight?"

"Nah."

"Fifty?"

"But, you're stupid!" He opened his eyes and looked at her as she sat, her doll in one hand and a plump hand with five fingers outstretched, like short little wooden sticks. He looked stupidly at her. She stuck her tounge out at him and then laught.

"Shall we play a game?" Suggested she said.

"Sure," he said shyly and shrugged. She snuggled closer to him and sat on her mosquito-bitten knees just a few inches away from him in the little tree house.

"First you pat me on the cheek," she said. He looked her in the eyes. He was so shy and she was so brave, so determined, and he could rarely say no to her, not even when she suggested something as strange as this. He reached out a hand uncertain and cautiously touched her cheek. She laughed and hole between her two front teeth were visible.

"Good! Now you rub your nose against mine, "she said firmly.

"Okay ..." he said, leaning gently forward, put his nose against her and rubbed it slowly, back and forth. She giggled.

"Okay okay, that tickles!" She screamed and turned her head away from his. He smiled sheepishly at her.

"John," she said, and then suddenly became serious. "Now you kiss me."

He wrinkled his nose. What was this strange game?

"Nah ..." he said and shook his head unsafe. "Don´t want to."

"You dont want to kiss me?" She said offended. Then she slowly looks up in his eyes and lean forward. "Are you a coward?" She wisperd in his ear.

"No," he said and folded his arms. "I just dont want to."

"John is a coward, John is a coward!" She screamed out loud. "Come on now. Or are you afraid of girls?"

He glared at her. He was not afraid of some silly girls.

"I am not afriad of girls!" he said. "Well I can kiss you then, if it should be so necessary."

"Good," she said and skipped closer to him. Then she closed her eyes and  pursed her lips.

"On your mouth?" He asked uncertainly.

"On my mouth."

He swallowed and licked his lips nervously. Then he also closed his eyes, leaned forward and ....

"Gotcha!" She yelled. He opened his eyes. She lay on the floor, writhing with laughter.

"You are so easy to fool?" She laughed. "Tricked" He was so confused that he could not even blink. She laughed and sat up again.

"Geek, now we play catch. You're it! "She punched him lightly on the arm and then ran across the floor and out the door, down the rope ladder and stood balanced on a rock below before he even had time to react.

"Come on!" She screamed and ran away through the woods. He followed.

                                                                           

                                                                                  Today

He released her hand and let her climb ahead of him up the worn rope ladder. When he saw that she was standing firmly on the platform above, he climbed up.

They sat together in their usual place, the west wall, that they had said back then, but what did they know about it really, it might as well be the North, the East or the West for that matter. He enveloped her in his arms, held her close and kissed her hair. Her fingers caressed slowly the inscription on the wall. J + S forever. John and Sophie. Sophie and John. Only two children then. So much had happened since. She turned her head towards him and saw with her clear blue eyes, straight into his brown.

"We will always be togheter." she whispered.

"Always" he replied.

"Shall we play a game?" She suggested. He laughed and kissed her. Their hands found each other and their fingers intertwined. Yes, a lot had changed, but the feeling of her heartbeat against his chest was the same. His love for her will always be the same, and they will always have eachother. From their first meeting all the way to the end.

Forever.

Well, that was what he thought.

Thanks to everyone who reads, more to come! Don´t forget to vote and fan!