Five Hundred Miles

1.3: The smiling girl

Chapter 1.3: The smiling girl [UNEDITED ]

[Every hour, every day,
Isn't nature denied?
In a world where it rains,
You're the sun in the sky.

But I can't bear to see you,
Coz I can't bear the pain,
And I can't heal the wounds,
Coz I still can't explain,

Why I feel like an alien,
Not part of the human race,
When my heart wants to burst,
At the sight of your face.

I feel like I'm suffering,
From a beautiful disease,
When your sad pretty smile,
Brings me down to my knees.

Such a simple thing
—Alien, Arco]

“Get up, princess." The voice says.

I open my eyes, and I see him hovering over me. Except the fact that he's grown up. His hair is a little longer, and his baby fats are all burnt off.

Strange. I know that face.

He plants a kiss on my mouth. The softness of his lips make me moan into them, craving for it to be deeper. But he pulls away, and smiles.

A smile I'd never seen before.

“Where are you taking me?" I ask groggily once I sit up. He rubs my eyes.

“Come on, princess." He tugs me. He entwines his finger with mine and leads me to the narrow pathway. The pathway I remember.

“Stole some bread?" I smile.

“Not steal." He frowns slightly, but his smile never fading. “I bought them. Your favourite, chocolate cupcake."

“Thanks! You're the best." I circle his neck with my arms, locking him to me as if afraid that he'll vanish.

His smile fades, so does he. He is flickering from opaque to translucent constantly, like a torch. His grasp loosens, but his eyes are always in mine.

I know what's gonna happened next.

“Princess," he says.

“Joshua,"

His eyes are embedded into my brain, the color of it. And when he's finally gone, I say, “I love you."

***

The alarm rings for some time in my head, until I finally get up and turn it off. It's early, but I should be preparing breakfast now.

After washing up, I stumble to the kitchen and start beating the eggs. It should be enough time to bake a cake, three hours is all I need.

Yawning, I reach for the sugar and add it with the flour. After doing all the stuffs I learnt from Amanda, I bake it, timer set as an hour.

I'm earlier than I expected. I can use a little sleep, on the desk.

I stretch, and yawn. I'm really sleepy, really really sleepy...

*Ding!*

I jump. My heart skips a beat when I'm awoken suddenly by the sound of the microwave.

It's done, my first cake.

Gideon and Derek both descend from the stairs, their eyes searching for the source of the aroma. I manage a smile that is mostly directed to Derek as a greeting.