ONCE UPON A TIME ✨

21. Not a big deal

Tasha's pov :

I took a deep breath and exhaled sharply. I was standing by the water, watching the beautiful view of the lake. It was 4pm and the weather was not too sunny. The lake has a beautiful and magnificent blue coloured water with a hint of green because of the hills surrounding it. I looked up to the sky which was fully covered with fluffy clouds and white birds which flew over my head. The clouds reminded me of my father. We used to come to this lake when i was a kid.

"Daddy, that one looks like Simba" i said while pointing to a group of clouds. My father just laughed and agreed with me. We were sitting on a bench and i was lying on my father's lap. He stroked my hair slowly with care. We often came to this lake whenever i was bored at home or when my father had his own problems. But, of course, i was too small to even understand what a 'problem' is. He used to say that when he looked at the beautiful view of the lake, he forgot all his problems for awhile. The clouds and the sound of the water help to calm him down and think rationally a solution to his problem, he once said to me.

"That one looked like a tiger to me" my father randomly pointed at a group of cloud.

"What? No. It looks like a cat" i complained.

"Cat, tiger, everything is same, darling" my father shrugged his shoulders. I was shocked at his reply and bolted upright from my dad's lap. Well, i was 4 years old that time and i wanted to win every argument.

"No, they are not" i tried to sound stern but my kid's voice made my dad laugh histerically.

"You are so cute, you know that?" my dad said in between his laughs and pinching my cheeks.

"Noooooooo" i shouted and started to walk away, arms crossed.

"Tasha, wait" my dad ran slowly to catch me. Upon seeing my dad, i ran away even faster and he continued to try to catch me.

My eyes teared up at the flashback of my father. "I miss you dad" i said, looking up at the sky as if my dad could hear me. After my father's death, it took me some time to visit this lake because this place contained a lot of memories with my dad. I always came here whenever i have problems and need a place to think. I believed in my father's path. He always believed that when he sat here for awhile while thinking about his problems, he eventually will find a solution. He believed in that and so do i.

I was there at that day for a big life decision. I wanted to let go of Betty by getting rid the only thing that reminds me of her. Our friendship ring. I finally took Dr. Aldrin's opinion to throw the ring-chain away. Together with the ring, i wanted to let go the memories we shared together, the good and also the bad ones. I realized that i was holding onto the memories too much that i didn't want to be in any kind of relationships anymore. Because i was too scared that i will be losing them too, i had been living in a nightmare all those days. I don't want to be that Tasha anymore. That was my past.

I wanted to be with Elijah. I wanted to love him as much as he deserved to be. I did a lot of mistakes before this and i wanted to set them right. He was being a great boyfriend and i was just a shitty girlfriend. I had been living in guilty and regrets for most of the days. I wanted to apologize to him and promised that i will never leave or ignore him again. I wanted to be at his side at all costs and be his past, present and future.

And i could only do that without the memories of Betty. I sighed and took off the ring-chain. I held the chain tightly and a lot of good memories flowed into my brain. Too many memories.

I was running in the hallway. It was the first day of school and i was late to my class. I was cursing at my mom because she woke up pretty late that morning and drove like a tortoise.

"Maaaa, can you be faster! Its already late and you are going like a snail" i shrieked at my mom in the car.

"Don't shout at your mother like that. I was not going slow. This is the normal pace when you drive. You will know it when you start driving one day" she said with a calm expression. Her expression annoyed me more.

"Seriously, ma ? You are going at 60km/h. At least, drive the car at 80" i complained.

"I know, Tash. Just, shut up, okay"

So, now, because of my mom's ego, im late for class. I was running without giving attention to my surroundings. Suddenly, a girl crossed in front of me and i bumped into her. My files and the papers inside of it flew from my hands and both of us fall down.

"Ouch" she exclaimed. I was not paying any attention at her. I was getting even more panicked because it will took me some time to collect the papers and i will be late for the class even later.

"Oh, shit. Oh,shit. Oh,shit" i said in panic and quickly get up and start to collect the papers. I felt a sharp pain in my butt due to the fall but i didn't give it any care. My main focus was to get into the class before the teacher.

The girl who seemed to understand my situation helped me to collect the papers. After a few seconds, we gathered all the papers and she handed me over her set.

"Here you go" she said.

"Thank you so much. And, im very sorry too" i realized that it was my mistake that i bumped into her and apologized at her.

"Oh, its not a big deal" she said while smiling.

"Thank you. What is your name?" i asked while walking away slowly.

"Betty"

"Well, Betty. See you soon" i said and continued my ran to the class.

That was first time i met Betty. Betty was the new girl at my school and she was in the second class. We took a few classes together and that was how we became close friends. She was a very friendly and humble girl. She helped me to get over the depression of my father's death and she was always there for me. We spent almost all the time together and we were quite famous at my neighbourhood for our helpful and friendly character. When i thought about it again, i had no idea on how we became friends at the first place. Despite the fact that she helped me after i bumped into her, i always thought she picked her friends based on their status. She looked kind of arrogant at first but day by day, after she started to interact me, i realized that i was wrong. She was very sweet and she gave great advices even before we came best friends.

Betty was a precious person in my life and she played a very important role in my teenage days. Because of her, i felt the feeling of being cared and loved again after my father's death. And there were a lot more good memories of her. I sobbed harder at the thought of Betty.

"Why? Why you have to leave soon from my life?" i cried, looking up at the sky, imagining that Betty was hearing me.

"Tasha"

I heard a familiar voice from behind. I was stunned at my place, could not move at all. The voice of the person that i had been missing a lot. The voice of the person that i was not brave to face because of my mistakes. The voice of the person that i wanted to apologize and hug so badly. The voice of the person that i love. I slowly turned around to face the person.

"Elijah".