Tell Me a Story | ✓

Far, Far Away: Part 1

1. Girl

A girl, waiting for her ticket.

A ticket - that will send her to her dream come true.

She walks to the train with only her worn backpack as her luggage, leaving behind her hometown and boarding the train that will send her far away. She's in her gray wintercoat and skinny jeans, her feet snuggled inside her old slippers. Everyone is dressed similarly considering it being only a few days before Christmas. She finds an empty bench in the middle of the train and slides onto the wood, setting her bag down beside her and kicking her feet up on the opposing bench.

The double doors slam shut and the train jolts forward, beginning its journey to far, far away. The girl sighs and slouches in her seat, picking out her book from her bag and turning to the latest dog-eared page. But when she reads the words, they don't register in her mind - instead, she's unconsciously bringing up memories of him and her.

There's a constant fear haunting the back of her mind of him finding her. She escaped early this morning, packing her bag with only one extra set of clothes. She's finally had sense to run away from the monster she lived with; running from the bruises and scratches that were hidden beneath the long-sleeves of her jacket and the denim of her pants.

But there was a time when he wasn't a monster - there was a time where he was every girl's dream. They had met in high school, Junior year. Her friend had brought her to one of their school's baseball games to watch her boyfriend play, but what at first was a presumably boring game turned out to be the night that changed her life forever. A boy - who she had recognized as her school's first baseman - had approached her after the game and asked her out on a date.

Of course, being a sucker for innocent faces and sweet smiles, she accepted. Their date ended up being the best one she's ever been taken on - ice skating, hot chocolate, star gazing. It even ended perfectly - he walked with her to her front door and gave her a peck on the cheek, murmuring a goodnight with the sweetest smile she'd ever seen. He was definitely a guy she'd like to see again.

They went on many dates after that, going out to do different things every Friday night. She went to all his baseball games and practices, sitting in the stands and cheering for him every time he went out to bat or got an out on first.

When three months passed, he took her out on a Sunday and refused to let her know what they were going to do. To her surprise, they went straight to the ice skating rink they visited their first date. Like the first date, they had a great time. And, also like the last time, they went to go have hot chocolate and stargazed in his truck's tailgate. She was confused, so she asked him what she'd been thinking all night: Why are we doing this again?

He answered with a smile and sat up facing her. She did the same. He looked at her for a long while with a small smile, and after a few minutes she covered his eyes with her hands out of embarrassment. He chuckled and removed her hands, holding them in his. "Will you be my girl?" he had asked. And then she understood.

Her friends were ecstatic when she told them, all giving her and him a big hug in congratulations. It was like they had announced they were getting married - random people were coming up to them in the hallways and clapping his shoulder in congrats or giving her a polite smile.

The night they shared their first kiss was also the first night they said I love you. They were out stargazing, and she knew something big was going to happen since he brought her out there again. They pointed out the same constellations, laying in comfortable silence. Not too long after, though, he sat up again like last time and she copied him.

He hesitantly cupped her chin with his fingers and stole her first kiss. It was short and simple and everything she had hoped and imagined it would be. After the kiss, he set his forehead on hers and looked her in the eyes, giving her the sweet smile she'd always loved. And he said those three little words that made every girl's heart beat erratically. Smiling, she said them back, and they shared their second kiss.