From Sunrise To Sunset

Solace 3

Jonathan

I waited for her the next day. I wore a grey suit with a Fedora hat and a black tie with white stripes. I decided to dress like a gentleman in an attempt to help her feel more at ease in my presence. Not that I thought my presence made her uneasy. I knew she was upset about something. It's the only explanation I could think of for her actions the day before.

I was hoping that she'd show up as early as she did the day before, but she didn't. Instead, she showed up five minutes before sunrise, and she ran to the fence and held on to it, just as she did on the days before. She was wearing a blue flapper dress with sleeves that went down to her elbows and as usual, she was barefoot. She did not turn to look at me or in any way acknowledge my presence. I was disappointed! I wasn't sure why she was suddenly acting like this. First, she left without an explanation and now she was refusing to acknowledge my presence. Her actions were causing my heart to grow heavy. What was she doing to me? I loathed the feeling of my heart growing heavy. I wanted to approach her immediately and demand an explanation for her actions, but I decided to let her have her moment. I waited until the sunrise was over and then I walked over and stood next to her.

"Margaret," I said softly, looking at her. "Did I do something wrong?"

She did not look at me or utter a single word. She folded her hands against her chest and shook her head from left to right.

"Then why won't you look at me?" I asked.

She still did not respond. She only continued to stare out at the sun. I refused to accept her silence. I took a deep breath and took a few steps forward then turned and leaned against the fence so I was now looking her straight in the face.

"Jonathan," she said in a whisper, looking at me and taking a step back.

I removed my grey Fedora hat from my head and smirked, satisfied that my actions had made her speak.

"You owe me an explanation," I said, becoming serious. "I feel like I have done something wrong. Do I need to apologize?"

"No!" she said, shaking my head again. "You did nothing wrong."

"Then why did you leave, yesterday? One minute you were in my arms," I smiled when I said the last three words. "...and then you were gone... Why?"

She bit the inside of her bottom lip. "It's difficult to explain."

"I believe I'm wise enough to understand."

She looked at me from head to foot, then back up, and gave me a small smile. "Okay..." she said, removing her eyes from me and looking at the sun. "I've been coming here every day for three months now because my mother made a promise to me that she would never die once the sun was in the sky. I come here every morning to look at the sunset hoping that when I return home she'll still be alive."

"Margaret," I said softly, leaning off the fence. I wanted to pull her into my arms but I decided against it as I did not want her to repeat the same actions as the day before. "So, that's the promise behind the necklace?" I asked, looking down at the necklace around her neck.

She held onto the necklace and nodded her head in response.

"How long does she have?"

"Three months," she said and I saw devastation in her eyes.

"Margaret..." I said softly as the urge to reach out and comfort her grew stronger. "I'm sorry."

"Thank you," she said still holding onto her necklace and looking at the sun.

"What is she dying from?"

"Cardiomyopathy. It's a heart disease."

I nodded my head and pursed my lips. "How's your father taking it?"