History equals dates

Chapter Eight

Sadie thought that it was a good idea if she sent him another part of her story and also including the name which she had come up with. She turned her attention towards the email once again and hit 'reply'. She knew exactly which part of her story she would send to him; if he thought that her feelings were a game she might as well play a little, too.

She wrote,

"Dear Mr Cooper,

I apologise for my late reply as I was away on holiday.

Thank you for actually reading my story - I thought you never would.

Regarding to our meeting, yes it sounds like a good idea, although you might need to explain where your office is located. Is your office the one which belonged to Mr Austen? He was our history teacher last year.

I have also come up with a good title for the novel: it's called 'Fearless' and you shall she why in the part which I am including in this email. I hope you enjoy it.

"After waiting for days to speak to Derek, Ania escaped from her dormitory to the Nazi headquarters. There were security guards everywhere but that would never stop her from seeing him - she had to see him.

There he was, sitting down underneath a tree, as if he were waiting for something to happen. 'Derek,' she whispered. 'I found you.'

Derek smiled and reached for Ania's slim body. He had noticed her weight loss, mostly due to the hard work and malnourishment caused by the Nazis at the concentration camp. He could not understand why these people had to suffer so much, only because they had a different faith. 'Your father is alive, Ania, we have found him.'

'Oh my gosh,' she sobbed in his arms, relieved. 'Have you seen him?'

'Oh, I haven't,' he whispered to make sure that no one could hear their conversation. 'But records prove it - their records are accurate, Ania.'

Ania released herself from Derek's strong grip and wiped away her tears. 'I'm running away,' she stated.

Derek's face fell. He surely was not expecting her to say such a thing. 'What does this mean for us?'

'Come with me,' she cried, moving closer to him. 'I love you.'

That's all I have for now, Sir.

Best wishes,

Sadie"

Then she hit send.

"Are you still up?" Sadie panicked as she heard a voice coming from the bedroom door. Then she relaxed as she realised that it was only Emma, her sister. Her bedroom door was closed but she guessed she was too focused on sending the email to Mr Cooper that she had not heard Emma open the door and walk in. "Oh, I'm sorry if I scared you, Sadie."

Sadie forced a smile and motioned with her arms for her sister to come in because she was still waiting in the doorway. "Did I wake you up?" she asked.

Emma chuckled. "What? No, no. I came to check if you're still asleep," she smiled as she walked in and sat down on Sadie's bed.

Sadie glanced at her sister: she was so beautiful. Her blonde locks and pale skin complemented her green eyes. She and Sadie did have the same features, however Sadie believed that Emma was so much more beautiful than she would ever be.

Sadie immediately closed her laptop and seemed uneasy. "Hey, who are you talking to?" inquired Emma.

"Oh," started Sadie. "No one in particular. I'm just writing emails."

Emma could see that Sadie was uncomfortable with this situation, but wanted to know what was bothering her younger sister. "Interesting," she smiled. "Who is this mystery person?"

Sadie chuckled nervously and got out of her bed to put her laptop away. "Just a teacher," she replied, hiding her blush.

"Is he hot?" teased Emma, getting up and walking towards her sister. "Do you have a picture of him? I wanna see him."

"Gosh, Emma, stop it," raised her voice Sadie as she faced Emma, who looked shocked. "First you disappear from my life without me knowing whether you're still alive or not; then you ask personal questions about my love life -"

"So you like him," stated Emma,crossing her arms. "Admit it."

"I don't have to admit anything to you. You're just like mum, you -" started Sadie but she stopped when she released what she had just said and gasped.

She was letting her crush for Mr Cooper get in the way of everything. And this was unacceptable.

Emma's facial features had changed. She did not look jolly as usual. Nor did she seem to be curious about Mr Cooper anymore. She was hurt - really really hurt. And she was leaving Yorkwood in just a couple of days. "I'm sorry you feel like that," she whispered after she swallowed a bile which had formed in her throat after trying too hard not to cry.

Emma walked out of Sadie's bedroom, ignoring her pleas and apologies. How could she compare her to their mother? Sadie knew that any reference to their mother hurt her - but comparing her? That was unacceptable.

The following morning when Sadie woke up for breakfast, she was greeted by the most unexpected news: Emma had packed up all of her belongings and was probably already back in New York. Mr Wilson was devastated. Why would she walk away from them? Did she not know how much he adored his daughters? What could have gone wrong?

Sadie was handed an enclosed envelope with her name written at the front. She immediately recognised Emma's writing. With tears into her eyes, Sadie sprinted to her bedroom upstairs and sat down at her desk. After a couple of minutes of talking herself into opening the envelope, Sadie decided she had to read it - she owed it to Emma.

Hesitantly, Sadie unsealed the envelope and took out a folded letter. This was typical Emma for she was such a perfectionist, even when it comes to letter writing. With her fingers trembling, Sadie opened the note and gulped before she started reading Emma's letter.

"Dear Sadie,

After leaving your bedroom last night I kept thinking about my behaviour towards you. I thought it was a norm for the older sister to tease the younger one. I was trying to feel at home - I was hoping you would consider asking me to stay in Yorkwood and I would have stayed; I was planning on staying if you and Dad wanted me to.

But you're right: I'm just like Mum. I leave when things get tough and I hurt all the people close to me. I don't know if I'll be coming back to town anytime soon, but you're more than welcome to call me or come to New York whenever you're up to it.

My only advice would be to never give up on who you want to be even if it meant breaking the rules. The most important thing is that no one gets hurt.

Please speak soon.

Love,

Emma"

Sadie sniffed as she wiped her teary eyes. She regretted comparing Emma to their mother. She should have known that mentioning their mother would truly hurt her older sister. The reason Emma had left town in the first place was because she could not stand what people and the media were saying about their family. There were so many rumours about the reason the Wilsons separated that the children were doubting which was true and which was invented by the media.

And whatever did Emma mean by 'breaking the rules' to be who she wanted to be? Was she talking about Sadie's crush on Mr Cooper? There is no way that Emma would approve of that kind of relationship between us, thought Sadie. Or would she?