Remember

Dream Of Me

I decided to bring my flower dictionary outside with me and try to identify as many flowers as I could. It was much harder to do than I thought since I had to flip through the entire book to find a picture that best fit best the flower I had. It helped that I had bookmarked several pages with flowers that I thought they could be, but my assumptions were, for the most part, inaccurate. Despite the challenge, I found myself enjoying the task. Some of the flowers I could recognize straightaway, like roses. I had only identified a handful before my back began to ache. In the end, I had to set the book aside.

I found myself frustrated. Normally, there wasn't anything that really bothered me, but for once, I had something on my mind that kept me from fading out of reality. That thing would be that boy. I'd never met anyone like him. But then, I'd hardly met anyone. Benedict and his family didn't count. I'd known them so long I wasn't sure if there was ever a meeting between us.

Zach wasn't like them, though. I thought back to how he was dressed. He wasn't really dirty, but his clothes were worn. He wore no shoes. The strangest thing, though, was the fact that he looked content. I wasn't used to that. I was used to people fighting for a better position, a better job, and a better marriage proposal. Everyone was so eager to get further in life, but not him.

I sighed and made my way back up to my room. I wasn't going to be able to stop thinking about this, so I might as well try to sleep so my brain will shut up. But of course, it didn't work out that way. My eyes were still open as the sun rose higher in the sky. I lay there and watched the light fill my room.

I suddenly realized something that should have been obvious to me. Which was that I couldn't get him out of my head because I wanted to see him again. I sat up and tried to calm the sudden nausea I felt. This wasn't like anything I had experienced before. It almost felt nice. I quickly got dressed into a yellow garden dress, which fell to my ankles but had significantly less layers than the rest of my wardrobe, and hurried out to the cliff, hoping he'd be there.

My heart felt like it was going to jump out of my chest the closer I got to the small clearing. What if he wasn't there? I saw the break of light and stopped. I had no idea why I felt so nervous. Finally, I mustered up the courage and stepped into the light.

And there he was, smiling at me like before. "I was afraid I wouldn't see you again."

I blushed, which only served to make me upset.

"Wednesday doesn't mind you being here. But don't get caught. You were right about her parents. But they are worse than you can imagine. The father might not mind so much, but the mother is like a dragon. She'll roast you alive."

He laughed nervously. "Well, then I guess I have to be a bit more careful."

I picked up the hem of my dress a bit and stepped over the roots as I walked to him. "How long have you been coming here?" I asked.

He thought about it for a while. "Five years?"

That's a long time, I thought. "Why?"

He sat up. "It's nice here. There is so much noise in town. Too many people. It can be nice too, but it's nice to just get away from it all. And besides, I like gothic things." He winked at me.

Was he talking about me? I bit my lip and shifted my eyes. He slid over a little so I could lean against the tree with him. The view was truly breathtaking. I hoped I'd be able to spend more time here. For the view, I mean.

"When will I get to meet Wednesday?" he asked.

"She doesn't go outside. It's 'unladylike,' according to her mother," I told him somewhat bitterly.

He snickered a little and shook his head at me. "I don't suppose she would consider sitting on the ground all that ladylike either. What with all the dirt. Speaking of which, aren't you afraid of ruining your dress? It would be such a pity."

No, I don't suppose she would, I thought as I smiled and shook my head. "No, it'll be fine," But it was nice. I felt uneasy being next to him, but the idea of leaving didn't really appeal to me either. I liked having human company with someone I didn't exactly hate. Maybe that was exactly why I couldn't hate him. He was the only friend I had. Well, human friend. Plus, his company was much preferable to that of Benedict. I grimaced a little.

Zach poked my cheek. "What's with that face?"

"Are we friends?" I asked, pushing his hand away.

He shrugged. "Sure. I don't see why not."

This boy always seemed to be smiling. It must be nice, having a reason to be happy. Either that or he was just really good at hiding whatever bothered him. I looked closer at his blue eyes. Once again, I noted how peaceful they looked and yet so sad. His smile didn't look forced. I blushed and looked away. Why did I blush so much? We sat there in silence for so long that I was starting to hurt. Eventually, he reclined back onto the tree and closed his eyes, enjoying the sun.

I took the opportunity to study his face. He looked a little older than fifteen. He had such long eyelashes that many girls would kill for. His copper hair fixed itself as the wind blew, furthering my theory that he made his hair messy on purpose. The closer I looked, the more I realized how feminine his features were. They clearly belonged to a boy, but they had a certain grace to them. He was beautiful.

I shifted uncomfortably. I wasn't used to sitting on the ground, especially for such a long time. Come to think of it, I wasn't sure just how long I had been sitting here.

"Try and relax," Zach said without opening his eyes. "Just lean back and enjoy the sun."

I stuck my tongue out at him and smiled. I was skeptical, but I decided to give it a try. Relaxing didn't really come easily to me, and keeping my eyes closed seemed really strange. As I sat, though, I felt the warmth Zach was talking about. It felt really good against my skin. Slowly, my muscles started to relax and I found myself dozing off. In that moment, I had slept better than I had ever before and dreamed of something sweeter. The boy reached for my hand, and this time, I could take it.

That afternoon, as I gazed out my window trying to make sense of my feelings, I glanced over at the flower I had been caring for. It had long since bloomed and was beginning to wilt. I grabbed my dictionary and flipped through the pages until I found it. A snowdrop.