A Collection of Stories

Elementals II

"Are you okay? You look upset." She said. I pulled my face out of my hands and shook my head. "You can tell me, if you'd like." She added softly. I chewed on my lip a little before sitting up straight and turning towards the woman.

"Well, there is this girl I really like, actually, I love her, and she was shot last night. My sister and I were waiting for her to wake up and we started fighting with each other over her, because this girl is extremely stubborn and considerate and a long time ago she told my sister something. And I was really mad because my sister did as the girl asked and threw it in my face and I almost told my sister something the girl told me a long time ago that she swore me to secrecy on. And I almost told her secret, but the girl woke up and told me to shut it and leave." I said. The old women touched a necklace that dangled from her neck.

"Can I tell you a story?" She asked and I nodded. "When I was fourteen, world war two was at its peak and my future husband was to be drafted the following week. The night before he left, he gave me this pendent and told me if I thought of him while I prayed, it would help bring him home. He was gone for three years after that day, flying fighter planes and shooting down the Nazi's. He came home the summer of 1945, a strong young man with many stories to tell me. We married the next year, the two of us working around the clock. Our first few years were the hardest, we had no money and we were trying to scrounge up enough for our first child." She stopped talking and smiled faintly as she ran her fingers over smooth metal.

"I'm not trying to be rude ma'am, but what's the point of this story?" I asked. The old woman smiled and tapped my leg.

"My point is that things were tense between us, lack of money caused stress, our son caused us stress, which caused distrust between us. I'm telling you that things will be tough, but if you truly love this girl, nothing will tear you two apart." The woman looked at me for a moment before pulling her necklace over her head and pressing it into my hand. "Give this to her. This gave my husband and me fifty wonderful years, and I want you two to have fifty years too." She said. I smiled and leaned over, pressing my lips to her cheek.

"Thank you." I said; standing and shaking her hand. I walked into the warm hospital and down the hall to Nat's room. Butterflies erupted in my stomach as I stood outside the closed door. I gripped the door handle as I slowly opened the door and walked in on Mariana and Nat talking over a cold tray of food. Nat looked up as I stood awkwardly by the door, my hands shoved in the front of my jeans. She quickly looked back at her lap, tucking a rebellious lock of hair behind her ear. Mari stood and walked over to me, chewing on her lip.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you." She murmured, hugging me quickly. "I'm going to go for a walk." She said as she walked out the door. Natalie sat on her bed, her right arm now in a bleach white sling. I walked over and sat across from her, taking her good hand in mine. Nat didn't look at me as I laced my fingers with hers.

"I'm sorry Nat. I didn't mean to tell Mari your secret." I murmured. She looked at me with doughy eyes. My insides melted and I kissed her full on the lips, holding her face firmly in my hands. She kissed me back, her good arm wrapped securely around my neck.

"I am so mad at you," She murmured against my lips. I pushed Nat onto her back and hovered over her. "This isn't making up for anything; it's just prolonging a fight." She hooked one leg over my hip and the other tangled with my supporting leg. I kissed her harder, giving her no room to speak.

"Nat, shut up. I'm not fighting with you; I refuse to leave you under any circumstance. So shush." I mumbled against her lips. Nat pulled back slightly, looking me in the eye.

"Ky, what are you saying?" She murmured. I wrapped my arms around her and sat up with her in my arms.

"I was talking with this old woman earlier and she told me the story of her and her husband. They were married for fifty years and they had a lot of kids together, and I realized that I wanted what they had." I paused and fished the necklace out of my pocket. "The old woman said that this brought them fifty years of luck and she thought that it would give us fifty years of luck." I took Nat's hand and pressed the necklace into her palm.

Nat looked at the necklace, running her thumb over the smooth metal. "You took this from an old lady, who was probably out of her mind." She said, looking at me. "I'm sorry, Ky, I can't accept this." She said quietly. She tried to hand me back the necklace, but I refused it. I wasn't taking it back ever; she knew that all too well. Nat looked at me, pressing the necklace into my hands.

"Why?" I whispered, reluctantly curling my fingers around the necklace. She chewed on her bottom lip as she looked at her lap, running her hand through her hair. She always did this when she was stalling. I put two fingers under her chin and made Nat look at me as I kept my eyes on hers.

"Because I'm scared, Kyden," She whispered, wrapping her arm around herself. "I'm scared of being in something so serious and having the possibilities of having a baby of my own and feeling insecure because I'm not good enough for you." She said quietly. I pulled Nat into my lap and wrapped my arms around her waist, kissing her temple lightly.

"Natalie Carter, you are everything to me. I'm not proposing or anything like that, I'm making you a promise. I promise that I will always be here for you and help you in whatever way you need me and we can take it as slow as you want." I finished as I looked into her eyes. Nat's lips were pursed into a thin line as the wheels in her head turned. Come on Nat, please answer me, I thought.

"You were wrong, by the way." She whispered. I raised an eyebrow at her. What was I wrong about.

"What?" I asked, cupping her cheek in my hand.

"I didn't leave because of my parents. I left because I drove myself crazy looking at the scars. And the day I came home with the three of you was hell too because you were so upset with me and I didn't know how to handle it." She whispered. "And then you risked your life for me--"

"Sh," I cut in. "I was never mad at you. I was mad at myself because I let you get hurt. But I promise I'm here to protect you, and I always will." I vowed. Nat pressed her face into my neck and took several deeps breaths.

"Okay." She whispered at last.