Loving Jane

Epilogue

There was a distant sound of cicadas. The summer wind was cool even if the sun glared high up in the clear blue sky. I sighed in relief, laying in content underneath the shade of the old oak tree. A faint smell of wet grass and sweet strawberries lingered in the air as well. It was then I felt something nudge on my arm. And I was slowly brought back to the present. His calm breathing echoed softly by my ear.

"I hope the sandwich tasted good," Sebastian stated.

I smirked and snorted. "It's okay. Thank you for taking the time this morning to make it."

"No worries. I thought it's time I'll show you some of my cooking skills."

"Which doesn't involve cooking," I teasingly pointed out.

He nudged my arm again at that remark. "Are you challenging me to make you something for dinner tonight? You only but ask, Jane."

"Uhm... let me think about it." I paused for effect, which made Sebastian nudge on me again. "Okay. I'll let you cook me something tonight."

"What do you want me to cook?"

"I'll leave that to the chef."

Sebastian grunted as he sat up, blocking most of my view. I got up as well and peered briefly at him before staring out towards the vast cornfield a good distance from us.

"How long has it been since we've been here?" He silently asked.

I tucked my knee and wrapped my arms around them close to my chest, resting my chin on top of it. "I'm not sure. But more than a decade for sure."

"Did you ever think we've been back here...together?" He asked, hesitating on the last word.

I sighed and closed my eyes, shaking my head. "No. I didn't." I peered up at him and saw he was already looking my way. "But I've hope of it since we met again."

Its been two years since the night of my accident. Though it felt like a lifetime ago, a faint memory of an old self, a shadow of what I once was, yet it was part of me. Many nights I dreamt of it still. The quiet echoes of my voice calling for help. And the pain. Always the pain of what I'd lost.

Yet now. I have found something important again. A life worth living. My broken heart mended, though the crakes are still visible as a scar. The same but anew.

"And you?" I turned asked. "Did you ever think of this day with me?"

He smirked and looked away, towards the distant field. "I'd hope once to see it, to be there, and wished it to be a reality. But never the cause of your pain only mine."

"Yet here we are."

"Here we are true." His words resonated in the wind.

He reached a hand towards me. I broke away from my curled position. The veins underneath my skin tingling from the release. Sebastian grasps my hand, pulling me towards me. I willing allowed him, giving him control over my limb. As I crawled closer until I was tugged underneath his embrace, my body enveloped by his, I leaned back on his chest and melted into him.

"Did you ever think of this moment between us?" He whispered close to my ear.

"Not then. But now, it's all I could think of."

He cradled me under his arms. His body rocked from side to side in a calm rhythm. I closed my eyes, relishing on warm and the sense of protection it gives me.

"And you?" I whispered a moment later. "Did you ever think of the moment I finally give you my heart?"

"Every day. Every waking moment of loving you, Jane."