|prologue|
" BEFORE THE WAR,
HE USED TO SMILE A LOT. "
1914
BIRMINGHAM, MAY 3rd
THE TRAIN CHUGS underneath the brick bridge Daisy was under, she pushes her white dress down as the wind blows it up.
She was Marilyn before her time.
The wind let out a ghostly howl that was seemingly haunting; this spring air was icy enough to make atoms shiver. Still, the sun shone over the frost that sparkled like diamonds on the grass.
It was truly the coldest spring.
Looking out from under the bridge and into the everlasting blue sky, Daisy saw the first birds of the season take flight to migrate.
She smiles.
"If it isn't my favourite Daisy in the garden."
Grinning, she turns around to the familiar face she loved dearly.
"Tom, you came." Daisy runs up to him, pulling him into a warm embrace and feeling his arms wrap around her.
He pulls away, holding her chin up so her forest green eyes focus on him. "What did I miss?"
Daisy fidgets around, shyly.
She had been with Tommy for so long now but she still got butterflies like it was the first time seeing him.
"Nothing important, it's just me."
"Well, you're the most important thing of all." He tucks her auburn hair behind her ear.
Daisy turns away, looking at the endless fields in front of them. She could see it. The ghosts of their seventeen year old selves, running around and laughing. This had always been their safe spot. This place was them.
She hated how that was a distant memory now.
"They say there's going to be a horrible war." Once again, the wind lifts her auburn hair up.
"I won't leave you Daisy, even if I'm not physically here."
She turns back around, facing Tommy.
"Are you afraid of dying?"
Daisy loved that man more than life itself.
Tommy pauses, he hands her a bouquet of daisies with a pink ribbon around them that he'd been hiding behind his back.
"Legend has it that daisies never die."
She lets out a happy laugh, like a schoolgirl gossiping in the corner or a child getting their first toy on their birthday. A laugh of pure joy.
Tommy brought out that side of her.
Then there was silence again, Daisy stared at the flowers in her hand.
"I want to go to America." She finally says. "I can't only be singing in pubs. I want to sing in big theatres, in big places. Make a name for myself. I just need to get out of Small Heath."
Tommy looks around, taking in her sudden words. That's when it hit him that they were both growing up, going in different directions. It was the end of an era.
"America can be anywhere you like it to be, even here in Small Heath."
Daisy laughs, looking at the ground. "But my dreams are so much bigger than Small Heath, Tom."
Slowly, Tommy walks up to her, cupping her cheeks with his hands.
It was a soft kiss; delicate, almost like butterfly wings gently fluttering. It was just about long enough that he could feel the warmth of her skin.
All he could think about was how her white dress looked like a wedding dress and now, how badly he wanted to see her in one at the alter.
He pulls away, placing his hands on her shoulders and turning her around so they're both facing the fields in front of them.
"Don't be silly Daisy, there's nothing bigger than Small Heath. Look, these fields go on forever." He points.
Out of nowhere, Tommy starts running in front of her. "Maybe if we keep running we'll reach the end of the world!"
Daisy chuckles at his silly humour , running after him with the bouquet still in her hands.
A lady in a white dress with a bouquet and a man in a black coat.
If I didn't know any better, I'd say they looked like a couple that had just got married, running to their honeymoon.
•••
A/N
thank you for reading this first chapter! i love you all & im so excited for where this book will go <3