Chapter I:
Five Years Later
"Hello, I'm back. Both Father and I agreed not to speak with you at the same time. We both have different, private things we want to share with you. I miss you dearly, as does father. He's different now, different ever since we last saw you. Don't fret, he's not cruel, he's just distant. I think that I remind him too much of you and it hurts him. It hurts me too. For the first couple months, he found it hard to even look at me, which I understand. I have to be strong for the both of us. I wish you were still with us, mother. I think of you everyday. Happy Birthday. I love you." Fifteen year old Theodosia Burr placed a kiss on her mother's tombstone. She quickly stood up, turning to see her father waiting several feet behind her.
"Are you ready to leave, dear?" Her father, Aaron Burr asked as his daughter took his arm. She nodded, not speaking a word. The pair headed back into town, through the marketplace. Theo enjoyed walking through the market. She used to go shopping with her mother in the marketplace. Walking through there brought back so many memories. Their walk was unusually silent. "I know, Theo, I miss your mother too."
Suddenly, Theo drowned out her father's words. Time stopped, right then and there. Her dark eyes locked with a pair of golden-green eyes, a familiar pair of golden-green eyes. Her heart skipping a beat as she froze. Where did she recognize those eyes? She couldn't answer that. The young man stopped dead in his tracks and met the young woman's gaze. She couldn't place it. "Theo, darling, is something wrong?" Aaron tapped his daughter's arm lightly, grabbing her attention back from the boy.
Theo turned back to face her father. "Yes, I'm alright. Let's go home, father." As they began to walk back to their home, Theo couldn't help but to look behind her, back at the familiar boy. It only took the pair five minutes to return back to their home. "Father, I forgot that I needed to get things from the marketplace. Do you mind if I head back?" The man nodded, heading into his study. Theodosia quickly snagged her coat and rushed out the door, not bothering to grab money. She wasn't going to need it anyway.
The boy. He was stuck in her head as she quickly made her way back to the market, hoping that the young man from earlier was there. Her dark eyes scanned the crowd until they locked with the golden-green eyes from before. "Excuse me." The brunette made her way through the small crowd of people over to the man. The confused young man started to intentionally walk away from the eager girl. "Wait!" Theo picked up her pace, matching his own.
"Why are you following me?" He turned around sharply, staring into the girl's dark eyes. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you."
"Don't worry. I just saw you in the market earlier and..." Her thoughts began to cloud her brain. This boy had her under some sort of trance that she couldn't snap out of. "... I just know you from somewhere, but I can't seem to place you, no matter how hard I try."
They stood for a moment in silence before the boy's face lit up and a smile spread across his freckled face. "Theo!" He exclaimed, catching the girl off guard. She stumbled back a bit before he spoke again. "Sorry, I just got excited." He said, helping to steady her. "It's me. Philip."
Everything clicked, right then and there. She never could have imagined that the small boy she was friends with in her childhood could have grown so much in five years. He towered over her, almost like a tree would. His long, skinny limbs matched his frame. His hair still had perfect curls that were now under control, and his eyes, oh his eyes. They made her heart skip beats. "Philip!" The young woman screeched as she flung her arms around her childhood friend, receiving a laugh from him. "Goodness, you've changed so much!" The two ended their embrace in order to speak face to face. "You have to tell me everything about school, I bet you're excelling. You always were very smart. Are you still keeping up with piano? I hate to admit it but you were a much better—"
"Theo, geez. You still speak like you're running out of time." He said with a friendly laugh. A light red color appeared on Theo's cheeks as she took a breath. "Why don't we take a walk and I'll tell you all about it?"
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"School seems absolutely wonderful, Philip." She said, putting aside her own wishes to get a 'proper' education. She was a very smart young woman, who was incredibly educated, but she dreamed of school, a luxury women couldn't have. "I'm very happy that you're doing well, and that you've stuck with playing the piano, even after all of this time."
Philip's gaze was focused on Theo. She had really grown up since she was ten years old. He didn't remember her being so breathtaking the last time he laid his eyes upon her. Yet again, did eleven year old boys find girls breathtaking? Her dark hair bounced ever so slightly as they walked, her dark eyes were impossible to look away from, and her face was still soft, gentle, youthful. He shook his head, breaking his trance. "I just wish that you could have the same opportunities that I can." Theo looked at her friend, who didn't meet her own eyes. "It's just that you're beyond smarter than I am and you'll never have the opportunity to learn professionally or do anything with it."
It was clear to Theodosia that Philip had became upset over the topic. He was always one with emotions, she could always remember that. She took his larger hand in her own small one as the pair stopped walking. "Don't let it upset you, Philip. I've come to terms with it, and you should too. Besides, my parents made sure they gave me the best education they possibly could." Philip nodded, not wanting to get worked up over something that his friend seemed so okay with. Theo released Philip's hand and continued walking. "So, do you still write poetry? If I remember correctly, you were very good at it."
Philip tried to hide a smile and shrugged. "Not as often anymore. Just a few things." Theo couldn't tell, but Philip was lying. He still wrote poems. His friends at Kings didn't think poetry was 'cool,' so he kept his writing on the down low. If you were to open his locked desk drawer in his dormitory, hundreds of parchment papers covered in poetry would spill out from it. That wasn't the reason he lied, he lied because he didn't want to tell his friend what their subjects were. The majority of the poems in his drawer were either about or for Theodosia Burr. Although they hadn't been in touch, he still thought about her everyday.
"Maybe I could read one? Only if you're okay with it, of course." She said politely.
"Uh, sure." Philip answer. Just as he predicted, his answer brought a smile to the woman's face, which cause him to smile as well.
"You know, I tried taking up poetry after you left for school." She shared with him. She remembered her ten year old self, hunched over a desk late in the night, scribbling down different words and phrases.
"You did? Did you write anything good?"
"I didn't think so. I guess I don't have the knack for poetry writing. I'll leave that up to you." The two turned a corner, nearing Theodosia's home. She dreaded arriving there. She wished she lived farther, so she could talk more with her friend. She didn't realize how much she had missed him since his departure. "I'm sorry I stopped writing." She said softly, breaking the short lived silence.
"I wanted to ask you about that, I just didn't know how, really." The young man admitted. He had been wondering for years why the girl he had once written to everyday had stopped so abruptly.
Theo closed her eyes and looked down at her fidgety hands. Whenever she talked to other about this time in her life, this is what she did. "As you know, my mother was extremely ill." Philip nodded, following along with her story. "I wrote you everyday until her passing. After that, I couldn't pick up a quill for months. I just couldn't bring myself to write. Of course, after time, the feeing passed but I didn't know if you still wanted to hear from me."
Philip tilted the girl's chin up, so their eyes met once again. "Of course I wanted to hear from you, Theo. You were my very best childhood friend. Your letters meant the world to me. Just your common writing exceeds everyone else's." A smile formed across both the friend's faces as Theo turned to look at the large home behind her.
"This is my house." She informed him. He nodded in reply, remembering all the times the pair had played on that very front lawn. The pair made their way up to the porch. "How long are you in town for?"
"For the summer." He looked deeply into Theo's soft, deep eyes. "Don't worry, you'll see me again." Theo stepped inside her house, bidding her goodbye to her friend. Shortly after, Philip made his way back to the sidewalk before someone called for him.
"Philip!" Theo was on her front porch again. He turned his gaze to her, smiling softly as he watched her beam. "I'll write you." She said before quickly rushing back inside and sitting down at her desk, ready to write.
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Now we're getting into the story! Theo and Philip are reunited!!! Leave your thoughts, they're very helpful to me. I hope you guys enjoyed. Hopefully I'll have another chapter up soon. My midterm exams are just around the corner so I'll try my best.