I advise that my previous readers to reread the entire story because I've re-edited a lot.
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"He is more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same"
. - Emily Brontë
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"Did you really have to wake me up early? And for what?" You complained as you leered at the back of Jim's head, but you were too busy being exhausted to be angry.
Jim stopped, mid-step on the stairs and looked back at you with a secret smile. "It's a surprise. Trust me, you're going to like it. Oh, and try not to drag your feet." He continued tip-toing down the stairs, adjusting his knapsack over his shoulder.
You groaned and didn't care that you sounded like a moose."But it's, Monday! Your mom said it was busy on Mondays. I need my rest."
"And yelling," he added. You grumbled.
You only had less hours of sleep than your usual routine. You were determined to sleep more because of it, but Mechanic Boy decided to wake you before dawn. So you sluggishly got out of bed and slipped on your brown leather jacket over your night gown and slipped on camo pants under, because let's face it, you were dead tired and unable to remove any clothing -emphasis on the phrase because you literally fell asleep while trying to tie on your boots.
You felt your vision darken as you squinted to see better until you only saw black. You heard a few thumps and then felt arms grabbed you before you collapsed down the stairs and held you up. Your eyes opened and widened in alert. The shock from almost falling awoke you, but you felt slightly tired after a few moments.
"Woah. Okay, I have to admit I didn't think you were this tired," Jim said as you leaned into his chest, unembarrassed. "I promise that where we're going you can sleep if you still want to." He then wrapped an arm around your waist tightly so you wouldn't fall as he guided you down the stairs and let go.
The inn was cold and dark. You never noticed it before, but the air smelled faintly of spices and something sweet. As you walked to the front door, you smelt a sweet odor coming from the kitchen.
"What's that smell?" You asked and started for the door.
Jim suddenly jumped out and blocked the kitchen door. "Nothing! I was just turning off the stove. I made some hot chocolate earlier for when we get there."
You frowned at Jim as he quickly stepped away and opened the front door for you.
The first thing you saw was how dark the sky was; a nice midnight blue with light gray storm clouds parting slowly, revealing the few stars in the sky. Your boots landed softly on the wet sand. There was lots of cold wind and you shivered and hoped Jim brought warmer blankets than your jacket.
The door closed behind you and you saw Jim walk in another direction behind the inn where the shed was. You turned around and jogged after him.
You called after him in exasperation. "This better be worth the sleep I lost Jim! It's still supposed to rain today. What in Hell did you wake me up for?!"
In the dark, Jim almost looked like a shadow. As you caught up to him, you noticed he was opening the lock on the metal shed. When you reached Jim, he put a finger on his lips and shushed you.
You tried to place your hands on your hips, but then remembered the cold and crossed your arms over your chest and scowled at Jim.
"Who's going to hear us? Your mom is asleep and doesn't get up for another hour! She's going to see I've disappeared!"
You heard a chuckle come from him as he opened the shed and your tired frustration turned to anger. "What's so funny, Jim? Geez, why not just tell me where we're going or else I'll just happily go back to bed."
"Nothing," Jim answered. "It's just that not five minutes ago you were a walking zombie, now you're practically a parakeet."
You opened your mouth to argue back when Jim emerged with his solar surfer and your anger turned to surprise.
"Um, hate to break it to you, Jim, but how will you use your solar surfer if there's no sun?"
"Doesn't always need it. Some energy does get saved for a few more hours. I'm sure you remember from sailing."
You hummed. "Yes, I do now."
Jim placed his surfer on the ground and held his arm out in front of you. "Watch out. This thing jumps." He pushed on a red button on the surfer with his foot and when the sails whooshed out suddenly, you almost fell back in surprise if it weren't for the shed to catch you.
Jim scratched the back of his neck as he looked down at the straps that kept him on the surfer. "This normally wasn't supposed to be for two people, but, how good is your grip?"
You stood beside him and grabbed the bar. It was cold, and it startled you for a moment. You gently wobbled the bar and it obeyed loosely. You stepped back and placed your hands on your hips. "I supposed I have a pretty good grip. I steer ships, Jim. Of course my grip is good."
Jim rolled his eyes.
"Although, it's a little loose, don't you think?" You inquired.
Jim shrugged. "Seems fine to me."
You rolled your eyes as he fimished adjusted something on his surfer and held his hand out to you. You stared at it in bewilderment, though you knew he was asking you to get on. "Ready?" He asked with a warm smile.
You blushed and took his hand hesitantly. "Yes," you responded and gingerly stood on the surfer.
Jim slid his boots underneath the straps and began to start the engine. "Grab on well. This thing goes fast."
"I've seen it," you remarked and gripped the bar attached to the sail tightly. Suddenly you forgot about your deprivation of sleep and was focused on the feeling of what flying on a solar surfer was like. You don't think you've ever flown on one.
"Hold on!" Jim yelled and the next thing you knew, you were high in the sky above the canyons and the Ben Bow Inn slipped from view behind you as Jim shot past the sleeping town.
~•~•~•~
The feeling was indescribable. You felt your whole body shudder like someone dumped a bucket of cold water over your head. Wind whipped at your hair and you were wide eyed the whole time, watching as the town -which was smaller than you thought- passed by under you.
Suddenly, Jim slowed down to a stop and landed on a cliff not far from the town. But you weren't so sure. You tried to jump off, but found your hands practically glued to the bar.
You asked for Jim's help. He laughed and gently pulled them away. He closed his surfer and lay it down carefully in some bushes.
You took this time to observe your new surroundings. Tall trees obscured the sky above you, but you could see a dirt path leading in between them.
"Where are we?" You asked.
Jim adjusted the knapsack on his shoulders and stood beside you. "My secret spot. I go here sometimes."
"Oh. And what do you have to show me that's oh-so-secret?" You raised an eyebrow.
"I'll show you in a bit. Shouldn't be long." He nudged your arm and ran into the shadows. You followed him. There weren't too many bushes or branches blocking you, but you could barely see ahead of you. Fortunately, wherever Jim was, took a few seconds to reach.
When you finally jumped out of the bushes, you halted. In front of you, you saw Jim standing alone, his back facing you. He turned when he heard you and smiled. "There you are. Come on! We can't miss it!" He waved his hand over and you hurriedly followed him.
It was still dark, but you could see tall trees sounding you like in a half circle except for ahead of you where there was a cliff with open space. There was wet grass beneath you with several flowers and chirping insects. You suddenly realized this is the first time you've ever seen plant life on this planet.
"Where are we?" You asked Jim once you neared the cliff. You saw Jim spreading a thick blanket over the wet grass.
Jim stood and gave you an awkward grin. "I wanted to show you my favorite spot. I've always wanted to show this place to someone and maybe call it out secret spot, you know?" He spread his arms out to show the place, even though it was still dark. The sky was turning an icy blue. "Welcome to my oasis."
You looked up around you before looking back at him. "Me? Should I be honored?"
Jim laughed. "Sure."
You looked at the scene and noticed a picnic basket on the grass. You suddenly wanted to vomit in anxiety. "This isn't to try to, you know, make me like you more is it?" You rubbed your arm awkwardly.
Jim looked offended. "What? Of course not! You're my friend. And I wanted to show you someplace special to me."
"And you have no other friends to show this place to?"
Jim looked away. "No. I'm kind of the odd one out. They're afraid of me."
"Oh. That must be harsh."
Jim doesn't say anything and walks over and sits on the blanket, pulling another blanket from his backpack and wraps one side of it around him. He turned and beckoned you to come. You sat close to him so your shoulders touched and pulled your end of the blanket around your shoulders. There was no need to feel nervous somehow. It's like, you knew his intentions were friendly. Although, he did try kissing you not even twelve hours ago.
It wasn't hard to believe he was unlnowingly desperate for someone else's comfort and you're there trying to prevent him from getting too close to knowing about yourself. You've only revealed one thing about your past to him, and that was like telling someone they won a trillion dollars. Which, in a way, you kind of did.
You folded your legs beneath you and Jim brought the basket in between you. The blanket fell to your thighs.
"What did you pack us?" You asked as you opened the basket and pulled out a small thermos and two mugs. Jim turned and grabbed the mugs and began pouring what smelled like hot chocolate.
You smiled. "Hot chocolate huh? It seems like it's becoming our thing, don't you think? Did you bring whipped cream?
Jim smiled and handed you a mug. The warmth from the mug radiated from your cold fingertips to the rest of your body. "How could I forget the whipped cream? I haven't drunk this much hot chocolate since I was a little kid," he said as he poured himself one.
You reached in the basket and pulled out a can of whipped cream."Can't complain. Your hot chocolate is pretty good. Did you add-"
"Gingerbread to the chocolate? You bet. Can't believe what I was missing on."
You smiled wide. "You know me."
Jim closed the thermos and placed the basket on the grass and snuggled beside you.
You lowered your head to cool and then take a cautious sip of your beverage. In the distance, behind the thin gray clouds, there was a slit of sunlight in the horizon. Jim nodded towards it. "Look over there. Sun's coming up."
You looked up to the sun transforming the sky from it's amethyst color to a pale purple, following a pale blue, and then a golden color.
"It's a nice time of day isn't it?" You said after a few minutes of only the cicadas and crickets chirping. "It feels like we're the only people alive in the whole universe. And in a non-morbid way, it feels enlightening and great, like you've accomplished something." You glanced at him, and admired how his chocolate colored hair blew gently by the wind and how cute his face looked when his brows were furrowed in some form of concentration. You continued," And by this time of day, you don't really have to worry about yesterday. You're focusing that-" The letter you read last night suddenly appeared in memory.
"That what?" Jim said quietly.
You cast your eyes down for a moment, then lifted them and tried to focus back to what you were saying. "That....you're focusing that today is a new day, and what's in the past, stays in the past."
You and Jim turned heads to look at each other. He said uncertainly, "Yeah. I...guess you're right." When he looked away, you noticed him swallow a lump in his throat. No doubt thinking of his father.
You pitied him for a moment until a gust of wind made you shiver.
As you stared at the sun, you leaned into Jim's chest slowly. You soon realized that today was the tomorrow of yesterday. You can start differently than the day before. It was like that day at the hospital when you woke up not knowing who you were and you decided to keep having a normal life. Maybe you shouldn't continue anymore and, instead, sail like you've always loved to do. That would mean leaving everything behind, including Jim.
All these overwhelming thoughts, including the burden of keeping secrets, suddenly made you hiccup a sob. You couldn't control the tears flowing down your cheeks as you unshamingly wiped them away.
Jim immediately shifted and wrapped an arm around your shoulders tenderly. As he leaned his face down to look at you, he said gently, "Hey, what's wrong?"
Your sobs echoed loudly inside your hands as you used them to cup over your face. Finally, they died down and you accepted the napkin Jim offered you. "I-." You sniffled and wiped away your cheeks, but tears still made their way through your eyes. "I'm just so-so happy to be here, Jim...with you. I can't remember the last time I-I was this genuinely happy to be alone with someone who cares."
Jim didn't know what to say, and you couldn't blame him. This was all so sudden. So instead, he kissed the side of your head, sat back down, and held you close to his chest. This simple act comforted you more than you could ever believe. You sighed shakily and relaxed in his embrace, shifting so only your torso and head leaned on him.
"I'm happy to be here too, Read," Jim finally said softly.
You closed your eyes in apprehension. You wanted to say what wad on your mind, but you didn't want to ruin the moment for both of you. All you cpuld think of was, It's too late. I've already, made my decision.
The gentle winds brought around the aroma of the flowers, and the sun felt warm on your skin. You soon found yourself alseep.
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