Chapter 26. Back To You
The last thing I remembered before gravity pulled me downward was seeing Glace's coffee colored eyes and beautiful features. But her face that was typically calm was showing an expression of complete dread. And then everything went dark.
It seemed like eternity when I finally opened my eyes again. My mom was leaning down to me in total panic. "Dulce!" she screamed, her usually soft voice distorted by fear. "Just stay put honey, don't move." Mom ran as fast as she could away from me while I stared at the darkening clouds. Wetness hit my cheek. The sky gave off a slow drizzle. Great. . .
Mom was so funny. She told me not to move when all I wanted was to do that. The problem was I couldn't and with each passing second, I was getting more and more scared at the fact that I wasn't able to. She came back a few minutes later with two men at her side. "Dulce sweetie," she said in a phony calm voice. "The men will carry you okay? Try to stay as still as possible."
I didn't reply and just watched uselessly as the bearded men wearing ugly orange overalls tried to haul me over their arms. Unbearable pain shot up my legs. "Noooo!! Stop it please its painful!" The voice that came out of my mouth was barely recognizable. It was high pitched and small. A child's voice, I thought. Glancing to my mom in panic I noticed for the first time that she looked a bit different, younger somehow.
"I know its painful Dulce but you have to bear with it. We already called for an ambulance but it will take them a few minutes to get here. We need to get you out of the rain sweetheart." At her instruction, the men moved me up again. "Don't!" I cried. But against my will, they continued with their action.
Glancing back at the place where I have fallen, a strong sense of déjà vu overwhelmed me. Somewhere somehow this has happened before. The hill looked awfully familiar. So were the tombstones that lined the cemetery. And then it dawned on me. Something occurred before this. Something important.
Concentrating hard, I found out that I could move my legs. By sheer will, I let loose from the firm grip of the bearded men and stood up on the grass. They didn't seem to notice that they weren't carrying me anymore and continued moving quickly away from me. My mom with her younger face and body moved with the men, oblivious of my disappearance which was really strange. But I didn't mind. I needed to find out what happened before I fell off the hill.
I looked down on my hands. Man they were so tiny it was almost comical. Dismissing the thought as soon as it hit me, I began to make my way to the other side of the hill where I knew I could easily climb because of the strong foothold. Why did mom and I come here again? Oh that's right. Dad died a year ago and I insisted on going to the cemetery to visit him.
When I reached my destination, my small feet carried me upward. I was desperate to reach the top of the hill so I could look at the scenery. Huffing and puffing, I finally conquered the small hill. It was no small feat considering I was 7 years old. Wait. . . Do seven year olds even think like this? Well whatever. I had a mission and that was to find out what that important thing was.
"Wow!" I gushed as I took in the view from the hill. "The cemetery is beautiful! I hope there are no ghosts here."
Sitting down on a spot, I continued looking at the tombstones in the distance. It was indeed a strange place. So picturesque yet sad at the same time. A soft eerie sound made the small hair at my nape stand up. Oh my gosh. Is that a ghost? I cocked my head to the side, concentrating so I could hear the sound clearly. A few seconds passed. Someone was definitely crying.
Dusting myself from dirt, I stood up from my position and slowly walked to the source of the sound. Please don't let it be a ghost, please don't let it be a ghost, I prayed repeatedly. Leaning down to the direction I came from, I saw a girl about my age crying softly. She was seated on the grass while hugging her knees, oblivious by my presence just several feet above her.
She looked so cute. But why was she crying? My small heart protested at the sight. I decided that I had to help her, whoever she was. "Pssst!" When she didn't look at my direction, I tried another tactic. "Hey you over there." This time, the girl heard me and stared upward. Her eyes were red and rimmed with tears.
"Are you a ghost?" she asked with a small hiccup.
I returned the question, my heart beating fast. "Are you?"
She had a disgruntled look on her face. "No. . ."
"Well I'm not a ghost too." I beckoned her with my finger. "Come here." She shook her head in refusal. "I can't. . . I'm scared."
"Don't be," I replied and spread my arms wide. "See? It's not scary at all. Now come here so you can see the view. It's aweeesoooomee."
The girl stared at the distance and seemed to consider before she stood up, dusted herself, and shakily made her way to me. When she reached the top, she took in the view and stayed silent. She looked like she was about to cry again.
"Please don't cry stranger," I said while patting her shoulder. She nodded in response but didn't speak, biting her lips hard. Wanting to make her feel better, I took her small hand and ushered her to where I was sitting previously. We sat side-by-side; me in a crossed legged position while she was hugging her knees.
Cocking my head to the side I asked her, "Why are you crying?" She gulped three times before glancing at me. "Mommy died." After saying the words, droplets of tears fell from her eyes, down to her rosy cheeks. My hands quickly found her face. I wiped it gently, softly, being as careful as I could so I wouldn't hurt her further. The feeling of losing someone was familiar to me. After all, my dad died a year ago.
"I know what it's like to lose someone," I whispered. She angrily wiped the tears with the back of her hand. "You do?" she sniffed.
"Yes. It's my dad's death anniversary today." I gave her an encouraging smile. "When he died, I thought I would die too. But then mom told me that I shouldn't be sad because dad will not like it when I'm unhappy." I pointed to the clouds. It was dark and hinted of a coming storm, yet the drizzle has momentarily stopped. "Mom said that dead people went up there and they can see what we're doing."
"They can?" she asked with a weak voice. "But when I asked daddy where mommy went he told me that she went nowhere. He said she didn't exist anymore." The girl started to sob again, her whole body shaking slightly. Not knowing what else to do, I moved closer to her and hugged her. "Shhhh... Don't cry... That's not true. Your mommy is up in the sky right now, looking down on you."
The girl snuggled to me, grasping my pink sweater as she did so. "I'm so scared of being alone," she said shakily. Poor girl, I thought, my already small heart breaking into tiny little shards for her.
"You won't," I assured her. "You'll have your dad with you."
"But he just wouldn't look at me," she sniffed.
Wanting to comfort her, I stroked her dark raven hair with my hand, watching in satisfaction as she relaxed. I could tell that this girl has been through a lot. And her daddy was mean.
To encourage her, I told her what was on my mind. "When my dad was still alive and I wanted him to notice me, I would do well in school or help my mom clean my toys so he'd be pleased with me. Maybe you can do that. Maybe you can do something so good that he'll have no choice but to look at you."
"Like what?"
I shrugged and looked at the sky, trying to figure out what she could do to make her daddy happy. "I don't know. Maybe you can organize your toys." She shook her head gently. "We have our maid Martha to do that."
"Or you can play an instrument," I supplied. "My dad used to be happy when I played him the piano." She shook her head again. "I already played him the piano and he wasn't satisfied by it."
I sighed. "Your daddy is so picky." Placing my hands on her chin, I tilted it upward so we were face to face. The color of her eyes reminded me of something. "Well, what are you good at?" She squeezed her eyes shut in concentration. After a few seconds, she opened it again and had the widest smile in her face. She looked cute because of it. "Mommy said I inherited her talent for acting." Now she had an excited expression, as if she was about to open a gift on Christmas day.
"You can be an actress!" I squealed. "Your mommy will be so happy in the sky when she sees you on tv and your daddy will be proud of you. You're a genius!" The girl broke the embrace and sat confidently, her small shoulders squaring. When she looked back at me, I was surprised to see her frown. "What's wrong?" I asked.
Her shoulders slumped again. "But I'm scared to be on tv. They will laugh at me."
"No one will laugh at you," I said in a firm voice. "And if ever they did, I will punch them in the face. People shouldn't laugh at people who follow their dreams."
"You will?" A small smile began to spread on her face, her eyes twinkling at the thought. "Yes of course. I'll do that for you. We're friends now right?" I offered her my right hand, urging her to shake it.
"Yes." Hesitantly, she touched my hand with hers and held it. "But I don't know your name. I can't keep calling you stranger." Before I realized what I did, I was already pinching her cute rosy cheeks. It was a good thing that she didn't complain and just stared hopefully at me. "I'm Dulce Gavin," I said. "What's your name?"
"I'm Glace McKenzie," she replied, not taking her hands off of mine and squeezing it gently. "McKenzie is my mommy's middle name. I don't know why they never allowed me to use my daddy's surname."
"Don't worry. I like McKenzie." I said with a smile. "It goes well with your name." I stared at her hand. She was still holding mine tightly. Teasing her, I brought it up and kissed it lightly. "What was that for?" she asked, her ears turning a subtle hint of red. "It's for meeting you today. You made me so so soooooo happy Glace."
She lowered our hands and looked shyly at me as she finally released it. "You made me happy too. Thank you."
"No problem. By the way, where is your daddy?" I glanced left and right, trying to see in the distance. No one was in sight. "It's my mom's funeral," she said sheepishly. "I kind of snuck off. The guests were so annoying and dad wasn't talking to me anyway so I figured I might as well go away. Where is your mom Dulce?"
I returned the sheepish look. "She's at my father's grave. I snuck away too. I mean, I already said hi to dad's grave and left beautiful roses so. . ." We stared at each other mischievously. Both of us were very naughty children.
Glace began to laugh and oh how nice her laugh was. It was like a hundred small bells tinkling together, signaling the start of something exciting. The expression on her face also lights everything up, including her eyes. "You're cute," I said out of the blue. She stopped laughing, her eyes dilating as she took the words in. Lowering her face shyly she said, "You're beautiful too. You remind me of Wendy in Peter Pan."
"I don't want to be Wendy," I scoffed. Glace's eyebrows shot up in curiosity. "Why?"
"Because Wendy grew up and got married to another person instead of Peter. I won't be like that." Standing up, I ran all over the place, not an ounce of fear in me, even whilst we were on top of the hill. "Careful!" Glace warned and stood up nervously.
I halted right in front of her. "If I find my Peter Pan, I will never let go of that person, even if I grow old." Glace scratched her head. "What if you're the type of Wendy who got married to Peter?"
"That could work too," I giggled, kissing her nose quickly after. Her ears turned red again and this time it was a darker shade. "So uhm." She leaned down and plucked a chunk of grass from the hill. Looking up she said, "Can I be your Peter Pan?" She inhaled and exhaled loudly in nervousness.
I kneeled right next to her. "You mean like that girlfriend and boyfriend thing but in this case girlfriend and girlfriend?" I asked. She cleared her throat and nodded slowly, a blush now creeping on her face. "Sure!" I replied. "But we need to make it official."
"What do you mean Dulce?" She sat fully on the grass now, crossing her legs. I mirrored her position right in front of her. Taking the ring from my finger I said, "Let's make it official with this." I held out my hand, asking her silently to give me hers. She obliged with a smile. "See this?" I asked as I showed her the ring. "This is our thing ok? I'm giving it to you."
"Okay," she replied excitedly. If only she could have jumped up and down, she would have already done so. "Do you Glace McKenzie take me Dulce Gavin as your awfully wedded girlfriend?"
"I think it says lawfully Dulce," she mumbled. "Shush! I'm the wife here so don't correct me." I pinched my eyes at her. "But I'm the wife too," she complained.
"I'm the super wife," I retorted and gave her a look. She nodded in compliance. "I repeat, do you Glace promise to be my Peter Pan forever?" She bit her lips before saying. "Yes I do Wendy." At her words, I slipped the ring on her finger, causing her to smile widely in awe. "May the elephants stomp on you and all the tooth fairy ignore you when you break this promise. You may now kiss your girlfriend."
I stared expectantly at her. She gaped at me for a few seconds before leaning closer. Raising her childish hands to my face, she cupped my cheek and whispered. "I will kiss you again when we grow up. By then I'm going to be ready I promise." Her soft lips touched mine, making the whole galaxy explode in my stomach. It was sweet, simple, and short. Exactly how a first kiss should be- at least that was what the person on tv said. But that didn't mean that I never reached Pluto, Mars, Jupiter, and back to earth in those few seconds.
"Okay," I said shakily, watching as she leaned back. "We're official now. I promise never to love anyone else. You too okay?" She nodded. On cue, the sky rumbled menacingly. "I think we need to go." I sighed in sadness and stood up.
Standing up, she helped me dust myself from grass and dirt. I glanced at her white dress for what seemed like the first time. There was a stain there. Leaning to her, I took a deep sniff. "You smell like coffee Glace." She looked down on her dress. "Yeah, the guest accidentally spilled some on me."
"Now I'm going to think of you whenever I smell coffee. Your eyes are coffee colored too." She scratched her head. "I suppose you're going to like coffee when you grow up huh?"
"Yeah," I admitted.
"Dulce?" she said in a small voice. "Please don't forget me." I smiled endearingly at her and kissed her cheek quickly. "I won't don't worry."
"But what if you did?" she asked. I shook my head stubbornly, making it known to her that it will never happen. "I will always remember you. We'll find each other when the right time comes okay? Until then, you should chase your dreams. Fly to Neverland Glace. Someday, we'll fly there together I promise."
She still wasn't convinced. "What if I found you and you've forgotten about me? Should I remind you?"
"Never ever remind me okay? If I appear to have forgotten you, it will all be pretend. It must be that I will be playing a joke on you. I mean it Glace; do not ever remind me, even if I lie convincingly. It's that or I don't want you anymore." Her face fell. "I'm just kidding."
"So is this goodbye?" she asked sadly. "I thought you read Peter Pan?" Quoting my favorite lines I said "Never say goodbye, because saying goodbye means going away, and going away means nothing."
Her eyes widened. "You're very smart Dulce. You'll make a great wife. My wife."
"I know right," I said with a small smile. "Let's hug before we go." Walking back to me, she engulfed me in an embrace. I inhaled deeply and bit my lip. She did smell like coffee and cream which will always make me think of her. "Go first," I said to her as I broke the hug.
She looked like she wanted to cry again but stopped herself. With a small wave, she began to head back from where she came earlier. Glace gave me one last look before she completely disappeared. But I wasn't worried. When I grow older, I promise to find her again. I stayed there a couple of minutes more, even daring to go to the edge of the hill. "Wooohooo!" I screamed, raising my hands up to the sky. When I decided that it was time to go back to mom, I made a pivot, hoping to get back quickly.
There are certain times in life when you know that you made a mistake somewhere and you just want to correct it. That was exactly what I felt when I slipped on something, losing my balance right at the edge of the hill. With a scream, gravity pulled me down.
When I opened my eyes my mom was leaning down to me in total panic. "Dulce!" she screamed, her usually soft voice distorted by fear. "Just stay put honey, don't move." Mom ran as fast as she could away from me while I stared at the darkening clouds. Wetness hit my cheek. The sky gave off a slow drizzle. What was I doing here? Was I talking to someone a while ago? I thought as mom came back with two bearded men in ugly orange overalls at her side.
A/N: If you don't like my book just stop reading it. Simple as that. No need to message me rude comments. :)