Stories / A Life After Love Part 3
516 Views
4.4 Rating

Julia came home, ate, painted and went to sleep. She's getting quite talented at painting but was a little upset that her first picture sold for only $2! I gave her a jar with "Painting Money" written on the front. It was 6:30 in the evening and I walked outside in the sandy garden watching the sunset. My old life seemed so far away...

Julia came home, ate, painted and went to sleep. She's getting quite talented at painting but was a little upset that her first picture sold for only $2! I gave her a jar with "Painting Money" written on the front. It was 6:30 in the evening and I walked outside in the sandy garden watching the sunset. My old life seemed so far away... My eyes were threatening to well up again. I let the tears come slowly knowing that Julia was sound asleep and safe. Memories flickered past my eyes. Blurry and yet so clear. The wind carried the sounds of the sea, gulls and distant traffic. In the late afternoon heat-haze I could see the street lamps from across the bay. My friends were there...rushing through their lives. Jamie in the hospital, Hank at the station, Pauline playing guitar and Justine playing with her twins. My heart felt as if it was going to stop completly. I wanted to run, to scream blue murder at the sky, to lie down on the warm sand and sob for hours. I didn't. Instead I stared at the fine grains that had once been shells beneath my feet. Finally the tears slowed and my breath hiccouped a few times. Then there was just silence. The sun was still there, so was the sand, the sky and everything. A plan suddenly took hold and I called Justine. She sounded tired but this couldn't be avoided. I had to do this. "Justine? I need to ask a favour. Can you look after Julia for three days. I need to go away. I'm sorry for the late notice." Justine seemed to read my mind and simply, "Of course I'll come and get her later. She'll understood. Now just you take care of yourself." My voice was choked with all gratitude and all I could say was "Uh-huh." I hung up and ran into the house and quickly threw some clothes into a bag. As I left the room the box with the memories beckoned and I added that to my light carpet bag and laptop. I got into my car and drove. Whether Julia heard or not I didn't see her little face peeking out from her room. Poor kid must be wiped out I thought. I passed Justine going down to pick Julia up and I flashed my lights at her. She returned this gesture. I drove on and the street lamps shot past me faster as I hit the freeway. It winded round the coast like a piece of string left behind to guide me. I drove all night and I felt a thrill of excitement when the sun appeared from the clouds. I'd reached the end of the freeway and as I turned off onto a narrower lane. High hedge after high hedge passed the window. The sense of freedom washed over me. I'd felt it on my gap year and other travels before Julia. As we lived by the sea Julia had never wanted to go traveling when she had a beach as her playground. Finally I reached the small village seperated by a calm river and surrounded by fields of tomatoes, grapes and potatoes. The sun shone down onto the mirror-like surface of the river. Unfortunatly I hadn't had time to book a hotel so instead I settled for a cheap boarding house. It had a room full of squashy armchairs in front of a fire, a large kitchen, dormitary and a handful of private rooms on the first floor. Thankfully I managed to get a private room upstairs. It was painted a dark, dingy blue and had an unreliable latch on the door. After I put my clothes into the maple dresser I took off the clothes I had been driving in. It felt good to wear my new green dress. In the full length mirror I gazed at the woman with dark patches under her eyes. She looked anxious...scared...and alone. I walked out of my room, down the stairs, across the kitchen and out to the cellar. The wind blew through the narrow corridors and it was cold in the shade. Just within earshot I could hear children playing, cars on the roads and moterbikes roaring past the boarding house. The cellar was as cold as the corridor but I stopped feeling the cold, the silk on my skin. Anything. For there was the picture I'd left behind some crates years before. "Stiles..." The photograph was a copy of the one in my bag. It was a picture of him laughing at Cyclon3. He'd fallen into a snow pile outside their flat. Being mad on photography I'd snapped any moment I could find. This cellar was where Stiles had said he loved me on a college trip. Other people had left trinkets of their visits. It was like a makeshift shrine or a gigantic scrapbook. All jumbled up. All wonderful Suddenly something caught my eye outside. No! Its not possible I thought. I could feel my face ease with the warm glow of a smile. The first in days. There was a small gate set into the wall. Hardly daring to breath I walked through the gate, my heels clacking on the cobbles. Quicker and quicker. The sound was deafening. Stifling. I pushed open the gate and found myself in a walled garden that was dotted with statues and miniture mazes. "That's me!" I gasped...

A Life After Love Part 3

Feb 26, 2010 by Iheartvampyres123
    Rate this:
       

    Page 1 / 11

    More from this Category:

    Report this Story:

    If you find a problem with this story or wish to report inappropriate content, click here

    Add a Comment

    Note: Please report any offensive comments so we can remove them. Use of bad language, unsuitable links or flaming will result in deletion of your account - regardless of your membership status.

    8 Comment(s) posted so far

    On Feb 27, 2010 pottsyy wrote:

    ooohhh, interesting part. \:\) Exciting!
     

    On Feb 27, 2010 Really? wrote:

    That was so good!

    On Feb 27, 2010 Golden97 wrote:

    Brilliant Chapter \:rah\: Cant wait for the next chapter \:\)

    On Feb 27, 2010 urm0m wrote:

    Interesting part \:\)

    On Feb 28, 2010 Illandrya wrote:

    oh, I so wanted more!

    On Mar 5, 2010 charray wrote:

    Wonderful chapter \:rah\:  Great job!!

    On Feb 21, 2011 emilymarie0201 wrote:

    This story is so well written! Excellent job \:\) Very intriguing \:\)

    On Mar 20, 2011 jasminehellokitty121994 wrote:

    \:wub\: well done \:D

    Random Featured Stories:

     
    Please wait - loading...
    Please wait - loading...