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Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder |
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Gah. What was I supposed to be doing again? I couldn’t remember. So I stared down at the blank paper in front of me, hoping it would give me the answer. Oh yeah, I was supposed to be taking inventory.
“Right. So this book…” I picked up a book from the pile on the floor next to me. I gazed at the cover for a minute, my mind wandering. I knew this book. She had once pulled it from the bottom of a pile, making all the ones of top of it crash to the ground. I smiled a bit, remembering her deer-in-the-headlights look, then frowned and shook my head. This was what distracted me earlier, thoughts of her. Okay, on to the next book. With relief, I saw it had nothing that would remind me of her. I jotted down the title and author and moved onto the next one. It was about mages with rare magic… just like her.
With a cry of frustration, I grabbed the next book. This one was about animals… I groaned and dropped my head onto my desk. Why did I keep on thinking about her? She was selfish, rude, sarcastic, rough, mean.... Well, most of the time. I was one of the select few who was allowed to see another side of her. I’d seen her cry, and made her laugh over the silliest little things. I’d seen the way she worked with animals, when there was always a gentleness about her that she never showed any other time.
I sighed and lifted my head. Pulling one of the jars of herbs I always kept at the end of my desk towards me, I uncorked it. Hoping it would clear my head, I held it to my nose and took a sniff. Bad idea. Very bad idea. It was mint, her favorite herb. It’s sharp, clear scent did nothing to rid my mind of her. I remembered canning this exact jar with her…
<i>”What are you doing?”
I glanced up at her. She had her head tilted to one side, her silver hair tumbling over her shoulder in graceful waves. With the light streaming through the window behind her, she seemed to glow, momentarily robbing me of all coherent thought.
“Well?” She demanded.
“What? Oh, right,” I hurriedly turned back to my work. “I’m canning and labeling herbs, so I have them preserved for later.”
“You’re putting them in jars, not cans,” She pointed out. I chuckled and glanced up in time to see a blush spread across her cheeks. I turned my attention back to my work, pretending not to notice as she continued. “I mean, it seems silly to call it ‘canning’ when they’re in jars.” A pause. “You won’t tell anyone, right? I have a reputation to protect.”
“I won’t tell,” I promised.
She sighed in relief, and I felt her lips brush my cheek. “I love you.”
I smiled. “I love you too.”</i>
I shook my head and shoved the jar away. Those happier times, when we were together, were over. I got up from my desk and crossed the room to the window, gazing out at the bright blue sky. The bright blue as her eyes…
“This is getting ridiculous,” I murmured. “Maybe that saying is true. Maybe absence really does make the heart grow fonder.” I stared out the window for a moment more, trying to make up my mind. Well, only one way to see… I turned and trotted down the stairs. Perched on the edge of the table, reading one of my books, was a dark-haired, dark-skinned girl. She looked up when I made for the second set of stairs.
“Where ya going?” She asked.
I didn’t even pause. “To find her.”
She smiled. It’s uncanny how she knew exactly who I was talking about. “She’s at the stables.” I nodded in reply as I left. Time to see if I could go back to those happier days.
From the point of view of one of my charactors. Won't say who, though.
 Faith-Hoping-Love · Sat Dec 15, 2007 @ 09:50pm · 2 Comments |
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