Originally Posted by superlongahhhhDX
FORGET ME NOT
“Once upon a time, I had a boyfriend. We were a happy couple and very much in love. He practically radiated happiness when I was around him. That happiness was intoxicating. He was intoxicating.
Our relationship lasted only one year, three months, one week and five days. It wasn’t because we had an argument. It wasn’t because we stopped loving each other. It was because I had to move.
I was reluctant to tell my boyfriend the horrible news. But, the sooner I tell him, the better, I told myself. If it had been the other way around; if it was him who had to move, I’d want to know right away. The next morning, I phoned him and asked him to meet me someplace alone. There, I told him that my family was planning to move and that the move would take place in a month. He was devastated.
We spent the rest of that month together. Many would describe us as inseparable during the few fleeting moments we had left. The day before I left, he was there with me. He laid a bouquet of flowers in my arms; Forget Me Nots. Then, he slipped a ring onto my left hand’s ring finger. I still haven’t taken that ring off, even until now. Lastly, he clipped a delicate red rose hairpin he made himself onto the left side of my head.
“These are my last gifts to you until we meet again,” he murmured. “The Forget-Me-Not’s… they symbolize our true love and memories. This ring is so that when we meet again someday, even if it takes forever, even if we won’t be able to recognize each other then, we’ll know. And this…” He gestured to the pin, then cupped my face with his hands and stared deep into my eyes. “Do I even need another reason? I love you.” It ended with bitter tears and one last kiss. That was our goodbye.”
---
Raine placed her arms under her chin as she waited for Felix and Samantha. She tapped on the wooden table with her index finger and tugged on a stray lock of her short auburn hair impatiently, annoyed. The three were supposed to meet at Starbucks at 2 o’clock that Saturday afternoon. They had planned to go to the movies together. It was already half an hour past two and Raine had just finished her second iced frappuccino. Needless to say, sugar was not helping her patience.
It was then when Felix and Samantha arrived. Raine glared at them, annoyed. She led the way out of the small coffee shop, walking briskly across the street, pretending to ignore her two friends’ heartfelt apologies as they tried to catch up without running. The two latecomers ended up promising to pay for her movie ticket and popcorn.
They walked around first, chatting about anything that came to mind. A few minutes later, Samantha spotted an antique shop set up on one corner of the park. She asked her boyfriend, Felix to buy her something. Resistance was futile. Raine giggled as the couple wandered deeper and deeper into the shop. She wasn’t really into collecting old things unlike Felix and Samantha.
Samantha was really lucky to have Felix around. Raine almost envied her. How she wished she could have someone that special around her. Felix had chosen to get Samantha a small, but intricately designed and expensive figurine of an angel, sitting down, its’ wings spread out, holding a heart in his hands. Samantha loved it.
They all approached the counter where a young boy, around their age greeted them with a smile. Felix paid for the figurine and had the said item wrapped. Samantha smiled happily, attaching herself to Felix’s arm.
Raine looked up and her eyes met with those of the clerk’s, who looked away after a moment. She could’ve sworn she had seen that smile before. She felts as if she knew him or had already met him somehow. Unfortunately, she couldn’t remember when, where and how. She didn’t even know if they did already meet or if it was just her imagination. He just looked very familiar.
Thanking the store clerk, the trio left the shop and continued with their window-shopping and wandering. They had decided against seeing a movie. The couple’s promise forgotten, Raine returned home hours later, tired and empty-handed. What she would find in front of her was a complete surprise. She would have never expected to find anything like that there.
There was a bouquet of red roses on her porch. At first, she was stunned and she just stood there, wondering for whom these flowers were meant for. She picked the bouquet up and read the card that came with it. It read Red roses because I love you. Thornless because it was love at first sight. She flipped the card over to see if there was any name, any indication of who sent it. There was none. Instead, she found her name written in beautiful, golden letters.
She fingered the delicate petals of the beautiful red roses, giddy at the mere thought and idea of having a secret admirer. She couldn’t help but smile and wonder who it was.
---
Two weeks later, Raine found herself back at school. She was already a high school senior. This would be her last year of high school, providing she passes all her major subjects, of course. She ended up in Class-A, a different class from Samantha and Felix who were in Class-D. They had the same classmates as last year’s. She wasn’t too thrilled about that.
She was happier when she heard that there would be a new student in her class. The teacher assigned her to show him around the school and explain what he had missed so far.
“Hi, my name’s Elliot,” she heard the newcomer introduced himself.
He sat down on the desk behind her. Raine turned around and looked up and found her eyes once again locking with those of the clerk’s. She was surprised and silent for a moment, almost expressionless. Then, she smiled. What a coincidence.
“Hi, I’m Raine.”
Elliot proved to be an interesting individual, despite his shy demeanor. She actually had fun showing him around their boring school due to his witty and sarcastic comments here and there. He wasn’t there for last period though. Haye, a classmate of hers and one of Elliot’s first friends, told her he had to skip class to go to a doctor’s appointment.
As soon as the bell rung, marking the end of classes for today, Raine shoved all her things into her backpack and carried it home, running. When she arrived, she checked the mailbox for any letters addressed to her. She found nothing in her mailbox. Instead, she found a flower on the porch once again, with a card neatly placed underneath it.
She picked up the flower; it was a yellow tulip, and the card, reading. A smile, no matter how beautiful, how sweet… as long as it's not yours, it's not special. She felt her heart skip a beat and a blush creep onto her face, as well as a smile.
It was from him.
She brought the tulip to her room and placed it carefully into a vase, along with the red rose she’d received before. Somehow, these gifts brought such a huge impact on her and left her even more curious than before. Who was sending them to her?
---
Raine spent the whole day at her house, lying on her bed. Her mother called the school before leaving for work and told the secretary she was sick. She wasn’t sick. She was perfectly fine, but that didn’t mean she felt okay.
Elliot was her friend. He was always with her and she was always with him. She liked having him around her. She liked him. And he was hers alone… for a while. Soon after, he had joined her group of friends. And then, they were four. Elliot automatically clicked with the group. Felix and Samantha had so much in common with him; so much to talk about. But, day after day, week after week… she started to feel out of place. She didn’t know what was happening anymore. She just finds herself sitting there, not knowing what to say; not knowing what they were talking about so she kept silent, only talking when spoken too.
It hurt.
A few minutes after school had ended, the phone rang. She groaned and reached for the receiver. It was Elliot. She couldn’t understand a word he said. It was like he was speaking in another language. She stood there, her eyes welling up and then, she snapped.
She screamed.
She yelled.
She cried.
She was not okay.
After realizing what she just did; everything she just said, she panicked and hung up. She had blamed everything on Elliot, even though she knew it wasn’t his fault. She felt remorseful, only wishing she could take it all back and start over. She closed her eyes and found comfort in a dreamless sleep.
Hours later, the doorbell rang. It was probably her mother. She washed off the dried tears off her face before opening the front door. She found no one there. Once again, on the doorstep, she found another flower and another card. It was a purple hyacinth this time and the card read I’m sorry.
“Elliot…”
---
Raine ran as fast as her legs could take her. She learned from Felix that Elliot lived on the outskirts of the city. She wanted to see him and she wanted to apologize and ask him if…
She spotted him about to go inside his house, and yelled his name, “Elliot!” He turned around, startled and he saw her. He waited for her to reach him. She was exhausted from the running and slid down to her knees when she reached him, face flushed and trying to catch her breath.
“I’m sorry.”
“I know.”
She looked up at him, hurt. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said those things. I-”
He smiled at her sadly and repeated, “I know.”
Everything was quiet for a while. She sat there helplessly, not understanding what was going on. Had he accepted her apology, she didn’t know. Elliot held out his left hand to help her up. He took her hand and intertwined his fingers with hers and he smiled. She had felt this feeling before, however awkward. She was sure of it. And then, she felt and saw the silver ring on his ring finger; the one that matched hers.
“This ring was so that when we met again someday, even if it took forever, even if we wouldn’t be able to recognize each other then, we would know.”
He led her to the back of the house and her eyes widened when she saw the whole field was covered with Forget-Me-Not flowers in full bloom.
“The Forget-Me-Not flowers… they symbolize our true love and memories,” Elliot continued. “And this…” He reached into his bag and pulled out a red rose hairpin that looked exactly like the one she had received a long time ago.
He clipped it on the left side of Raine’s head and wrapped his arms around her. That was when everything finally sunk in. She couldn’t stop the tears that she was trying to hold back slide down her cheeks. She laid her hands on his back as she wept. She was more than happy. It was almost like a dream. When they pulled away, Elliot wiped away her tears. Then, their eyes met once more and their lips as well.
“I love you.”
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