Dear Diary,
I miss him. I can see him every night in my dreams. He’s there, by our tree, looking for something. Looking for me? No. When I tried to call out to him, he didn’t hear me. Who am I kidding? It doesn’t matter how much I love him, he’ll never feel the same about me. Sure, he said he loved me but get real. This is the twenty first century, guys just aren’t the same. They know how to lie. But...I’m still holding on to the possibility of ‘us’. We probably won’t meet again. I probably won’t love again. I probably won’t feel safe again.
Xx-Aims-xx
Every night without fail, Will snuck out of his window, careful to lock the door in case his mum tried looking for him. Every night without fail, Will stood by their tree waiting. Every night without fail, he prayed that she’d be there. That they could be together again. And every night without fail, Will was left alone till the early hours when he retired to his bed. It had been what seemed like years and her angelic features had begun to fade away in his mind. The way her hair shone in the sunlight, the way her eyes twinkled when she spoke, the perfect arc of her smile and her sweet melodic voice that whispered secrets to him. Yes he missed her. Little did he know how much she missed him.
I opened my eyes and slowly brought a hand up to my cheek. I felt the warmth from his hand and thought, ‘He’s the one. I’ve found him.’
“What are you thinking about?” he said in his rich, deep voice.
“You.” I whispered dreamily. He smiled and leant over to kiss me. He’s so sweet, I’m so lucky to have found him.
“Will...”
“Hmm?”
“I love you.” There, I said it. Finally! I can’t believe how hard it is to say those words and really mean it. He held my hand and I thought ‘O god, he’s going to dump me. The fairytale’s over!’ I’m not sure anything could have prepared me for what happened next.
“I love you too Aims, I wish I could be with you forever...” he said reluctantly.
“You can! I’ll stay here, with you. It doesn’t matter what happens as long as we’re together.” I tried persuading him but it obviously didn’t work. He wiped a tear from my face, I didn’t even realise I’d been crying. Then there it was. The crush. It was as if someone had torn my heart out, held it in front of my face and was slowly tightening their grip. I tried to force it down but there was too much, the tears streamed out uncontrollably and blurred my vision.
“Aimee, you know as well as I do what will happen if one of us leaves. We’ll disrupt the equilibrium. Everything will fall apart. Nothing good will come of it.” Will sounded more like my dad than my boyfriend then, which made me nervously giggle. His dark eyes flashed with anger for a moment, making me instantly regret trying to lighten the mood, but he soon realised I was just trying to be optimistic and smiled back.
Dear Diary.
They’re so stupid! They’re ruining my life!! The only way I could have seen him again. Gone. Dad filled in the crack in the wall. My doorway to Will. I could leave my body behind and my spirit would fly to Will. And we would meet at the tree. Our tree. It was destiny, me and Will. I’ll find another way. I have to.
Xx-Aims-xx
Will walked in the snow down the garden path, along the alley way, through the cemetery, past the old church with its low, crumbling walls, into the woods. He wandered along the hidden path to his favourite tree. Slowly, Will removed his left glove and felt the rough bark of the old oak. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath in remembering his father’s words,
‘This tree’s special, Will. Take care of her when I’m gone.’ Regulating his breathing, Will held back his tears as he replayed memories of his dad in his mind. As his hands slid across the bark, he got the shock of his life when he felt a cold hand grab hold of him.
“I hate you!” Aimee screamed, running up the stairs. She slipped halfway up and grazed her knee on the rough carpet but didn’t even flinch. When she reached the attic room, she slammed and bolted the wooden door behind her and paced the room, trying to calm herself down. Eventually she slowed down and she was finally back to normal. She leant against the plastered wall and sank to the floor. She let out a long breath and imagined a world where nothing was wrong. In fact, it was so right it was...perfect.
She drifted into a daydream of this world, closed her eyes and felt her soul leaving her tired body. When she opened her eyes she was in some kind of forest. The sunlight was peeking through the canopy and the snow covered forest floor, the giant oak tree, the fresh wintry air were all...perfect. She crept out of the hollow in the tree and looked around, not knowing what she was looking for. Aimee tried to walk, but tripped over a root and reached out for something to break her fall. She found something. She found Will.
Dear Diary,
I feel like a hero! And I saved a damsel in distress, a princess in a tower, a falling angel...
She’s incredible. You should have seen the way she looked at me. I was sure she was sent from the guy in the sky to me, she did say she was from another world. She even thinks this world is perfect. Perfect? My world is far from perfect. Well, it was until this morning. She’s amazing. And she’s mine.
Will
Aimee awoke to her mum calling her name. How long had she been sitting there? It must have been hours, she could see the full moon outside her bedroom window.
“Aimee Sélani Rivers! Are you going to let me in or will I have to break the door down?” yelled her mother sternly. Isn’t it funny how they always use your full name when in trouble? Reluctantly, she got up and opened the door to her mother who threw a huge pile of laundry on her and hurried back down the stairs before Aimee could protest.
Every night without fail, Aimee would sit on the same spot and travel through her porthole to her perfect world, to Will. Every night without fail, Aimee would patiently wait for Will to turn up at their tree. Every night without fail, Aimee would fall in love all over again. And every night without fail, Aimee’s heart would break as she said goodbye.
Wills’ mum knew something was up when she noticed how tired he was every time she saw him. She sat on the garden wall thinking about what could be wrong. Was it her fault? He always looked so upset and had become closed in and secretive. What had happened to her smiling, optimistic son? Was he not getting any sleep? She sat staring at the cemetery and thought of her husband. ‘Keep an eye on him, I sense a change.’ How could he have known? It had been three years since he passed away. Three whole years.
Will got up at midnight and locked his bedroom door. Putting on his jacket, he climbed out of the window and prayed that she’d be there. Why had Aimee stopped coming? She told him she loved him and he hadn’t seen her since.
“William.” His mother had seen him. ‘Okay, what’s your excuse genius?’
“Erm...I was just...”
“What’s going on William? Why are you so...what made you change? Did I do something wrong? Is it a girl?” Judging by his reaction, she’d got it right.
“What’s going on William?” she repeated. Will told her everything. The girl, the tree, the parallel universes, everything. What was shocking was that she understood.
“William, you have to get over it, I’m sure she has. She’s gone, there’ll be other girls.” So she didn’t understand. She had no idea. He gave up. He couldn’t make her see why he had to go back. She wouldn’t let him. In the end, Will returned to his room and his mother stood by his bed till he fell asleep to make sure he didn’t sneak out again. He lay there with his eyes closed, imagined Aimee and prayed. ‘God, if you’re real. If you can hear me. Let me be with her. I don’t care how, just let us be together. Please.’ With that, he fell into a deep sleep. His last sleep.
“He loves me, he loves me...not.” Aimee sighed as she lay back on the soft grass, soaking in the sun. She let her hand trail in the cool water of the pond and felt the daisy stripped of its petals drift away. Again, she sighed and whispered his name.
“Tim...”
