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 Posted: Wed Jul 06, 2011 10:34 pm
"I knew that you would be here, doll."
A voice floats into her ears and it startles her, her shoulders leaping up before relaxing when she realizes how familiar the voice is. She sets the bouquet of flowers down properly by the tombstone and then stands, her boots crunching against the grass. For a moment, there is silence except for the light pitter-patter of the raindrops on their umbrellas as they both gaze down on the words engraved on the rock.
In Loving Memory Of
Vianne Summers
7/7/2007
"Beyond is the infinite morning of a day without tomorrow."
They do not speak for a while, perhaps it is because that their throats tighten at reading that familiar name and being reminded of who lies beneath the tombstone. It is so strange, she thinks, to see the date, with three 7s peppered in it. Seven is supposed to be a lucky number. Evidently, everyone had thought wrong.
Finally, she turns, twirling the umbrella in her hand just in time to see him collect himself and grin down at her. "It's been a while, Uncle Gareth." As the last word leaves her lips, he pulls her into his arms and her hands falter, lowering her umbrella.
"How have you been doing, sport?" He murmurs gently into her blond curls. "You're here awfully early, you know."
"I couldn't sleep." She says. "Besides, the early bird gets the worm, right? I got the freshest flowers!" That is the truth, but it also feels like a lie, because she is hiding something. She hadn't slept, yes, but she had instead, dressed up before slipped into the night as Sailor Flora. The umbrella had been bought when she realized it had rained, but the sleeveless black dress she had on with matching stockings and boots had been part of her plan.
It was, after all, her aunt's death anniversary.
He lets her go and she deftly swings up her umbrella to shield herself from the drizzle. "Come on, puppy, you don't have to be like this. It's okay to be sad, you know? Even though it's been... four years already. Wow." He whistles softly, and there is a sort of sadness and disbelief in his voice, like he can't quite believe it. She would have been thirty six this year, her aunt.
For Eve? It seems to her like it had happened so long ago. She can still remember how it all started.
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Posted: Wed Jul 06, 2011 10:35 pm
Poison
She was fourteen when her then thirty year old aunt married, to a man she can't remember the name of. It doesn't really matter. What mattered was that she saw how happy her Aunt Vianne had been, and how excited she was to be part of the ceremony in a pretty dress. How Aunt Vianne had later handed her her bouquet with a wink and told her that she hoped that she would find a great man to marry someday.
And then she met the Hales.
Mr Hale's father was an old friend of her grandfather. They had introduced her to fifteen year old Adam Hale, who smiled at her and told her she looked pretty. She had blushed then and then quipped that she wasn't as pretty as the bride, of course! Then they had started talking and had gotten on pretty well! And then he had asked, rather shyly, if he would see her again, and she had replied with a why not?
And then they started dating.
It was something both their families approved of and it had been nice. It had been nice to have someone to slip her hand into his and relish that warm, comforting feeling, to have someone to wrap his arms around her and kiss her and make her feel happy. It had been a solid and comfortable relationship. And at that time, that was alright with her.
She was fifteen, going on sixteen when it happened.
Aunt Vianne turned up to their house in tears, and Roderick Summers had immediately ushered her in with a tight-lipped expression upon his face. It took a while for her to properly voice out what exactly had happened and Eve could only watch as her father held his sister in his arms and let her cry everything out.
She wondered where her uncle was when his wife was so sad; she really can't remember his name, because they had always come across as a loving couple. She remembered how he had looked at her in adoration on the wedding day. (Now, the face is blurred out in her memories, the photos in ashes.)
And then Aunt Vianne choked out that he is the reason.
He had been gambling and when she confronted him about his habit, he had started to shout and hit her. Saying that she shouldn't nag at him so much, and that he would rather run away with another woman he met. Gambling and an affair.
Father's hands had balled up into fists just then, and Mother took over comforting Aunt Vianne as Eve sat there in shock.
Father would not allow Vianne to return and Mother agreed to letting her stay in the guest room. Eve did her best to cheer her aunt up, and Uncle Gareth stopped by to try and convince her to move on. Adam stopped by too, and Eve was glad that he did; he had been her pillar of strength during this period of time.
And then, they were told about the accident. That uncle had gotten into a fatal car crash along with a woman in the passenger seat. They hadn't known how to react to the news; to be happy that he was gone, or to feel sad because Aunt Vianne was now a widow. At least, that had been what Eve had thought.
It was a trying time in the Summers household. Eve had to try her hardest to be the bright and happy sunshine to cheer everyone up, but sometimes she faltered and wondered if it was right when everyone was in mourning.
And then came that day.
She had been at dance practice and her parents had came by to pick her up after it ended. It had been a month since that man's death, and things had seemed to be getting back to normal. Eve had managed to get Aunt Vianne to smile more often; declaring that she needed a makeover and they should go on a shopping spree tomorrow. Once home, she had skipped into the house happily, calling Aunt Vianne's name.
There was no response; Mrs Summers had said that she was probably sleeping.
But Eve hadn't been deterred and went to the guest room.
And what greeted her when she pushed open the door was the limp body of her aunt, hanging from a noose. She couldn't even scream, then, because her voice seemed too terrified to come out. All she could do was shake, clutching the doorknob for support as tears leaked out from her eyes, taking away her strength as they ran down her cheeks.
Her parents found her kneeling on the floor, shuddering as she cried, and when her mother enfolded her into her arms, she had fainted.
It was a horrifying image that had seared itself into her brain and she hadn't been able to sleep properly after that. She was made to go to a therapist to talk about it, except that she couldn't really talk about it. She had said enough to the policemen who had taken her statement and the words forming in her mind were those she could only see.
It was his fault. He pushed her to this.
She loved him so much. He promised her to take care of her. He ruined her.
Is that how love is? It will push you so far that in desperation, you would take your own life?
Is it worth it then, to feel that much pain in something that is supposed to make you happy forever?
It poisoned her relationship with Adam.
She could never look at him the same way again, even when he took her hand in hers and said that he loved her and would be there for her, always. Always was a word full of promises that she started to doubt that he could fulfill. She found her trust had wavered in him, even though he didn't seem to have any faults. She couldn't find any in him, at least.
That incident had poisoned her.
It was so hard, to desperately find a reason to break up when there was no reason except herself. And that was selfish, she knew, but she still couldn't help but try to pick out faults.
And then her break came.
She overheard Mrs Hale and her mother talking in the living room, about Adam thinking about going to another city to further his studies because he wanted to become a doctor. It came as both a piercing pain and a relief, and she couldn't tell which one was more painful. The relief hurt because she knew she shouldn't feel that way, not when he was leaving...
That night, in the middle of their date, as he was walking her home, she stopped and said, "We need to talk."
If only there had been a better way to bring up the topic of breaking up, but those were the only words she could think of. It was cliche, but what else could she say? The look on his face had been surprised, confused and had just a little twinge of hurt, like he had expected it.
"I think you should go." She told him. "And... I think we should see other people, because a long distance relationship isn't easy. I can't deal with that."
It hurt her when he took her hands and tried to reassure her that even if he went, he would still be faithful to her. Still, it was nothing compared to the reminder of what her aunt had done and she had pulled away and said her last words.
"Goodbye, Adam."
She wouldn't see him for four years, then, because he had decided on leaving Destiny City. He had contacted her through e-mail and even though she tried to reply as a friend, that communication eventually fell through.
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Posted: Wed Jul 06, 2011 10:36 pm
Antidote
It took a few months before she started dating again. She was still single of course, but dating casually, having the freedom to have fun with cute guys and not get too attached to them. She wasn't leading anyone on, she didn't promise anything. In fact once, she had asked a guy she was casually dating what kind of girls he liked, because he seemed like a really nice guy, and hooked him up with one of her girl acquaintances.
She was sixteen when she met Jayde.
It was a nice summer day as Eve Summers sat in a cafe across a cute boy with green eyes; she could remember those because she had liked looking into them. They were talking, laughing, and then when she picked up her cup to take a sip, she saw her.
A girl with two high black ponytails in jeans and a frilly white top who was really pretty, with beautiful, creamy skin and a gorgeous figure. She couldn't help staring, admiring how pretty the other girl was, and barely noticed when the boy she was on a date with excused himself for the restroom.
The girl had looked up then, noticed her looking and smiled.
The next thing she did had been unexpected. She had glided over gracefully, plopped herself into the empty seat and smiled, and Eve had found herself noticing that she had almost the same green eyes as the boy she was dating, but with an extra sparkle.
"You're cute." The girl had commented gently and then slid a piece of paper over to her. With that, she stood and left, and Eve had simply sat there, being absolutely shocked by what had just happened. It was when the girl had pushed open the doors of the cafe and triggered the tinkling of the bells than hung atop the door that she snapped back. She had then taken the paper, opened it only to find the name "Jayde" and a scribbled number. A girl had just given her her cellphone number!
It was a strange concept to her at the time, and she had tucked the paper swiftly into her purse just as her date of the day returned. It seemed like something that she would easily forget and only stumble upon a few days later by rummaging her purse, but she didn't.
That night, she dug the piece of paper out and simply stared at it. She eventually fell asleep with it under her pillow and she dreamed of jumping from one large red rose to another in the darkness.
She didn't understand her dream when she awoke the next morning, but she did remember that paper. It was later; because she worried that she would wake someone up if it was too early, that she called and she waited, listening to the phone ring. What if she never picked up? What if it was someone else's number? What if...
And then someone did pick up the phone and went, "Hello?"
It was at that moment when Eve realized; not that it was that girl because she recognized the voice, but that she didn't know how to introduce herself. Jayde had given her name but she had never got the chance to return the favor. What was she supposed to say? "Um... hi! This is... uh, the girl from the cafe?" It was really, Eve had thought as soon as the words slipped out, kind of stupid of her to say that because what if she had been to other cafes, given other girls her number?
"Ah, the blonde, right?" Jayde's tone was warm and friendly and made her relax just a little. "So, do I call you 'the girl from the cafe'? Or the cafe girl?"
"I'm Eve Summers!" She blurted out and then started winding one of her curls around her fingers. She had no idea why she was this nervous, perhaps it was because she didn't know what this would entail to.
"That's a lovely name for a lovely girl." Jayde replied with a chuckle. "So, hey, do you want to hang out? I saw you staring at me and thought, hey, maybe this girl wants to make friends with me but didn't know how to approach me? Or perhaps it was because you had a date? You look like the perky type, after all."
"It'd be weird, you know!" Eve said, warming up to the other girl. "Sitting there with my date and then excusing myself to go make friends around the cafe! It would have been pretty rude."
"Indeed." Jayde sounded amused. "So how about this? Let's meet up this evening; I'll text you the address and time, alright?"
"Why not?" She threw all her worries out of the window. Eve Summers' goal now was to have fun! So what if this girl was a stranger? It was unpredictable, it was dangerous, but Eve didn't care.
She found herself waiting at a street corner for a few minutes before Jayde came up to her with a soft smile. "You're here! Come on!" She allowed herself to be dragged along, raising an eyebrow as they followed a long line to the front of a club. Eve was starting to have second thoughts and about to suggest that they go somewhere else, when Jayde tapped the large bouncer on the arm, and he surprisingly, stepped aside.
The inside of the club was pretty posh. The design was sleek, the bar wasn't too overly-crowded, and they had managed to find seats. Jayde smiled at seeing her surprised expression. "It's my brother's club." She explained, without Eve even asking. "What do you think?"
"It's... wow! It's really nice." Eve told her truthfully. She had always thought clubs were rowdy with drunkards, but even as she saw many around them drinking, they seemed to be in the right state of mind.
"It's quite exclusive." Jayde said. "My brother doesn't tolerate people getting crazy in here, so security puts names on the blacklist if you do anything nuts. And I bet," She continued, propping up her arm on the table and resting her chin on her palm. "You're wondering why I brought you here."
"Uh..." Eve said, trying to formulate some witty remark, but failed.
Jayde grinned, a cat-like grin, looking at her through slitted green eyes. "Let's be honest. I think you're cute. You think I am too, or you wouldn't have been staring. And what's wrong with making friends? Besides, even if there aren't any sparks," at this, she snapped her fingers lightly, "two cute girls sitting together attracts loads of attention."
"Wow." Eve breathed, eyes wide with excitement that was brewing inside her. "I mean, I'm not very sure what to say, but I do have to agree with that two cute girls do get male attention." Out of the corner of her eyes, she noticed some men already staring and Eve threw a glance in their direction, lingering on each cute face for a moment before looking back at Jayde. "But what do you mean by sparks? You mean... between us?"
"You're clever." Jayde said appreciatively. "Cute and blonde and bright. That's exactly what I meant! Hmm, don't tell me. You've never gone on a date with a girl before?"
Eve blinked. "Well, it is... a new concept to me..." She started out slowly. "But I am here, aren't I? I wanted to see how things would turn out, and they're going on pretty well, don't you think?"
"Oh, I agree." The brunette said, stretching her neck as her gaze swept over the men trying their hardest not to stare and let a small smirk curl at the corner of the lips.
They both hadn't been looking for commitment. Just fun. They found that in each other. They would team up, playing as though they were best friends and tease the men who dared to approach them, concocting simple lies about their relationship to hook others in. They didn't always go down to the bar however, they would sometimes chill down in a quiet part of the beach, and it was there where Jayde had kissed her.
It was a surprise, yet not really a surprise. They both agreed that they weren't looking to take things any further, not to be girlfriends or anything of that sort, just girl friends. Honestly, sometimes she had thought of Jayde as a sort of sister-like figure and was content to let things flow, to let things be as they were.
"Hey, Evie." Jayde said one night, when they were holding hand and walking together down at the beach. "I need to tell you something."
"What?" Eve laughed. "Was it your date last night? I told you he looked like a horrible kisser but you still went for him anyway..."
"No." Jayde dismissed that. "Well, alright, he was kind of an amateur at kissing but this isn't really about that. My brother's... moving and I have to go with him."
She stopped in her tracks, the waves washing around her ankles and stared at Jayde in disbelief. "But... the club?"
"He's expanding business." Jayde said, not meeting her eyes, just staring at something faraway, like she was trying to focus to see where exactly the dark waves ended and where the night sky began. "So... yeah. I'm sorry I have to leave. It was fun, you know? You're a pretty great friend and a decent kisser." She smiled then and leaned forward to press a kiss on Eve's forehead, drawing back with that smile still on her face, but Eve could tell that there was a hint of sadness to it.
"Come on, you'll be alright without me." The other girl said, enveloping her in a hug. "Evie, be happy, okay? Just continue laughing and smiling like you always do. And I'll be laughing and smiling along too."
It was painful, but it was painful in the sense that a friend was leaving, not a lover. She hadn't gotten too attached to Jayde and Eve was glad that her heart had learned. Jayde had been an experience that she would always treasure, and now, she got the occasional e-mail from that girl telling her how she was doing. Eve was content to know that Jayde was doing well and they could laugh, without hurting, teasing each other if they had found boyfriends, or girlfriends, for that very matter.
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Posted: Wed Jul 06, 2011 10:38 pm
She was seventeen, going on eighteen when she met Rea. When she had stumbled upon Rea's date, said hi to Charys (who very slightly reminded her of Jayde because of her personality) and was awoken as Sailor Flora, Senshi of Spring.
Everything had changed then, but Eve had already changed before, so it wasn't so bad. All it took was adjusting, to get used to the new.
She can only stand here, in front of her aunt's grave and remember things as they had happened. Not exactly, of course; memories were such fickle things and became fragmented here and there, but it was a summary that she can never forget.
"Puppy?" Uncle Gareth's voice breaks in and she smiles up at him, a small thin smile, but a smile nevertheless.
"It's alright. I was just thinking." She assures him and he tilts his head to stare at something behind her and she turns. Her parents are there, making their way towards them, and their eyes are sad, though they do their best to smile at her.
"You two are here early." Her father comments. "That's rather unexpected."
"Hey!" Uncle Gareth retorts. "What do you mean by that, Rod? Puppy and I are diligent, alright! Besides, I was about to ask her about working in a cafe I'm planning to open. Imagine! My pretty niece, in a cute outfit, bringing the customers in with her charm!"
Her father glowers at his younger brother. "Gareth. You're not whoring my daughter out just so you can..."
"Hey hey hey." Uncle Gareth shoots back, holding up a hand in protest, the other still clasped around the hook of his umbrella. "I wouldn't let anyone touch my precious niece. And if you think about it, forbidden fruit is also another lure..."
The drizzle starts thinning and the sun seems to brighten. She smiles, twirls her umbrella and indulges in the sound of her family's voices, for now.
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