Page 36 of A Twist in Fate
“If you're anything like her, then you won't just burn yourself, you're going to set the whole lantern on fire and maybe even the grass around us,” I say.
“I think I can handle a lighter.” While I extend the lighter out to her, she still manages to snatch it from my hands with a proud smile on her face, as if I hadn't offered it to her.
I place my hands on the corners of the lantern, and she places one of hers on it too but the other hand holds the lighter. She rolls her thumb against the spark wheel a few times onto the ignition button until a small flame comes from it. She gives me a satisfied smile before sticking out her tongue at me and a laugh erupts from me. She holds the lighter under the lantern and suddenly there is a bright glow that lights up her face. Her smile gets even wider and I’m not sure I have ever felt so happy that I do right now, in this moment, with her.
“Okay, are you ready to let go?” I ask, watching her over the lantern.
“No.”
“Ivy,” I laugh and as soon as I do, she does too.
“Okay, I'm kidding. Let's do it,” she says smiling again. While she's focused on the light between us, I am completely focused on the beautiful girl in front of me who has the power to light up the entire world on her own.
As we let go of the lantern, it floats through the sky, lifting higher and higher with our drawings covering it. As it spins you can see the change of the sunshines drawn wonkily by me and the stars drawn neatly by her.
“It looks beautiful,” she says, and I instantly turn my gaze over to her. Her face is perfectly illuminated by all the light, and I sling my arm around her waist, effortlessly to pull her closer to me.
“It really does,” I say, my eyes still focused on her. She has more freckles than the day she arrived and every night when I can't sleep, suffering with the images of her leaving, I count them slowly. The freckles on her arms I draw together like constellations.
She notices I am staring at her and as soon as her eyes meet mine, a light blush comes across her cheeks.God, I love it when that happens.
“Do you want to do the other one?” she asks me, moving her eyes away from mine. I nod, moving my arm from her waist and back to the lantern on the floor.
This time, when she goes to light the lantern, the small flame hits the skin of her thumb, and she curses under her breath. I laugh again, taking the lighter from her hand, and give her an expression which I told you to look. She huffs but she still has an adorable smile across her face that makes me laugh even more. As we let it up into the air, she instantly wraps her arms around me, watching the sky. Our initials surrounded by a heart floats through the air.
I lean down to whisper in Ivy’s ear and say, “try watching it until you can't see which one it is anymore.” She instantly becomes focused watching the light join all the others in the sky. It's beautiful. The people around us are huddled together. Some people are with their families with children letting lantern after lantern into the sky while some are couples, wrapped around each other. In their view we probably seem just like them. A happy couple in love and on a date, hoping that their relationship will last forever. That's not true at all. I am a guy so in love with a girl who is leaving in a week. She will be happy and fall in love with some English guy who can be with her every single night.
I'd do anything to be that guy. I can't be that guy. I'm in college and I want to be near my family. This is just completely impossible.
“It's nice, isn't it?” she says, breaking my thoughts.
“What is?” I ask, still staring at the sky.
“Pretending that we could be a forever thing,” she says simply, as if she was listening to my fears.
“It is nice,” I say quietly, not daring to breathe. I would look over to her again but it's impossible without feeling as though my heart is physically breaking. She's right. It has been nice pretending that we could be together forever and that we could see each other every single day. It's perfect.
It's a fantasy.
CHAPTER 21
Ivy
Song 21
Superglue – Role Model
13/08
The children leave on Sunday. I leave the day after. Nevertheless, every single day has been better than the last. The six children are all excited to be here and excited to go home. I try not to spend every day or night thinking about the fact I am leaving so soon because it will only make me forget the real reason I came here, which was to be with my best friend.
We have just finished making bird feeders as I sit down in front of Lucas, placing my lunch onto the table when I do. Turns out I'm great at making bird feeders. I'm much better at the crafts than Lucas and there are some of the more physical activities that I am definitely better at. This does not include archery but that's because it sucks. Violet was really excited to put up the bird feeders because she said that she wanted the birds to have lunch too. All six of them are so sweet that beingwith them has made this summer even better. They have made me realise how aware of our world children can be and all the emotions they hold.
“Can I drive your car?” I ask Lucas.
“Are you even allowed to drive here?” he asks, leaning closer to me and crossing his arms, sceptically.
“Yes, and all I need is a car.” I smile at him as I bite into a cucumber stick. He is wearing a baby blue shirt, and it compliments both his light hair and bright eyes. I stab my fork into my salad, eating as he continues to talk.
