Serendipity

There weren’t always dragons in the valley. In fact, she could vividly remember a time when there were not dragons in the valley. She remembered running through the bright, colorful valley, full of wildflowers. She could still smell the flowers, the breeze blowing them through the air and taking her breath away. She could still feel the way her curly hair bounced off her neck as she ran. She could feel herself twirling, her dress swirling around her legs, hitting flower after flower, until she fell to the ground, laughing. Through it all, he would just watch her, following slowly to make sure she was safe. As she lay in the tall grass and wildflowers, he would slowly come into view. His luscious dirty blonde hair, followed by his light blue eyes, his neck, then his manly shoulders and the arms that wrapped around her so tightly and perfectly. The look on his face, always one of sincere amusement and happiness while he watched her antics. Only someone who truly loves you can find pure joy in your joy. At least, she thought so, at the time. Now she had no idea what she believed. All her life she spent hoping for true love, a real honest partner. She believed with every fiber of her being that he was it. Perhaps everyone had been right when they told her love wasn’t the way she thought of it. It wasn’t sparks and romance and excitement. It was calm, predictable and safe. What if she just wanted all those things combined? What if she believed she had it all, only for it to fall away from her and prove everyone else right? What if the dragons coming and taking over their valley, was a sign that the life she dreamed of was just that… a dream?

It had been a rough couple of years. It felt as if the entire world was against her. Of course, she had her family and friends to talk to, but she was primarily alone. She didn’t mind being alone. She liked it, even. However, there was a hopeless romantic deep within her that just wanted a prince to ride up on a white horse and save her. She could picture it; Her prince whisking her far away to live on a deserted island somewhere, just the two of them. “A whole different kind of place to run and twirl around in.” She thought aloud.

Here she was, again, lost in a fantasy. “Get it together.” She said to herself. A year and a few months had passed since they last spoke. Still, every day she thought of him. Every day she wondered why. Every day she let her mind wander through their time together and look for the red flags that she clearly missed. She never could pinpoint them. Instead, it simply felt as though everything had been a lie. Every day since he left, she questioned her own instincts and intuition. She had so easily let him in after years of guarding herself so tightly, only to be made a fool. There was one thing she was sure of though; She would never again, be a damsel in distress.

“That’s why it’s time.” Mae said aloud to herself. She was going to go down to their spot by the river, near their tree, to finally say goodbye. She had been holding on for far too long. With that, she set down her cup, kissed the cat on the top of the head and walked down the hill toward the far edge of the valley.

She stood at the side of the river, looking through the crystal-clear water. She could see fish swimming in calm pools of water. The sun shining through the mist of the waterfall was creating the most beautiful rainbow. “What a beautiful place.” She thought. “It is so tranquil and peaceful here.” Their initials remained carved in the tree beside the river. She reached her hand up to touch them. She traced the edges of the initials slowly, as though to remember every detail. Slowly, she moved the carving knife into her right hand. As soon as she started scraping at her initials, the tears started silently flowing down her cheeks. It was almost as if the last piece of herself was being scraped away with every stroke of her arm. She let the tears run down her cheeks in silence as she continued to scrape, slowly, but with purpose.

Suddenly, there was a gentle, but large hand wrapped around her wrist. The jolt of energy it sent coursing through her veins could only mean one thing… Blake. “This cannot be happening.” She thought. She turned her head and looked directly into his perfect blue eyes. For a second, she saw anger then pain and then… love. They locked eyes for only a couple of seconds before he let her wrist go and moved his eyes to the tree where their initials were.

“What the hell are you doing?” she asked sharply.

“I… well… I saw you come over here and then when you started defacing our tree and I just…” he stopped short. “I’m so sorry.” He said finally and then turned to go back in the direction that he came from.

“You’re sorry for what?” She yelled. He turned back to face her. “For what, Blake? What are you sorry for? The tree? For showing up here? Or could it be for the lies? The heartbreak? Or perhaps for making me look like a complete fool?” She paused, briefly. “The truth is it doesn’t matter what you’re sorry for….” She trailed off with a heavy sigh.

“I want to be with you, Mae.” He said quietly but certainly.

He made direct and intense eye contact now. Though she had not spoken to him, she had seen him, watched them from afar. His smile never reached his eyes when she saw them. It was on his face, almost happy, but not completely. Today it was different. There was no smile, but his eyes had a twinkle to them that she had not seen in a long time. Today it was as though everything was exactly the way it was a little over a year before. She stood in silence, staring at him, no words to speak, trying to read his eyes and his heart.

“There is only one person in this world that I want to wake up with every morning and that person, is you.” He continued. “I made some huge mistakes. I caused you, this strong, independent, loving, wonderful person, so much pain. I know I don’t deserve you. I know I don’t deserve another chance. I want you to know that not a day has gone by that I did not regret what I did. Not a day has gone by that I did not think of you. Not a day has gone by that I did not miss you with every part of me.”

She was stunned. This was everything she had been waiting for, everything she wanted and her worst nightmare. As soon as his hand wrapped around her wrist, she knew, underneath all the hurt, sadness, anger, frustration and self-doubt, she had always hoped they would find their way back to each other. She realized that she had already forgiven him. Could this really be happening?

“But on the other hand…” She thought to herself.

She felt weak, stupid, ridiculous. Was this a trick? How could she ever trust him? Was she fooling herself again? She wasn’t the type to care what people think but she wasn’t ready to push her pride completely aside yet, either. What would people think of her if she took him back?

“Why?” she asked quietly.

“I don’t have an answer for that.” He said with a sigh. “I wish I did. I can tell you it was not you. You were… are perfect. You did nothing wrong. I… messed up. I messed up and I couldn’t face it. I couldn’t face you. I couldn’t face them. I knew you deserved better than me.”

“That wasn’t your decision to make.” She said simply.

“Yes, I was… I am a coward. But I want to spend the rest of our lives making up for it. I want to prove that I am not that person anymore. I want to be the man that you deserve.” He responded.

Again, she was taken aback. She had dreamed of him saying all these things. Through all the pain, all the anger, all she ever wanted was him and the connection they shared. Deep in her soul, she knew they had something truly special. Something unbreakable and real.

But it did break. Her mind whispered until it was all she could hear.

Finally, after moments of silence, with questions, concerns and insecurities roaring through her mind, deafening her instincts, she knew what she had to do. She grabbed the collar of his shirt and slowly pulled his face toward hers. She met his light blue eyes with her own and they stared intensely at each other, for what felt like an eternity and no time at all. Finally, she pulled his face to hers and pressed their lips together, looking for an answer in their kiss. After a few moments, she pulled away and smirked.

“So, uh, what about the dragons?”