Mystery Lights

Chapter 24

A/N: The image above does not belong to me. It belongs to the person who uploaded it on the internet.

Perth's POV

"You have to act quickly," my mom urged me. "Send the college a reply right away to confirm that you are accepting their offer of a scholarship."

"I will, I will," I assured my mom.

I went over to my computer and went into the college's official website and filled up the required  application form.

Then I replied to their e-mail to confirm that I was accepting their offer of a scholarship in Paris.

I received a confirmation of my scholarship the very next day and was instructed to take the first flight to Paris, the same day if that was possible.

All my expenses would be paid including my plane fare.

I felt so incredibly lucky. I was able to book a flight for the following early morning at five thirty. I had to be at the airport four hours in advance since it was an international flight.

I quickly put together some clothes and other personal belongings into a regular size suitcase. I did not worry about not wearing enough clothes because I was going to receive a generous allowance which I could use to purchase additional clothes if I needed to do so.

By evening I was starting to feel lonely.

I thought about Saint and felt guilty about leaving him at the forest edge inn.

I decided to try giving him a call.

Wait, it would be best if it was a video call. That way I would be able to see him one last time before I flew to Paris.

I waited with heart in my throat as I heard the ringing on the other end.

His smiling face appeared on my screen after the second ring.

Suddenly I felt shy and did not know what to say.

"Hey, you missing me already?" Saint teased me.

That was enough to get me out of my shell.

"Of course!" I admitted in all honesty. "How are you doing?"

Suddenly Zee's figure appeared on my screen.

"He's doing just fine!" Zee exclaimed. "No need to worry about him. I'm taking good care of him."

"Stop!" I heard Saint's voice in the background. "Give me back my phone!"

Well, it did seem that I did not have to worry about Saint. He was, it did seem, in good hands.

"Perth?" Saint's face appeared on my screen once more.

"I'm still here," I said, unable to hide the gloom in my voice.

"When are you flying to Paris?" Saint asked.

"I'm taking the five thirty morning flight," I replied. "I have to be at the airport four hours in advance so this is my only chance to say good bye to you before I fly."

I noticed a certain sadness creeping into Saint's face. But I told myself not to worry. Zee was right there beside him to entertain him and make him happy.

"I would like to keep in touch with you, is that okay?" Saint asked, sounding a little bit of anxious.

"Of course," I replied.

"I would like to hear from you the moment you land in Paris," I heard him say.

"Sure thing," I assured him. 

There was a brief moment of awkward silence.

"So this is good bye." I finally said, feeling inexplicably sad, as if afraid that I would never see him again.

"No, it's not a good bye," I heard Saint say in a firm voice. "I would like to say, 'see you later'. "

"Alright then," I agreed with him. "Talk to you again soon."

I did not sleep the whole night. I turned my alarm on to make sure that I got to the Suvarnabhumi International Airport on time.

It was a pleasant but long and tiring flight.

In about thirteen hours my plane was taxiing down Charles de Gaulle international airport.

There was a pretty young lady with long blonde hair standing at the arrival section holding up a sign with my name on it.

I approached her with a shy smile.

She smiled back at me with an outstretched hand.

I took it and accepted her handshake.

"Welcome to Paris," she said. "I hope you will like it here."

"I'm sure I will," I replied.