The Beautiful Hummingbird - Part I

The Afternoon Stroll Edit

Outside it is a cold but bright Sunday afternoon and the air feels refreshing on my face after the heat of the house and the lovely roast dinner settling in my stomach all warm and tasty.

Robin strides off in front of the group with the dogs to let them off their leads. Anne and Gemma follow on behind linking arms and deep in conversation whilst Harry and I fall back a little further.

We stroll side-by-side reminiscing about school remembering various teachers and their strange habits and the stand out odd pupils. Harry laughs effortlessly, throwing his head back, recalling a couple of stories involving nearly blowing up the science lab with a Bunsen burner and taping his entire hand to the table leg much to the non-amusement of his teacher.

"You hung around with Kelly Jones at school didn't you?" he asks innocently.

I feel my shoulders hunch at the sound of her name and offer a one word "Yes," hoping that will suffice and we can move the conversation in a different direction.

"Weren't you two best friends?" he continues.

"Were, yes." I offer simply, again hoping he'll change the subject.

"Oh, don't you see her anymore?" He's not letting it go.

"No." My response is nonchalant.

'If I remember rightly you two were inseparable?" He seems surprised and I cannot believe he remembers.

"We were yes but we lost touch." I confirm flatly.

"I must admit she was a strange girl, quite random and wayward," he admits honestly but in a factual way, not at all hurtful.

I purse my lips together and raise my eyebrows in silent agreement. I know what he's referring too. Kerry had a reputation for one thing and one thing only – sleeping with any boy she could. She set her sights on Harry, who was in the year above us, and asked him out but it didn't last more than a couple of months. He wouldn't sleep or should I say have sex with her so she dumped him, not before trying to spread vicious rumors about him which now -one believed as he was popular at school and she was most definitely not!

Until I met Kerry I was a plain and unconfident girl who worked hard and obeyed the rules. That's until my mum fell ill and being a pubescent teenager unable to handle life in general let alone my mum's cancer, I fell in with Kerry's crowd and went off the rails for a few years.

Luckily he closes the subject and asks me about college and my course. He surprises me with his genuine interest and I find out law is something he was considering studying had the band not been formed. Uncharacteristically, I talk about myself just a little bit and although it is difficult I do feel relaxed with him and open up more than I would usually do.

As we stroll along, suddenly the sunlight becomes temporarily hidden by a canopy of trees and bushes that hang over this stretch of the woodland path giving it an almost eerie feeling. When I take a brief moment to glimpse at Harry I notice his eyes appear deep in colour like the moss under our feet. His eyes are so captivating how they appear so many varying shades of green depending on the light. He catches me watching him and seizes my gaze. Unidentified feelings wash over me sending my head temporarily dizzy. I close my eyes to bring myself back to reality, folding my arms across my chest. The afternoon is drawing in and as the sun is going down it feels chilly. I'm only wearing a chunky cardigan over my thin dress and I feel quite cold.

He immediately notices "Are you cold Natasha?"

"A little bit but it's ok, I'm sure it's not far now," I'm trying to hide my shivering.