How To Begin Again

Chapter 24 - Swinging In The Backyard

Chapter 24 - Swinging In The Backyard

"Hey girls, it's been so long since we've properly spoken," Evan couldn't contain his happiness to see them once again. Jemima and Naomi stood there with smiles etched upon their faces as the air grew colder in subtle stages.

"I know, It's a shame we couldn't really catch up last time because I was busy looking for Adriana." Jemima's words were as kind as always, happy to see Evan again.

As Emily stood up and joined them by the gate Naomi's smile blanketed her sending a sudden surge of warmth shooting through her body. "I'm so glad you asked us all to come, it's been too long," Naomi's dulcet tone floated through the air, pushing away the chilly breeze. 

"I really am so happy that you all agreed, I feel like we haven't all been together properly for a long time." Evan was surprised that everyone had decided to come but was happy that their friendships were still there. 

Despite changes in the times and the altered circumstances true friends still remain there for one another, through the light and the dark, through the best days and the worst days. They are the people who see the glass half-full and also half-empty but no matter what are willing to pick up the broken pieces along the way.

"I really am so happy for you two." Naomi's words were kind and full of care.

"Aw that really means a lot Naomi." Emily replied.

"I'm guessing Adriana is bringing Matt then?" Jemima questioned.

"Yes, I guess we will finally get to see what he's like," Emily said, hiding her true feelings of worry, "as long as Adriana is happy, I will be happy for her."

"She really does deserve someone after everything she's been through," Evan spoke with true sincerity, "Anyway I better go and get us some drinks whilst we wait for the others." He pulled open the back door and then he was gone, leaving the girls seated on the bench.

"I just hope that he turns out to be everything that she thought he would." Jemima spoke carefully as the fine, sharp breeze began to pick up once more.

*

Adriana sat in the passenger seat taking deep breaths, trying to calm herself down and prepare for what was to come. "Don't worry Adriana, I'll be beside you the whole time, if you don't feel like being there we can just go out and get some fresh air somewhere else." She strongly admired how much care he showed for her.

"You really do mean a lot to me Matt, I promise I'll try to keep myself together, it's just not something I really want to throw myself into." Adriana's blue eyes were pools that glimmered in the sun's reflection.

"I will always be here for you Ade." His words gave her a strong sense of belonging, an emotion that she had not possessed for a long time, and after sharing a soft embrace they left the car and walked towards the back gate.

Adriana led the way down the drive and shivered slightly before undoing the latch. She was greeted with hugs from the girls which filled her with comfort as Matt introduced himself. "Hey I'm Matt, it's lovely to finally meet you all."

"It's an absolute pleasure to finally meet the mystery guy," Jemima said smiling as her green eyes fluoresced in the light - a phrase which here means shone with a radiant beauty.

Matt gave a short laugh and shook hands with the girls. "So what have we missed?" he said in his friendly tone, trying his best to make a good impression. 

"We've literally just got here," Naomi answered, "So you haven't missed much at all."

"How are you feeling Ade?" Emily saw that there was something wrong, that Adriana was worried.

"I'm doing well," she replied, "I feel like I am the happiest that I've ever been right now, my mum has finally given up drinking, I have the best boyfriend I could possibly wish for and I am spending time with my wonderful friends, what more could I want?" The word 'boyfriend' made it all seem so real, she had someone who truly cared for her. As soon it had escaped her mouth she had caught Matt smiling, happy that they had built the foundations of their relationship. These foundations were the beginning of the heaven they were starting to construct.

"I really am so glad that you're happy Ade, you really deserve to be after everything you've been through." Jemima said with a smile stretched across her face.

Adriana was happy that she had such a good set of friends, all of which accepted Matt and made him feel welcome. "I really am glad that we're all together again," she added, "it's been too long." Adriana was right, the bonds between them were growing weaker and they needed this time to relight the fires of their friendships.

"It's so sad how things change," Jemima began, "We have all grown so far apart and so many things are different to how they were but I'm glad, I'm glad that the bridge has become a plague isolated from the world, I'm glad that the Old Wood is fading away, I'm glad that our friendships have had to experience distant choices, because change is our friend, and anyone who embraces change can embrace anything, why fear change when you can embrace it." Her words were solemnly powerful as she stared into the sunset. "I'm so glad we are together again, because for us there is no elsewhere."

Matt felt Jemima's words emulate elegantly across the horizon. He welcomed change and the changes that surrounded him, forgetting his past he truly believed in her words, till death did them part.

Adriana was the storm, the storm that kept on coming, destroying everything in it's path and never giving up. She knew trouble followed her wherever she went but around her friends she could forget all about that, for her friends welcomed the storm with both hands open.

Naomi was at peace with the world, willing to take change as it came, willing to take change under her wing and make the most of it as change is inevitable. A storm can suddenly be replaced by the sun, the darkness can always be accompanied by the light and the fires of friendships can always be rekindled back to life. The power of change depends on what you make of it.

As Evan poured out the dark liquid into separate glasses he thought carefully about how his life had changed for the better. How even after a troubled past everything can change, for better or for worse, nobody knows. You should always hope for the best in life because then if the worst does come you can still cling onto the sense of hope whilst the people who expected the worst have none, and then when the best does come, you can live through it happily, hoping that it will remain for as long as possible. Whilst Evan carried out the drinks for the girls he hoped that there would be no more change, for he knew he was living through his best at that very second.

Emily stood up to collect her drink and her mind was taken back to the Old Wood, to the trees that were slowly dying and the bench which had been stranded, neglected from care. As she sipped from the glass and let the taste ensnare her senses she thought about the bridge, abandoned by the world. She knew that nothing lasted forever and this thought scared her as she looked into Evan's hazel eyes. Knowing that one day it would end saddened her, but she accepted it and hoped for the best.

Jemima's eyes glistened like emeralds as she spoke, she had accepted that change was difficult and that change was hard but she knew change was just around the corner, a type of change that she feared because she knew it wouldn't end well.

Jamie walked along Evan's street and considered how things had changed and how he had ruined his friendship with Adriana. He wanted her to love him, to forget about what happened. Jamie wanted to return to the night where him and Adriana had shared something, an embrace that would last forever in their memories. He wanted her as he walked up the driveway, shivering before undoing the latch. He wanted her as he pushed the gate open to see his childhood friends back together again. He wanted her as he was greeted by everyone and was introduced to Matt. He wanted her as he found himself sinking into her blue eyes. He wanted change more than anything but he expected the worst, and this lack of hope would let the monsters inside his head win.

Evan feared change, Jamie wanted change and the others were stuck in between. Change is never easy, people fight to hold on and people fight to let go, but they fight on a sinking ship because in this game there are no winners.