The Girl Next Door

Part 7 (Epilogue)

Canterbury, England. June 1962

            One year. One year exactly since Clara had first arrived in London and started the most unforgettable summer of her life. The first few days, even weeks, back home had been hard for her. She found it strange getting up every day and not going to the tree house with John. It was even stranger not having a rooftop to sit on every night to look at the stars and talk to John. She missed him every day.

            Life on the farm in Canterbury had gotten back to normal pretty quickly. Clara’s family settled back into their old routines almost immediately. Clara volunteered to do more work around the house, just to keep herself busy. If she wasn’t busy, her mind wandered and she would think about John, which only made her resent being here, wishing she were back in London. Even sketching, her favorite pastime, reminded her of her dear friend. Clara wrote to him almost every week, but it took nearly two weeks for the mail to arrive. Just a few weeks ago, John had stopped answering her letters. She wondered what had happened. Had he moved on? Did he not care about her anymore?

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            Clara woke to the morning sun shining through her bedroom window. Looking at her watch, she saw it was only six in the morning. She sighed, pulling her pillow over her head. The rooster crowed in the distance. Clara rolled out of bed, dressed, and then went downstairs to fix some breakfast before going outside to feed the cows.

            She sleepily walked down the porch steps and started toward the barn in the back of the house. Glancing at the driveway, Clara stopped dead in her tracks. “No, it…can’t be…” She blinked, rubbing her eyes. She looked back at the driveway. She wasn’t dreaming. It wasn’t her imagination. He was there. He was really there.

            Clara started running, slow at first, then full-out sprinting. She couldn’t believe he was really there.

            “John!” 

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