Unbreak me [#Wattys2017]

Prologue

Ellen Bloom was sitting with her mother on their usual spot in the garden. Plucking a strand of grass, the 7 year old wondered out loud, "Why is the grass green, Mommy?"

"Because God wanted it to be green," Her mother responded, well attuned to Ellen's line of questioning.

"So...the sky is blue because God liked it that way?"

"Absolutely."

Ellen slowly nodded. "I see." Soon after she went on observing the trees, the lake, the grass and everything that surrounded her. The girl frequented this place almost everyday, still the nature never ceased to amaze her.

A flash of familiar brown head appeared in her vision just then. Forgetting her trail of thought, she jumped on her feet and raced to the approaching figure.

"Hi," she said breathlessly, as she came to a stop in front of the boy.

The boy's face brightened up. "Hey!"

"I've been waiting for you."

The boy laughed. "For six months?" Six months ago was the last time he ventured over here.

"Six months," the girl confirmed.

"I'll be gone again, you know?"

"I know," she replied. "Does it matter?"

"Nope," the boy said with a grin. "It's the right now that does."

The girl giggled. "You always say that."

He shrugged. "It's true...Tinker." He added the last part with a grin.

The girl scowled. "Stop calling me that! I shouldn't have told you that Tinker Bell is my role model."

"Too late, Tinker."

The girl groaned.

The boy laughed.

"Dear, don't you wanna show Ellen what we got her?" A tall lady spoke from behind the boy.

His aunt, Ellen recalled.

"Right!" The boy said, excited. He took a box from his aunt and gave it to Ellen. "Open it. I helped choosing the pendant."

The girl opened the box and a gasp escaped her. "It's beautiful. Thank you," she whispered.

It was a necklace with two silver wings attached to it.

"Those wings are just like Tinker Bell's. I mean just like yours, Tinker," he teased.

The girl shot him a quick glare, then went on admiring the necklace.

A hand touched the girl's shoulder, breaking her from the trance. She looked up and the already wide grin grew wider. "Mom, see what he brought for me!"

Her mom's eyes widened. She looked at the boy and said, "That's beautiful, hun. You picked it?"

He beamed. "Uh-huh. I went to this jewellery store with Mom, and saw this. It instantly reminded me of Ellen."

"That's so sweet of you," her mother cooed and walked to his aunt, already engaging in some grown-up conversation.

"Wanna race?" The girl asked, pocketing the necklace and promising to herself to never lose it.

"Nah, I'm tired of winning."

She scowled. "I've had practice. Try beating me now."

"Easy."

"It's not."

"Let's see."

"Let's."

And they ran. Even as they were running, they were laughing. They knew their time together was fleeting, and they savored every second of it. The girl knew that after a week the boy would leave the girl alone for the next six months.

"I need to go back to my home, Tinker. My parents, my house, my school and everything is there," he would always say when the girl stopped him from going away on his last day.

"Not everything," the girl would mumble, but her words would always get lost in the wind, never reaching him.