A Message From My Ex (Completed)

Chapter 1: An Unusual Discovery

Edited by: Dan_ishere

Check out my latest story 'The Monument of Exodus'.  I'm givin scifi a try :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~Because none of it was ever worth the risk, well, you are the only exception, you are the only exception...~

It was a cold autumn day when it came.     I gripped on the empty porcelain mug as I stared at my backyard, the cold feel of it pressing against my two palms.  My dirty blonde hair was a mess as the cold breeze came through the window.  With eyebags drooping right below it, my eyes gave the stream a cold stare.     The small town fo Oaksville, Pennsylvania might look just like a small dot to the world but it was perfect for me.  It was much better than where I used to live – Long Island, New York where there were too many memories. Vast trees spread about in Oaksville and even if it looked like the kind of town nature embraced, technology was still in tact.  However, smiles weren't exactly what I would give the town especially after....

  I stood up and visited the large empty thermos that used to be warm thanks to a hot Americano.  I placed the two in the sink not even bothering to wash them.      Sunday was a joyous day for most but it wasn't exactly something I looked forward to. I glanced at my backyard where a young sycamore tree had tendered on my own grew and assorted vegetations and flowers lived alongside it.  The stream was flowing quite nicely as usual.  I walked towards a small drawer near the backdoor where I kept my gardening tools.  I pulled out a pair of black rubber gloves and grabbed a watering can.  I had just planted fertilizer yesterday so all my garden needed today was a cool sprinkle of water.  The watering can was finally full when something unusual occured.

A knock came at my front door.

   I dropped the watering can lightly on the sink and answered it.  A man in his early thirties with his messy dark blonde hair and bright blue eyes welcomed himself in.  He wore a nice pair of denim pants and a simple T-shirt.  It was my best friend, Danny Rivers.  The smile on his face beamed at me as my own frown wanted to hide itself from it.

   "Hi,"  I said solemnly.

   "Chris, you say hi and you make me want to kill myself,"  he said, coming in.

   "Sorry."  I closed the door.  "What brings you here?"

   "Hey, what's wrong with visiting your best buddy?"  He laughed.

   I sighed.  "I suppose you're right."

   "Still the long face?  God Chris, it's Sunday! Have a little fun!  Take a walk, go to the beach or watch some movies!  Anything but stay cooped up in here, sobbing about your ex-girlfriend!"

   "I'm not crying," I defended myself.

   "Sure looks like it.  Come on.  It's been a year since you two broke up.  You even moved out of your great job and magnificent city to come here. My man, by now, you should have forgotten about her already!"

  "How can I? Lindsey was the love of my life.  We were together for ten years!  You don't just forget someone you've known for ten years."

   "Ugh, you have to move on.  There's no future for you and Lindsey.  That bitch is crazy for not wanting you and now she's suffering in hell."

    "First of all, never call Lindsey a bitch.  Second, she's in Milan with a fancy job.  You call that suffering in hell?"

   "Never mind then."  Danny scowled.  "If you don't want closure or distance or whatever those terms are called, can you at least give yourself a challenge?"

   "A challenge?"  My eyes lit up.

   "Yeah.  Like what they do in those romantic comedy movies."

   "Okay then. What's my challenge?"    Danny sat down and thought. 

I was about to head out to my garden when he stood up. "I call it the Love Song Challenge."

   "Proceed," I said sarcastically as he joined me to my garden.  Like I said before, there was nothing special about it but at least it was one of my few refuges away from my memories with Lindsey.  We didn't have a garden back when we lived in New York as Lindsey wasn't exactly a big fan of plants.    

Danny sat on a wooden bench overlooking the stream and turned to me as I began to water.  "All you have to do is write the your favorite lyrics in a love song on a piece of paper.   Make a list of twenty-five songs."

   "Twenty-five?" I asked, not looking up at him.  'Okay, I have to admit, a little interesting but how exactly is this letting go?"

   "It's not."

This time I definitely had to look up.  When Lindsey and I lived in our apartment in New York City, Danny lived just right across the hall and while the two of us stayed as the strongest couple, Danny never experienced a long-term relationship.  His relationships often lasted at a minimum of a day to a maximum of less than two weeks. Maybe it was because unlike Lindsey and I, Danny couldn't find a job in the city.  He was a cook but like his love life, it never lasted for more than two weeks.  That was probably why when Lindsey and I broke up and I wanted to move back to Pennsylvania where I grew up, Danny joined me.  New York just wasn't the place for him.  Thankfully, he's got a good job now over at a local pizzeria around the block.  And as short-lived as everything in his life may seem, helping me with letting go of Lindsey was one (or proably only) long-term goal he had.

   "No?" I repeated.

   "I figured."  He tried to explain.  "Whatever method I'm using isn't working so maybe I should try something else.  I know it's been a real long time, Chris, but time really is the only thing that can heal you."

   I smiled.  There was something else Danny had that wasn't short-lived - me.  "Gee, thanks, man."

   "Well, let's start today, man!"  He chuckled.  "What will Song Number One be?"

   I dropped the watering can down on the ground and closed my eyes.  A love song that I like.  I knew a lot of love songs.  When I couldn't think of anything to get Lindsey, I usually whipped up a mix CD for her.  But what song?

   I smiled.  " You are the only exception..."

   "The Only Exception."  Danny grinned.  "I like that song. Nice pick."

   "Thanks." I was about to go back to my gardening when Danny's voice came back.

   "Hey, what's that?"

   At first, I thought he was pointing at one of my flowers but then, I noticed that he was pointing at the little stream that flowed right beside my garden.   Normally, there was nothing wrong with it, it was clean and soothing but today, more surprises came.

   A glass bottle was floating from the other side.  A brown cork covered the top and a rolled up piece of paper was hidden inside the bottle.  Definitely interesting.  I approached the stream and waited until it came to near me, my hand touched its smooth glass surface and I smiled.  Lindsey and I had always loved attempting romance tactics just to boast to our other friends bu this was something we had never tried before.  I picked it up and rose it up high to see it glint in the sunlight.    

"What is it?"  Danny asked.    

"Have you never heard of it, Danny?"  I smiled.  'It's a message in a bottle."