If Only

•09•

Beauty is the one thing in this world that I believe has stood the test of time. Even before there were humans or animals roaming the world around us there was beauty. In not just what the world had to offer but what was soon to come.

"My brother is the only person I've ever brought here before. Well, was anyway."

This was timeless. Once more, Amelia Gabriella Hughes had caught herself gazing at Aiden with a pair of sad, longing eyes. But, I think this time she was given the benefit of the doubt as his eyes seemed to be asking her not to pull away.

She could truly feel herself start to calm down and her blood pressure lower, the more he talked about this place and its importance. He explained to her in great detail, how every time he came to the field he already had a routine set into motion.

He and Sammy would watch the sunset and talk about their lives as if it were a scene from a movie. The two might even dance and sing a few of the same songs they would listen to on the way here. The same songs would play on the way back.

The amount of time they spent smiling at this place was special and of consequence because they couldn't do it anywhere else. They were out of sight from all the attention, and away from the wreckage of their lives. Here, they could rebuild parts of themselves they didn't even know where to began to fix.

It was easy for the Woods brothers to take advantage of this place, it had become like sacred ground to the both of them, but it didn't start off that way. As a matter of fact, Aiden used to hate this place it reminded him too much of his mother. Otherwise known as the woman who ditched her family to travel around the world as some rock band's groupie. Aiden tried convince himself there was a story in there somewhere. Maybe, there mother caught some terrible children-killing disease and decided to get as far away from her two sons as possible. What if one of the band members was an undercover criminal and forced their mother to part from her family. Whatever the case, he didn't want the story to end with her choosing to leave simply because she felt like it. It couldn't.

But as the years passed and a new season gave way to the next he realized
that way of thinking was that of a child.  He figured if Sammy thought that way it would be alright. But Sammy was only a kid and even he knew better.

Gone was the woman who wanted to grow a garden in the backyard of her home. The same woman who sang songs to Aiden to tuck him into bed at night and baked his favorite cookies for story time. To him, she was dead. Just another memory he would lay to rest in the graveyard of his mind.

"Wow." Amelia said. It was all she could say. Still astonished by the beauty of the field and how open Aiden was being towards her.

"Yeah," he muttered underneath his breath.

He checked his phone and looked up at the sky. "The sun will set soon. I guess, we can leave afterwards." Aiden moved closer to Amelia and laid his head on the grass beside her. Even though he looked comfortable she wandered if he was afraid some creepy crawler would bite him. Forgetting he had probably done this a thousand times before.

"Did you see that?" She asked gesturing off into the field, where she thought she saw something move.

Aiden yawned. "All I can see is your hair bouncing over my face. I know a talented barber back at the Peak. I'm sure he can do something about those split ends."

Amelia gasped running her fingers through her thick mass of curls. "Rude!" She said smacking Aiden's shoulder with her hand. Before she could pull back, he grabbed it pulling her body down at his level. She wasn't on top of him but close enough next to him that she could feel his warm breath next to her ear. Face up, looking up at the sky.

"Now, look," he instructed. His smile grew wider and she turned to see what all the fuss was about. Amelia had never seen the sun set up close and personal before. But watching it now with Aiden, made her understand why he still seemed so deeply excited to see it even having seen it so many times before.

The different colors in the sky reminded her of an artists palette. The arrangement of clouds seemed to tell a story one had to really be focused on to understand. But as the sun fell behind the mountain, the were painted black. Standing tall and firm like soldiers in an army, they protected the world around them. The birds flew across the sky in a tight row as if to mourn the loss of their beloved sun. The wonders of the sunset promise the night sky, a faithful tomorrow and Aiden and Amelia got to experience it together.

"It's like I'm seeing it for the first time," Aiden said reaching out into the world above him.

"I guess, in a way you are. Everyday is different than the last which sorta means the sun can never set in the same way twice." She agreed.

He propped himself up on one elbow turning to look at the mystifying girl. "I had never heard anything like that before." He told her truthfully.

She shook her head. "I don't know. Maybe, it's stupid.."

"No it's not," Aiden countered. He narrowed his eyes at her, his piercing gaze finding her lips. "It's real."

Amelia felt her heart race a million miles a minute. A part of her knew he wanted to kiss her but she didn't want to disappoint him.

"I—I've never..." she began. Aiden leaned in and tucked a few locks behind her ears.

"It's okay." He told her, his lips capturing hers. She wrapped her arms around him as his lips moved with hers. The kiss wasn't perfect but it was at the same time. It may have taken her a second to get used to it but once age had, their lips moved in sync with one another. Her lungs didn't want or seen to need the air. Only the soft touch of his lips, a blissful kiss.