Dear Ludmilla

Chapter 11

                                                                           Ben was just passing by the classrooms, distracted. As usual he was thinking of her. Of Ludmilla. He wondered if he was acting like an idiot thinking she would come back for him. He needed to move on. Reading his letter to her, he suddenly felt something blocking his path. Perplexed, he looked down at a body. Curious to see who it was, he carefully placed the letter back into its place in his backpack, and gently turned the body onto its back. A gasp escaped from his lungs, as he realized that his wish had come true. Ludmilla was back. Only she was unconscious. Frantically he gently slapped her cheek and called out her name. At first there was no response, but then she batted her eyes and then opened them wide open to find Ben peering over her. A smile slowly made its way to her lips, as she tried to get up as fast as possible to embrace him. As a result, she felt dizzy and Ben had to hold her up. In his arms, they gazed into each other's eyes and just as they were about to kiss, an unknown yet somehow familiar voice called: "Ludmilla! Ludmilla!"

                                                                            Ludmilla snapped out of her daydream. She was sitting on a bench in Central Park. Looking around her, she realized she had been staring at the group near the large oak tree for far too long. There was a blonde cheerleader who looked like a Brittany, a person holding a Nintendo console which had Mickey Mouse's outfit colours, which is why she had called him Micky in her mind. The cheerleader had her arm around the video game enthusiast, so she assumed that they were a couple. And there was a guy a little taller than she was who looked like her ex-boyfriend Ben(who had left New York to study Business Studies in Colorado, and then stayed there, thank God).So he was called Ben. She glanced over, a little wistfully, one last time at the little group, laughing and smiling over some joke "Ben" had made. She heard the voice again. It was her best friend, Luis.

                                                                             "How long have you been standing there, Luis? I'm sorry I didn't take notice. You see that group there? I made up a story about them. In my story, I was a teenage poltergeist, and those three over there were my teenage friends. The blonde cheerleader was called Brittany, the one with the console Micky and the guy over there was Ben, the guy who was in love with me. I don't know why I made him that, he's ugly as hell and I don't know him. Maybe I thought he was the type of guy that would chase after me in that creepy way stalkers do?" 

                                                                             Ludmilla spurted all this out in a rush. Luis smirked at her in the way she always loved. She knew what he was going to say next. And his words confirmed her theory.

                                                                            "That sounds like an interesting story, sweetheart. Maybe you should try to get it published somewhere. Was...was I in the story?" Luis clasped his hands together. He always admired her stories and she always made sure she included him as a character somehow. But he always doubted because according to him he was nothing special, even though she constantly assured him that it wasn't the case.                                                    

                                                                             It was Ludmilla's turn to smile fondly. "Of course you were, sweetheart. You were my guardian angel. It was true I didn't notice you at first because I was dating my ex, but now I realize that you are the only one I need now. You know why I made you the guardian angel? Because you were always there for me, no matter what. And I will love you, always and forever. "

                                                                             Luis' eyes shone with happiness and he cleared his throat. "If that's the case, sweetheart, I'd like to take my chance to say this." He got down on one knee, and began his speech, nervously. 

                                                                          "We had many obstacles to get to where we are now, but from the moment I met you at the tender age of 16, I knew you were the one. Sure there was the fact that you were dating that jerk and then right after we started dating, two years later, we had to go to separate colleges. But now here we are, 5 years later at age 23, back where we had our first date, and we have great careers. You're an amazing ornithologist and I am a good career adviser, I hope. But you're amazing at other things: you're kind and patient, you're really sweet, wise and witty, which helps with your part time job as an author. Basically you're the only one in my eyes, and I wish that to be forever. Ludmilla Greene, will you make me the happiest man alive and marry me.

                                                                         He opened the little latch on the ring box to reveal a beautiful silver engagement with a shiny diamond on top. He glanced at her, anxious for her answer. He needn't have worried however, because her eyes were sparkling in the way he loved and she squealed out her answer while nodding. He held her in his arms after she put on her ring. They swirled around together, and putting her down gently, they both looked at her ring. It represented a new future for them, more than anything they could imagine.

                                                                         With a smile as wide as the Pacific ocean, she grabbed his hand and said: "Let's go tell everyone we know." They walked into the sunset, never once looking back, because they had each other. And that was enough.