Chapter V - It's time.

Chloe!
...

- Chloe! Will you come downstairs? Breakfast's ready!

- Yes, Sam. I'll be there in a second.

As Chloe was coming down the stairs, the feelings from the eve started to fade away.

- Good morning! she said as she walked around the table and sat on her usual chair.

- Where's my kiss? asked uncle Geoff.

Chloe laughed: I'll blow it to you from across the table.

      After the breakfast, aunt Samantha sent Chloe to Mrs. Clotier's house to get a few lemons and a bowl of raspberries for a cake that she was planning to bake that afternoon.
Chloe was carrying the bag of lemons over the arm and holding the bowl of raspberries in her hands as she was walking home. When she passed by Alain's house, she found herself on the ground, raspberries all over her cream-colored lace dress and one finger bleeding from a broken piece of the bowl.

- Mon Dieu! she heard a female voice from afar. It was Catherine, who was coming out of the house.

As she looked up she saw Alain, looking stunned in front of her:

- Are you okay? Let me help you!

Lost into her thoughts, Chloe didn't even see Alain in her way and she had bumped into to him, which caused her to lose her balance and fall on the ground. She looked at Catherine walking towards them, then looked at Alain and the words came out of her mouth...

- What are you doing here? Chloe shouted. What are you doing in my way?

Alain took her hand in his hand, while the feeling of rising tears hit Chloe. She pulled her hand and ran towards the house with Alain calling behind her to wait. The door hit the wall as she entered the house.

- What happened? Samantha came after her in the living room.

- My dress! Chloe shouted. My dress is ruined!

She didn't care at all about the dress, she was so very much in love with Alain, but she didn't want to admit it. To herself, yes. To anyone else, never!
Besides, what was the point, he was almost eight years older than her, he had a girlfriend and he was one of her uncle's lawyers.

       The road to the airport was sprinkled with bitter sweet sadness. Something new was settling in, it was time to change... Teddy bears for high heels, lace for leather, innocence for new beginnings.
Very early in the morning, Chloe left Paris for Seattle with her uncle Geoff to visit her grandparents.

Chapter IV - Tell her no!

It was a hot summer evening, the dusty air carried a suffocating warmth. There was no breeze whatsoever and nothing seemed to break into the peaceful silence of that midummer's evening.

Chloe and Samantha went to visit Mrs. Clotier, the oldest resident of Cartier Iberville. The old lady liked to hold dinners, it reminded her of her younger days, when she was present at every ball.
At the massive, white and round table in the garden, Chloe saw Alain sitting by himself. Apparently Mrs. Clotier invited him as well. They exchanged quick hellos and a look while passing by. Samantha sat at the table with Alain Lambert and Mrs. Clotier, while Chloe walked away and sat in the rock-chair full of pillows that smelled like basil. She was facing the table, when from inside the house, a young woman made her way along the surrounding hedge to join them at the table.

- C'est ma nièce Catherine, said Mrs. Clotier.

- And Alain's soon to be moving in girlfriend, added the woman while placing her hands on Alain's shoulders.

- Congratulations, said Samantha moving her eyes from her to Alain who smiled awkwardly. It is nice to meet you Catherine.

- Please call me Cath, she said loudly.

Catherine's light ginger hair was cut into a bob, her pale blue simple summer dress made her look so elegant and matched perfectly with her fair skin. She wasn't very pretty, but her neat style made her stand out in that way.

- Chloe, viens nous rejoindre à la table, veux-tu?

- Bien sûr, Mme Clotier. She replied and walked smiling to join them at the table.

- Oh, qui est cette jolie fille? asked Catherine.

Who knew that the most simple words when put together with the smallest gestures could become like poisonous splinters, ripping her chest open from inside out, cut through it, over it... What really makes that moment where one crosses the border between magic and disbelief, hope and apathy, calm and restlessness, innocence and darkness, today and the rest of one's life?

At the end of that day, under the sunset's shades, Chloe's eyes appeared empty like two holes in a mask in which she saw Alain for whom he really was: just a stranger.

As she watched their silhouettes fading into the night, Chloe stared wistfully and wished she had him!

The Lost Chapter

The first day of school was over, little Chloe was wandering the streets on a rainy afternoon. The rush hour found her lost in time and space, trying to sneak through the big people to find her way home. Tired of walking through the windy day, she sat on a bench in front a house. She wiped her hands on her baby blue handkerchief and then took a byte from the apple her mother had put in her backpack the evening before. She took another byte and chocked on it. The next moment she felt a hand on her back:

- Are you ok?

- Yes, she managed to reply. Yes, I am.

- My name is Ryan. I saw you at school today. You sit right in front of me.

- Really? Well looks like you’re always behind me… what are you doing here?

He laughed and said:

- Well, this is my house. This is where I live.

Chloe felt a little embarrassed to tell him that, in fact she was lost.

- I am Chloe and it was nice meeting you. I will see you around! She got up and without looking back she just walked into the rain again.

- See you Chloe! He shouted.


At the next intersection she incidentally met one of their neighbours who drove her home. Maybe it was the first day of school with walking into the new and unknown, maybe it was the rainy and grey day, but when she walked into the house and closed the door behind her, she had a strange feeling of restlessness, presaging that something was going to happen.
The babysitter encountered her and cheered her up, so she soon forgot everything about it. Her parents were away on a business trip and were to come back that very evening.
Ever since Chloe was born, her parents were always gone in such delegations.

After dinner, she fell asleep almost instantly on the couch in front of the TV. Hours flown and Chloe woke up in the middle of the night because of a headache. The house was total darkness and silence. Dizzy and confused heading to the kitchen to take an Advil, she drank a sip of water and snorted out the next one when her eyes rested on the wall clock showing 2 AM. It was a habit that when her parents came home they would always come to hug her before going to sleep, even if it was late.
She ran to her parents’ room, dozen of thoughts began to spin into her mind making her even dizzier. Arrived in the front of the door, she slowly rotated the knob and opened the squeaky door, her heart beating faster and faster, her eyes searching for her parents silhouettes… empty! That moment was the end of every thought, of the worry before, any sort of feeling left her completely. She tiptoed to the living room and turned on the TV. She looked at the images playing before her eyes and the more she saw she felt as if she was turning into a stone, just like the graves she was going to carry from now on within her soul, buried unfading pain that could not get through the cold stones.
With the eyes on the clock that was ticking in her arms, Chloe decided to wait until morning before she called her grandparents to tell them the news: her parents died in a plane crash. The memory of that day didn’t come without the pain, choking her just like a million bytes of apple.

Chapter III - Only Time Will Tell

She has climbed the cherry tree just outside the backyard and was sitting on a branch for hours… carrying a lot of thoughts, they were never leaving her, she carried them always, just like a helmet. She counted 23 days since her family moved to France, eight days since she has met Alain, two days since she hasn’t seen him and a thousand unanswered questions…

- Tiens! Tu étais là ... Alain said, while climbing on the brunch beside her and continued: Que dans le monde pourrais tu faire ici?

- Voilà! Chloe said. Tu me chercais?

- Moi? Tes parents, se demandaient où tu était ...

Samantha and Geoff Gunn were not Chloe's parents. They were her aunt and uncle. She thought of mentioning that to him, but got carried away by the next thought of how, in return she knew nothing about him...

- Chloe, j'ai une question pour toi ... he said placing both his hands over hers.

- Oui?

- Voudrais-tu pratiquer l'anglais avec moi, parfois?

- Biensur ...

- Ah, oui? Ce serait tellement bien, si tu veux et si tu peux ...

- Hello, and how are you this fine evening, sir?

- I'm fine, and you? But you can do better ...

- Ok, I'll try ...

- Tu sais, it’s funny your name is Chloe…

- How come? she murmered.

- Well, long story short is that Chloe is my favorite name. When I was in kindergarden I liked a girl named Chloe and my little sister’s name is Chloe because of that.

- Really? I had no idea you had a sister…

- Yeah, and one time I went to a gypsy, you know a future teller as a joke with some friends and you know what she said?

- No, what?

- She said that one day I will meet a very pretty girl named Chloe… someone-

- That is so cheesy! Chloe gave her verdict. She then laughed and climbed down the tree, letting Alain know that their first English lesson was over and that she needed to head home for dinner. Stopping to look back just one more time, under Alain’s green eyes, Chloe walked feeling under some sort of a spell. With each step she took, she felt in this new way, an unknown feeling to her til that moment and that she couldn’t yet understand. But it felt sweet!

CHAPTER II - The Baseball Game

Chloe woke up in a very good mood that morning, somehow she was feeling happy, but for no particular reason, in the end, she had pretty much the same life the day before. It was a beautiful summer Saturday. Late, as usual, storming down the stairs, while dressing up a T-shirt, Chloe went to the kitchen where she met her aunt and uncle:

- Wow, that's a first ... her aunt said jokingly. What is it with you up at this hour, and! All dressed up?

- I'm playing baseball and ... I have to go!

- Wait, where? Now? With whom?

- I was supposed to be there half an hour ago, it's just around the corner and I'm going with ... Alain, Alain Lambert.

- Let her go, her uncle Geoff interfered, have fun pumpkin!

Stopping for a second to take her breath after running up the hill, her eyes were searching for him: Alain Lambert.

- Bonsoir Chloe, he said jokingly to note the fact that she was late. Nous venons de faire les équipes ...

Everyone aligned in two rows face to face. Chloe immediately followed Alain to be on the same team as him.

- Il nous manque un joueur, said one of them.

- C’est vrai! And looking around their team, Alain noticed that they had an extra player, so he quickly moved on the opposite team.

- Non! Chloe protested, and went after Alain to join him on the same team. He laughed and went back into the first team, but Chloe did not relent so she followed him once again.

By now everyone else understood what was happening, and one of the other players moved so they can play together in the same team.

- Es-tu contente, maintenant? he asked laughing.

Under the summer skies, the night was slowly spreading over one of the most beautiful cities in the world and under the first glimpses of the sky, Chloe felt so small.

- Come get your portion! One of the players called her to reality.

Each baseball game was followed by a barbeque. That was the custom on each sunny Saturday. Holding the plate, Chloe was looking around in confusion, but Alain came with a fork:

- Je pense que c’est ça, he said, smiled and continued, ce que tu cherchais.

She was venturing towards new beginnings, walking on yet undiscovered paths so fragrant, where the sunbeams were sneaking through the trees’ branches to keep her warm when she fell asleep under the azure skies with rainbows arching over her way, even the time seemed to be more forgiving and friendly. Amidst different shades of color, full of mysteries and shadows, scented veils and curtains that seemed so real when she touched them with new meanings and confusions hidden behind, Chloe didn’t feel as the heroine of those days, but she rather felt as if she was reading the first pages of the most beautiful story.

Chapter I -THE EVE

It was three weeks before her 19th birthday on a July afteernoon. Chloe pushed aside the double glass doors leading to the backyard of the house and into the peonies garden, walking the alley in her usual confident manner. The first thing to capture her senses was the unknown voice she heard coming from the table in the yard, where she and her family had their dinner every other day. She glided through the hedgerow, turned the corner and joined her uncle and aunt at the table:

- Hi dear, her aunt Samantha greeted her.

- Good evening! she said, glancing at the stranger, sitting at the table, while he got up and raised his hand towards her…

- Bonsoir, he replied, je suis Alain Lambert. C'est un plaisir de te rencontrer.

- Oh, bonsoir, French, she tought, and then continued: vous aussi, Monsieur Lambert. Je m'appelle Chloe Aston.

That day carried the scent of a fresh start. As Chloe sat at the dinner table with her family and their new neighbour, she thought to herself that maybe, them moving from California to Paris wasn't that bad after all. And for the first time ever, since they arrived in France, she felt that, even though she missed home, she might like it here.
Later on, after Chloe had given the excuse of needing some refreshment, she disappeared from the dinner table, heading to the house.

- Chloe, she heard him call, so she stopped and turned around.

- Monsieur Lambert ... souhaitez-vous une canette de Coke?

- Sure, he replied walking with her to the house. You can call me Alain, I'm just 25.

- Bien Alain, je ne savais pas que vous parliez anglais.

- Que tu, TU parles anglais et oui je parle un peu, j'ai juste besoin de pratique ...

- Okay, we could practice, she said taking him by the hand and he followed her around the house for a quick tour and then walking the narrow alley passing by the pool on the way back to the dinner table, Chloe stopped:

- And this, she said with flourish, is the pool.

Alain smiled:

- Yea. All the water kind of gave it away.

Chloe laughed:

- Fait attention dont tu me parles, she said teasingly, ou tu pourrais finir mouillé par tout!

Alain arched an eyebrow and looked from her to the pool he was standing in front of:

- Oh, non ... he said, ne même pas y penser ...

She smiled and turned to go back to the table in the garden asking:

- You’re no fun, are you?

He exhaled, relieved, when in fact he was in for a surprise. Just as he turned around, she tackled him. But he was laughing when they both went sprawling into the pool.

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