94 Fateful Summer

After her mom has died from cancer, she finds a long letter addressed to her in her mom's handwriting. She opens it and finds a slip of paper that reads: Summer of '77, 142 Brooks Ct, WA.

Curious, she opens the letter and saw the words "Fateful Summer" in beautiful Copperplate Script style of calligraphy. Thinking that the title seem a little bit dramatic, the girl chuckles lowly and said, "It is indeed from Mom."

The girl sighs as her fingers graze over the familiar handwriting of her late mother, feeling a bit emotional thinking of her. Her vision blurs as tears threatens to fall from her eyes, the girl blinked her tears away and put all her attention to the letter, and that's how she notice that the paper seems a bit old and crumpled, and the ink seems a bit faded. The girl made a conclusion that this letter was written many years ago.

But why did her mother send it to her?

The girl was confused and curious, so she starts reading the content of the letters.

"Year ****, January 15.

It was this one of the time where my parents decided to spend the whole summer with my grandparents in my mother's side. I don't mind though, they are kind and thoughtful but they can be a little... cranky. Of course, as an 18-years-old girl, I understand that it was because they are old that's why they are short-tempered.

My grandparents likes peace and nature, so both of them decided to live in a place two hours away from the town. The house was surrounded by the beautiful nature with lots of kind animals. For a girl who likes nature, I love this place.

This day, the sun was scorching hot, and I just want to escape from unpacking our luggages. Then I remember that my grandmother told me that there was a river not too faraway from the house. I told my parents that I will tour myself again in the barn and they agreed as long as I will come back before dawn.

Wearing my two piece swimsuit under my favorite sun dress, and a pair of slippers, I went to the river and hope that a swim in the river will get rid of the heat I am feeling.

And in this time of the day, I saw him. My first love.

He was a fairly built man with chocolate soft curls hair, and he has the deepest shade of blue eyes I have ever seen. He was sitting beside's the river with one hand in the river, feeling the current of the cold water. A handsome man paired with the beautiful nature, in that moment I could only think of one word to describe it.

Beautiful.

He seems to noticed my presence for he twist his body to look at my direction. And when my expressive violet eyes met his heavy blue eyes, I knew, I fell in love.

He asked me who I was, and I was entranced by his deep voice. It isn't scary like others, it was a bit hoarse and I liked it. But he was cold. Indifferent even. I don't know why but it is painful that he won't even pay attention to me even when I talked to him, but what pained me the most is the sadness in his eyes. Like he lost all hoped, and he has no reason to live anymore.

I want to wipe away his pain, so even though he treats me as if I was a ghost, I talked and talked to him until he started talking to me. We conversed about lot of things until I realized that it was already dawn and I had to go back home.

I was really sad, I don't want to part ways with him but he promise that we will meet again here tomorrow.

I was ecstatic about it and agreed. I told him my name and he told me his.

Lucian Lumière.

What a beautiful name, that's what I thought. Lucian, it means light, but why do he seems he's not living in a light but full of darkness instead? And that's how I made my decision, I will be his light in his life full of darkness."

Her hands trembles as she reads the content of the letter. She didn't know that her mother had this kind of story. She noticed that there are still some letters so she read them too. All the things that happened between them was written in these letters. While reading the letters, she could also feel the happiness her Mom felt that time.

Even the night they become one. Her mother describe it as one blissful night. It wasn't out of lust but love. It was one of the most memorable night for her mother.

But she was curious. If her mother had this kind of love in her youth then why they aren't together? Her father isn't Lucian Lumière. As she reads the letters, the more she understand what happened during that summer.

"Year ****, February 20.

This morning, I woke up feeling dizzy and weak. I vomit for a few times and I have a lingering feeling that maybe I am pregnant. Luckily, I still have my pregnancy kit that my professor in SexEd gave us last month. And guess what? It is POSITIVE!

I am pregnant with Lucian's child!

I was so excited to tell him this news so I rushed to the river earlier than the usual. He wasn't there yet so I waited for him.

I waited and waited.

Until it was already midnight and he still didn't come.

I was so disappointed but I lift up my mood. I can't be depress now that I am pregnant. There is still tomorrow."

She read the letters after that and all of it was about how my mother waited for him by the river but he didn't come. My mother waited for him but summer has finally ended and they had to go back to States.

There are only two letters left. I read the date in the last two letter and I realized that a year had passed since that summer. My heart thumped as I read the letter. It was the day I was born. My mother wrote how happy she was, and say that her daughter is the symbol of their short-lived happiness. Ciana Lumière, the proof of their love. At the end of the letter, her mother mentioned about a letter sent by Lucian on the same day she was born.

What letter? She was curious about it, and when she look at the last letter, she realized it wasn't her mother's handwriting but someone else.

"Dear my beloved Aisha;

It was a pleasure meeting you there in that river. Ever since my parents died when I was 12, I felt like God has forsaken me. I was left alone. I gave up my school and started to work at such a young age to fend for myself. This went on for many years, living but not actually living.

And then I was diagnosed with luekemia. That time when I discovered I have cancer, I didn't feel sad, instead I felt... relieved. Finally, I can be with my parents.

I thought it was better to die than to continue living. After all, there isn't beautiful in this world.

It was wrong of me to think of that, because as I gazed at your beautiful green eyes, everything I see in those eyes is beautiful. Everything in my life is dull, has no hope, and full of sadness... until I met you.

You taught me that life can be beautiful even if life has thrown me into despair. You taught me how to wish for a better life and to continue... living.

But that is only my wishful thinking.

I was dying. There was no hope to cure my disease even after all those treatment. I don't want to die. I want to continue living with you as we build our own family together. I want to marry you and give you the grandest wedding you deserve. I want to give you lots of cute children that you like. I want to accompany you as we do the things listed in your bucket list.

I still want to be with you.

But life is cruel and I had to say goodbye. You are the greatest thing that could ever happen to me, my love.

I want you to continue living. Find someone whom you can spend the rest of your life with, have children, and grow old. These things, I want to give it to you but I can't.

I wish if we have another life, we could meet again and continue our love story with each other.

I love you, and I will always love you.

Yours love,

Lucian Andrews"

By the time she was done reading the letter, she realized that she was already crying. She sobbed as she clutched the letters close to her heart. As she cries, an old picture dropped in between those letters. She took the picture and she cries harder as she recognize those two young couples in the picture.

They are leaning against a huge tree, beside them was the river. There was a young beautiful woman in dress and a handsome man in his casual tshirt. They looked so lovely and in love with each other.

She smiles softly as she kissed the picture.

"Mom, Dad, I hope you're together now."