Emma & Jackson

12

Today is the day I'll be going back home.

My head is still aching. And my heart is confused.

Nini who surprisingly woke early sits on my bed as I'm massaging my head.

"Are you angry with me?", she asks quietly.

"No", I reply because I'm not.

"Thank God. I'm so sorry for not telling you. After you left that night he was so worried. He met me and told me everything. And then he asked me to bring you to the concert. Did it work?", she asks.

"I don't know", I reply because honestly I'm scared now. Isn't it too late now? Anyway I'll be going back now. What's the use of anything?

"It's ok. Whatever decision you make, I'll be there for you.", Jennie says and my heart melts.

The day passes by in a hurry as I decide to leave.

We have done our packing. And our luggage is gone. The taxi driver takes it. Nini and I check for the last time if we had missed anything. There will be nothing left, just my broken heart.

We go down and are about to exit the hotel when I see the last person I expected to see.

It's not Jackson. It's Stella.

She comes running but she still looks beautiful.

"Can I talk to you for a second?", she says to me out of breath.

"I'm sorry but I have to leave. I have a flight", I say.

Nini who is standing beside me says, "No it's fine. We can wait. We will reach the airport in time.", she tells me.

I want to slap her but I don't say anything.

Stella takes me to the cafeteria there. I don't want to sit, it will be getting late.

"We have never talked much until now, so you must be wondering what I'm doing here.", she says.

Yes. I'm definitely wondering.

"Of course, I'm here to talk about Jackson. I know what he said to you.", she says.

And now I'm angry. Did he actually tell her everything? I thought it was between me and him.

"Look, I know you might think that Jackson and I are close. Yes, we are. But he's more like a brother to me. We are close since childhood. So that's why he told me this.", she says.

"Did he send you here to talk to me?", I ask.

"No. No. No. I came here on my own”, she says quickly like I might get up and leave if she said yes.

"Jackson was a very cheerful guy, you know. He brought positive energy wherever he went. His heart is gold. He had always been this way. It's true that Jackson loved someone before and she passed away. He was heartbroken after losing her. He changed completely. He never even talked. We were all scared for him. But a few days back, he suddenly changed. It was like the old Jackson was back. He came running happily to me and told me about you. I had never seen him so happy in a long time. The way he talked about you. He said he met you while playing the piano but he couldn't ask your name. He said that when he first saw you, he thought it was Izabel. And I was afraid that he saw Izabel in you. But then he said that when he saw you more clearly, you were different. And for the first time he saw someone else other than Izabel.", she says.

I listen to all this without feeling anything. My ears are working but I don't allow my heart to make any decision so quickly.

"After that he used to talk about you every day. And we all could see that day by day he was finally moving on. And then that day at his home everything became a mess. Look, I know that it's very hard for you to accept that he has forgotten her. But you will never know this until you give him one more chance. He's still waiting for you.", she says looking at me pleadingly and gets up. She looks at me one last time and leaves.

I don't move. But I've made up my mind.

Instead of going left to the hotel door. I take a right and run to the elevators. I know where he will be.

The terrace door is unlocked and as soon as I open it, sure enough there he is standing.

I'm having difficulty breathing even though I took the elevator.

He turns and looks at me and his smile is like he won a million dollar lottery.

I run to him but stand a little away. He doesn't move. Neither do I.

After staring at me for more than half a minute, he asks as if he can't believe his own eyes, "You came?"

If I'm not mistaken... are there tears in his eyes?

"Yes", I answer. I'm right in front of him. But he doesn't believe it.

"Oh my God! I can't tell you how happy I am.", he laughs and I laugh too because his laugh is contagious.

He closes his eyes and then looks at the sky. Like he is thanking God.

He turns to me and I can see the sincerity on his face when he says, "I'm so sorry."

"I know", I reply.

"This is the same place where I first saw you. When I saw you, I thought it was Izabel. Then I came closer and you were different but I didn't mind.", he says.

"Then after that I saw you again and I wanted to get to know you. I didn't want to lose the opportunity. Then when we talked in the park, I felt a connection that I had never felt before. And I knew you were the one.", he explains.

"Then everything went out of control at my home. Trust me, every second that I spent with you it was never because you reminded me of someone else. It was only because I wanted to be with YOU. You're not a replacement. You're different.", he says waiting for my reaction.

And after listening to everything, I ask him, "So you're a pianist?"

And he looks at me like he can't believe what I just said.

"After listening to all this, is that what you want to ask me?", he asks.

"Yes. Because I believe you. You don't have to explain me anything else. If I didn't believe you, I wouldn't have come.", I say.

"Thank you", he says and then we go silent. Because we don't need words anymore.

We both stand there watching the sunset silently. And once again the sky is pink.