p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 14.399999618530273px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"Nov.3/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 14.399999618530273px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"It had been two weeks after my performance, and Halloween had passed. For once I stayed in with my mom and helped hand out candy to children. Oliver had gone out with some friends he had made from school. For once in my life I finally felt like things were falling into place, like my life was for once in perfect balance. I looked at myself in the mirror. I felt different than I had when I first came here, I wasn't as unaturally pale, my eyes were bright and filled with life and even my hair was shinier. I can say to myself that I now feel beautiful. I twirled around in my favourite black lace dress with my starburst necklace reflecting what was remaining of the sunlight. It had already started to snow here in goats wood. Soon there would be frost on the trees and kids would be skating around in circles on a frozen pond. I shivered as I felt Jonah materialize behind me./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 14.399999618530273px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;""Good morning" he pecked me on the cheek. I reached up to caress his cheek. Ever since I heard that he may be leaving me, I made every single gesture count. "Morning." He stood behind me and gazed at us in the mirror. We looked almost ethereal, after all this time I had just realized the glow that he gives off, maybe after finding happiness we both have changed. I looked up at him and gazed into his magnificent blue eyes. I played with his silky black hair as he smiled back at me. I bent us to kiss him as he held me close, closer than ever before, I felt that nothing in the mortal world could harm me, so long as I'm with Jonah. We broke away and I heard a small click. I had left my pocket watch on my night table, specifically closed. It struck me that all the time I would open it, it would glimmer with an ethereal light, while I had only opened it the few times, I never realized it till now./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 14.399999618530273px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"bobby came sprinting down the stairs, he looked desperate. He looked at the open pocket watch and his eyes filled with panic. "Not now, please god not now! He frantically ran over to it and tried desperately to close it. It wouldn't budge, it was as if it was welded into place. "What's going on?" Jonah looked at me with concern. Light was slowly streaming out of the watch and filling my room. I felt a slight breeze begin to develop. "Now Stephanie, I just want you to know that whatever happens, I love you, I always have and forever will." Tears started to fill my eyes, a dreadful feeling filled me. "Please Jonah tell me what's happening!" The breeze grew into a weak wind, and light of all colors, known and unknown filled my room. "You remember when bobby came down from heaven right?" I nodded "he brought that watch with him, it wasn't really a pocket watch, well it is but not the normal kind. Did you ever notice the time was never right?" I nodded as memories filled my head, no matter what the time was always wrong but the needle was always ahead of its previous position. "It was a countdown, it symbolized... When me and bobby had to go back." I was shocked, how could he not tell me?! "So you knew all this time?" He nodded shamefully, Bobby was still trying to close the watch. "Why did you never tell me?" Tears streamed down my face. "I wanted to make every moment last while I could, I knew I shouldn't have gotten attached but I thought I was stuck here, but when bobby came I realized. I didn't want to break your heart." "I'm broken either way!" The light grew brighter and wind got stronger. I couldn't bear it, I knew he meant well, but why? After we were so happy? I knew that one day I would die and it would end, but I never dreamed he would be ripped away from me this fast. I didn't know what to do so I simply cried. He pulled me in close and hugged me with everything he had. All of a sudden the wind stopped and the light shimmered. Bobby was crying and staring at us shamefully. "I'm sorry Stephanie, I'm sorry Jonah, I didn't want any of this to happen, I just wanted us all to be happy together, please forgive me." He removed his newsboy cap and started bawling. Jonah pulled him into his embrace as we cried together./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 14.399999618530273px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"From the light, we saw a figure emerge. It approached us slowly. It was a woman with black hair and bright green eyes, her hair was elegantly pinned and she was wearing a 1920s style evening gown. "My children, you've come home." She opened her arms as bobby walked toward her. "I missed you momma." She kneant down to his level and held him close. "I missed you too, and your brother." She looked at me with gentle eyes. "Jonah, who's this?" He held me close "her name is Stephanie, and I love her." I buried my head into his chest knowing that it would all end soon. "I see, is she, living?" She asked with sympathetic eyes. Jonah nodded. "Oh, I'm very sorry darling but you know how it works." "No mother please," I put my finger to his lips "I know Jonah, I want to be with you too, but you and I both know that this is where you belong,I have my place in my world, and you have yours here." Tears streamed from his eyes as he nodded at me, unable to say he agreed. "Mother, can I at least say goodbye?" She nodded. "Stephanie, I don't know what to say," I looked into his eyes and pushed back his hair. "I do." I kissed him deeply, so deeply that we had to break for air. "I love you Jonah, with every ounce of my heart, please don't forget that." He held my hand to his soft, pale cheek. "I love you too, and someone as magnificent as you can never be forgotten. Here, the watch is no more than an object, it's yours now." He pressed the cold metal into my palm. He grasped my waist and pulled me close, we kissed me and I ran my hand up and down his face, caressed his hair to embed every detail of him. I felt him fade and I could feel the coolness of the light go away. We tried to pull each other closer as he disappeared forever. I feeling the last inch of him dissappeat, I dropped the ground and cried my eyes out. I held the watch to my heart and recalled all our memories, kisses and his beautiful face. I love you Jonah till the end of time./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 14.399999618530273px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"emI'm sorry this is such a cheesy way to end the story but after such a long time I figured it needed to be done. I hope you enjoyed this story and I'm sorry it today have a decently happy ending, but if it gives you any comfort, Jonah is where he belongs and Stephanie and Jonah will always have their memories of love,/em/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 14.399999618530273px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"emgoodbye, S./em/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 14.399999618530273px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"It had been two weeks after my performance, and Halloween had passed. For once I stayed in with my mom and helped hand out candy to children. Oliver had gone out with some friends he had made from school. For once in my life I finally felt like things were falling into place, like my life was for once in perfect balance. I looked at myself in the mirror. I felt different than I had when I first came here, I wasn't as unaturally pale, my eyes were bright and filled with life and even my hair was shinier. I can say to myself that I now feel beautiful. I twirled around in my favourite black lace dress with my starburst necklace reflecting what was remaining of the sunlight. It had already started to snow here in goats wood. Soon there would be frost on the trees and kids would be skating around in circles on a frozen pond. I shivered as I felt Jonah materialize behind me./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 14.399999618530273px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;""Good morning" he pecked me on the cheek. I reached up to caress his cheek. Ever since I heard that he may be leaving me, I made every single gesture count. "Morning." He stood behind me and gazed at us in the mirror. We looked almost ethereal, after all this time I had just realized the glow that he gives off, maybe after finding happiness we both have changed. I looked up at him and gazed into his magnificent blue eyes. I played with his silky black hair as he smiled back at me. I bent us to kiss him as he held me close, closer than ever before, I felt that nothing in the mortal world could harm me, so long as I'm with Jonah. We broke away and I heard a small click. I had left my pocket watch on my night table, specifically closed. It struck me that all the time I would open it, it would glimmer with an ethereal light, while I had only opened it the few times, I never realized it till now./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 14.399999618530273px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"bobby came sprinting down the stairs, he looked desperate. He looked at the open pocket watch and his eyes filled with panic. "Not now, please god not now! He frantically ran over to it and tried desperately to close it. It wouldn't budge, it was as if it was welded into place. "What's going on?" Jonah looked at me with concern. Light was slowly streaming out of the watch and filling my room. I felt a slight breeze begin to develop. "Now Stephanie, I just want you to know that whatever happens, I love you, I always have and forever will." Tears started to fill my eyes, a dreadful feeling filled me. "Please Jonah tell me what's happening!" The breeze grew into a weak wind, and light of all colors, known and unknown filled my room. "You remember when bobby came down from heaven right?" I nodded "he brought that watch with him, it wasn't really a pocket watch, well it is but not the normal kind. Did you ever notice the time was never right?" I nodded as memories filled my head, no matter what the time was always wrong but the needle was always ahead of its previous position. "It was a countdown, it symbolized... When me and bobby had to go back." I was shocked, how could he not tell me?! "So you knew all this time?" He nodded shamefully, Bobby was still trying to close the watch. "Why did you never tell me?" Tears streamed down my face. "I wanted to make every moment last while I could, I knew I shouldn't have gotten attached but I thought I was stuck here, but when bobby came I realized. I didn't want to break your heart." "I'm broken either way!" The light grew brighter and wind got stronger. I couldn't bear it, I knew he meant well, but why? After we were so happy? I knew that one day I would die and it would end, but I never dreamed he would be ripped away from me this fast. I didn't know what to do so I simply cried. He pulled me in close and hugged me with everything he had. All of a sudden the wind stopped and the light shimmered. Bobby was crying and staring at us shamefully. "I'm sorry Stephanie, I'm sorry Jonah, I didn't want any of this to happen, I just wanted us all to be happy together, please forgive me." He removed his newsboy cap and started bawling. Jonah pulled him into his embrace as we cried together./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 14.399999618530273px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"From the light, we saw a figure emerge. It approached us slowly. It was a woman with black hair and bright green eyes, her hair was elegantly pinned and she was wearing a 1920s style evening gown. "My children, you've come home." She opened her arms as bobby walked toward her. "I missed you momma." She kneant down to his level and held him close. "I missed you too, and your brother." She looked at me with gentle eyes. "Jonah, who's this?" He held me close "her name is Stephanie, and I love her." I buried my head into his chest knowing that it would all end soon. "I see, is she, living?" She asked with sympathetic eyes. Jonah nodded. "Oh, I'm very sorry darling but you know how it works." "No mother please," I put my finger to his lips "I know Jonah, I want to be with you too, but you and I both know that this is where you belong,I have my place in my world, and you have yours here." Tears streamed from his eyes as he nodded at me, unable to say he agreed. "Mother, can I at least say goodbye?" She nodded. "Stephanie, I don't know what to say," I looked into his eyes and pushed back his hair. "I do." I kissed him deeply, so deeply that we had to break for air. "I love you Jonah, with every ounce of my heart, please don't forget that." He held my hand to his soft, pale cheek. "I love you too, and someone as magnificent as you can never be forgotten. Here, the watch is no more than an object, it's yours now." He pressed the cold metal into my palm. He grasped my waist and pulled me close, we kissed me and I ran my hand up and down his face, caressed his hair to embed every detail of him. I felt him fade and I could feel the coolness of the light go away. We tried to pull each other closer as he disappeared forever. I feeling the last inch of him dissappeat, I dropped the ground and cried my eyes out. I held the watch to my heart and recalled all our memories, kisses and his beautiful face. I love you Jonah till the end of time./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 14.399999618530273px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"emI'm sorry this is such a cheesy way to end the story but after such a long time I figured it needed to be done. I hope you enjoyed this story and I'm sorry it today have a decently happy ending, but if it gives you any comfort, Jonah is where he belongs and Stephanie and Jonah will always have their memories of love,/em/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 14.399999618530273px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"emgoodbye, S./em/p