18 Chapter 18- Memories

Abby, Jennifer and Winston used to play in her garden, chasing around butterflies. She remembers how chubby and cute Abby used to be. Goofing around the house in her pigtails, acting like she was a princess running away from her castle. How Winston and Jennifer used to build a castle with pillows and play around it, guarding their castle by playing on their lives. While Abby would be locked up in the tower like Rapunzel.

She faintly remembers the time when they went to the beach vacation, with their parents. How beautifully dressed up they were, in clothes, shade of bright pink and yellow. How they had built a sandcastle that was totally destroyed by the waves because it was too near to the shore. How they pretended that Winston was drowning until Abby's mother ran up to save Winston and Winston's mother had almost burst up in tears.

Jennifer recollects that Winston had gifted her a snow globe on Christmas. When she was nine, he told her that he had saved up money to get her and Abby similar snow globes. Jennifer reminisces the apple pie that Abby's mother to make for her and feed her from her own hands.

She remembers how much love and affection she had received from Winston's father when her mother was sick and how he used to come every evening to check on her and her mother. Winston's father was a doctor and he also treated her many times, when she caught fever.

She also recollects about the time when they entered middle school together and were so excited to be in the same class. When Jennifer was selected as the class monitor, how happy were Abby and Winston. Little did she know that all her fond memories of them would go down the drain, washed in the bitterness of her tears, when she would sit crying, in the bathroom, against the cold hard floor.

Jennifer also remembers the expression Abby gave when she told her that Winston had proposed her. Her eyes were glistening in pure happiness. The magical moment when Winston actually proposed her. It was raining that day. Jennifer's mind painted that picture in front of her as if it was yesterday.

Heavy rain was pouring. Jennifer was waiting for Winston and Abby to reach her home. It was Jennifer's birthday. She was all dressed up in all maroon gown and heels. Abby and Winston were late and Jennifer was waiting for them at the windowsill. Her eyes traced the road even when she heard the slightest of noise in the hope that she would see them. Then Winston and Abby arrived with her birthday gift in their hands. All of them partied hard that day.

When Abby had gone in the kitchen to get some snacks for them, Winston nudged Jennifer closer. Then he gave her a bouquet of lilies and roses. Jennifer didn't move nor did she take the bouquet. The very next moment, Winston said the following lines- "Jennifer, I know we are young and still have a lot of things to learn but I have definitely learnt one thing called love. I love you Jennifer. Can you please be my girlfriend?" Then, these words sounded like sweet honey, affectionate and pure to her but at the moment, they sounded bitter. Even the thought of these words was bitter and harsh to her.

Jennifer had said "yes" to him because she already had a major crush on him back then. When Abby returned from the kitchen with the bowl of mac and cheese and some bag of chips, Jennifer jumped from the couch to grab and put them aside. She held her hands tightly and told her everything that happened a few moments before. Abby's eyes glistened with happiness. Ironically, those eyes had no turned into a cold stare, chewing every bit of warmth Jennifer ever had. Jennifer and Abby were both jumping around like babies, in their own little world, forgetting that Winston or their parents are ever existed. Moments of their friendship like those now heaved heavy on Jennifer's heart.

After that day she remembers the day when Winston surprised her with her favorite book. Jennifer, being a great fan of non-fictions romance novels was waiting for that book to be released since so long and Winston somehow managed to get that for her. She's still had that book in her bookshelf. On the last page of that book Winston had stuck a note, boldly displaying all his affection for her. The note said:

To my beloved girlfriend,

Happy birthday!!! I know that you were waiting for this book since long so I got it for you but with this book, I gift you something more. A token of my love. My love had always been you. I was in love with you, even before I could understand what loving someone meant. I was too young, but now, I perfectly know what love is and that you are the only girl I will ever love. I love you too much that sometimes it feels like a dream. Wuthering Heights is in all the time classic. So if I was Heathcliff, Would you be my Catherine? If I was Romeo, would you be my Juliet? If I was Jack, would you be my Rose?"

"I am so stupid, I even remember the whole note." Jennifer thinks to herself. Her head in her knees, thinking about all these memories made her feel even more sadder, even more lonely and even more broken. "Memories are supposed to be stored and retrieved, when the time get hard, when situation spin out of control and when everything around you is testing you. They are supposed to act like a medicine to your bruised soul. Then why these memories burdening my entire existence? Why do they fell like the problem, rather than the solution? Why do they feel like the pain, rather than the medicine?"

Jennifer shouts at the top of her lungs. Every word that left her mouth, seemed to throw daggers at her soul. Thousands of memories spinned in front of her. Voices of Abby and Winston filled her head, until every thing turned black.