02| Chapter

Tears swelled in my eyes, but I tried not to let them out. I haven't heard that voice in so long. The comforting voice that would call my name so gently and beautifully. The voice called out to me again. This time, I was sure of the owner. I turned around, tears trickling down my already red cheeks once again. 'C-Caleb?' I softly called out. He smiled the smile that I had adored so much, the smile that I had missed so much. 'Missed me?' he said, smiling. If only he knew, I didn't miss him, I longed to see him so much. The pain I'd be in every day as the memories of him and I would play over and over again, like a broken record. Without thinking anymore, I ran to embrace him as tightly as possible, to confirm if he wasn't a figment of my imagination. As we hugged, I cried and cried and cried. I cried like a baby who had missed his mother's touch as he cooed at me while stroking my hair. After what seemed like hours, I finally stopped the tears, although my nose was a bright red and my eyes were puffy. Caleb had wiped the last teardrop on my cheek. A flood of embarrassment had washed over me as I came to realize my shameful behaviour in front of him and quickly turned my back to him. He laughed while trying to cheer me up but I was far too embarrassed. He took my hands and held them gently. I finally turned around to face him. He smiled, but it wasn't his usual smile. That smile had a hint of sadness about it but was also filled with happiness. 'I missed you, Iris,' he said, 'I'm so sorry I left you behind. You must have been so sad and lonely,' his smile got even sadder as he kept apologizing. 'It's ok, it wasn't your fault,' I took his hands that were already holding mine, as I tried to assure him. After a few more minutes of us holding hands, we finally released each other. "I want to show you all the cool places this place has," Caleb exclaimed, taking my hands again. He led me across the field of buttercups and into the dense thicket of trees.