We Meet Again

{Familiarity seems to creep up Lily's conscience a lot recently. What could be the reason?}

_

Lily dodged twigs and branches as she made her way through the green forest.

The trees stretched out longer the further she ventured. The light from the sun gradually dwindled with each step.

"Aah, finally!" She sighed in relief as she reached her destination, with nothing more than a few plants and flowers stuck to her hair and clothes.

The place she stopped at seemed to be a dead end, until she effortlessly moved the plant material, revealing a whole new world, and contrary to expectations, the sun shone healthily.

She briskly scanned the area, before venturing inside, and placing the plant material back in its original place.

The place was almost like heaven on Earth. The grass looked wild but extremely green and beautiful. There was a beautiful waterfall to the right, its clear waters flowing quietly in a single stream to nowhere in particular.

Lily stopped before the small wooden bridge that led across the stream of water to the other side. No matter how many times she'd seen this place, she'd forever be in awe of its unearthly beauty. It really was her heaven on Earth. The best part? She had this place all to herself.

It was truly a real-life phenomenon, that no one but her, had discovered yet.

"Oh, how I missed you, Lirana." She said, a pleasant smile gracing her lips.

She had absolutely no idea when she'd named the place, or why she'd preferred that name in particular, but every time she said it, it just felt...right.

Upon reaching the other side, Lily gazed upon the almost extensive garden of black lily flowers ahead.

It was her favorite part of the secret place. That, and the waterfall of course. Lily had never in her life thought she'd live long enough to see such clear water! It was most undoubtedly clearer than...

Clear. That word made her think of something else she possessed that was just as—if not more— clear...

At that moment, her eyes widened as she felt something cold skimming the skin on her chest.

She swallowed nervously as her eyes dropped down to look at her chest.

"Holy mother of clear waters!!"

There it was, the heart-shaped crystal clear clock, with its silver chain which was hanging elegantly around her exposed neck.

Her breath revved, her knees quickly weakening under her. Lily softly hit the ground, her knees landing softly on the green grass.

'How on Earth?!' Lily thought as she tried to make even little sense of the current predicament. She most definitely did not remember bringing it with her...And if she had, she would have certainly felt its lightweight on her chest!

Lily nervously but carefully sat down on the grass, her legs crisscrossed, and the heart-shaped clock held safely in both her hands. Her eyes scanned every detail of it and oddly enough, it felt familiar to her. Like she'd always had it. Like it was somehow meant for her...

"What on Earth is going on?" She asked in a low voice, gazing intently at the object as if anticipating it to answer.

"Good afternoon Miss Sanchez." A gravely calm and familiar male voice spoke from behind her, completely and utterly freezing up her entire body. She held the heart-shaped clock tighter in her grasp as if it would somehow save or insure her, though she had a feeling there was nothing to be protected from.

A few seconds, or maybe even minutes, of dead silence, followed. Lily was trying to figure out if she had heard someone speak or not.

She was too nervous to turn her head, and when she felt a presence getting closer, her heart nearly popped out.

Her eyes were staring forward at nothing in particular when from the corner of her eye, she saw a dark hooded figure sit down right beside her!

As unnerved as she should've been, she simply wasn't.

She had a feeling she knew who, or what had sat beside her.

She gradually turned her head to the right, and against all odds, she sighed in relief. The mysterious stranger was peering straight ahead, his head still cloaked. She couldn't explain it, but the stranger looked WAY less scary in the daytime. Lily couldn't bring herself to be scared of him, especially not in that marvelous place.

Lily stared at him for an ample amount of time, before finally gathering up the courage to speak.

"Who—" She had barely said a word when he unceremoniously cut her off.

"Darien." He spoke again and Lily couldn't help but feel a familiarity with his name. She also noticed that his voice had changed a little. Yes, it was still as impassive as before, but this time, it was somehow... warmer?

"Darien..." She said, ostensibly to herself more than to him. It flowed so naturally from her lips, as if it wasn't foreign to her, as if she'd said it countless times before.

"Have we met?" She asked the question before she could realize or stop herself.

Darien said nothing, but kept staring ahead—or at least she assumed he was.

In reality, he was hoping for a miracle.

'Remember, Mina. Please.'

"I don't mean on that horrible rainy night though..." She began to explain.

"I mean like before that. Like maybe before I got married—" She caught her breath midway, as he unexpectedly turned his head to face her, with no warning whatsoever!

His hoodie coming off by virtue of the small breeze that unexpectedly blew by.

The first thing to catch her eye was those opulent and potent, red gleaming eyes that peered straight into her soul.

And who would've guessed that the guy had been hiding thick, luscious, shoulder-length locks of black hair that seemed to dance with the wind?

She examined his whole face. Even with the detached expression, she still couldn't help but think to herself,

'If perfect was a person, it would unquestionably be you Mr.'

Lily could've sworn she'd seen a faint smirk appear on his sumptuous lips...

An eternity-long silence reigned inside the beautiful place Lirana, the only sound being the falling water a short distance from them.

"You still have to pick your wedding dress, Mina." Darien's deep enrapturing voice suddenly rang out, breaking the silence.

Lily's brows knotted in confusion. Her eyes then grew wide in surprise.

"How did you know about my wedding?" She inquired, gazing confusedly at him.

It seemed as though she had not noticed that he had not even called her by her real name. It was almost like she was used to him calling her that...

❤️⏲️