Page 124 of Closer than Ever

“Me too. Is there anything else you want to do before we go? And I do not mean in the bedroom, though I will be easily swayed in that department and you know it. Since we’re so organised we can just chill on Sunday and Monday, if you want.”

“Yeah, actually. There is something I’d like to do before we leave.”

“What?”

Hayley hesitated. “Could we go back to the loch we visited years ago? I want to put my stone back where it belongs.”

“Um, sure. We can do that.”

“Awesome.”

“Why do you want to put your stone back?”

“Because it’s part of nature and should be back there. Because that’s where it belongs. Because I took it when what I wanted was you, and now I have you.”

“Hayley, are you projecting onto that stone?”

“Of course I am.” She grinned.

***

Anna closed the car door and smiled at Hayley. They were finally back at the loch they’d visited when they were younger. They crossed the small road and made their way towards the shore. It looked remarkably similar except for the trees which were bare given that it was winter now and they’d visited closer to summer last time.

Hayley stopped by the water. Her hair blew in the wind. “It’s just how I remember it.”

“Yeah.”

“Where did we take the photo from?”

Anna looked around and found what looked like the rock they had sat on. She pointed. “Over there.” They made their way over to the rock as the pebbles squelched underfoot.

“I was glad there wasn’t another one close by. I just wanted to be close to you.” Hayley said.

“Ah, if only I’d known.”

They sat down together. It was a tight squeeze.

Hayley laughed. “We must have been a bit smaller back then.”

Anna smiled. “Must have been.”

“It feels like we’ve stepped back in time. Or into the photograph. It’s perfect.”

“I know. I’m so glad we came back.” Anna faced the water again and the mountains dipping into the loch, it seemed, all around. It was so peaceful here. But the last time they were here together Anna’s heart was anything but peaceful. This love she had for Hayley, at its core, was the same then as it was now, but at the time there had been crushingly little hope of it going anywhere. “Did you really not know I was in love with you the last time we were here?”

Hayley leant towards Anna. “I think deep down, I knew there was something between us. I knew that I loved every second we shared together. But I didn’t know what it truly meant. I think the first time I realised it was something special, something overwhelming, was when we were cuddling the night before I had to leave. Before things… escalated.”

“How?”

“You started caressing my arm. Your heart began beating so fast. It was like a drum in my ear. I think mine was much the same.”

“You remember that?”

“It’s my most bittersweet memory of us.” Hayley rested her hand on Anna’s thigh. “We were soulmates running out of time. But we found each other again.”

“We did.”

“I do love it here.”

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