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Part 1
Reunion
“Hey, come on Josh! I want to get to Downtown Durem before the signing is over!” beckoned a voice in the distance.
“Jeez JB, you can be such a girl sometimes! Your hero won’t go anywhere and besides, Durem’s the biggest metropolitan area on Gaia! Don’t you want to look around before going to the bookstore?”
“Wow, that’s unusual! Normally, the bookstore’s the first place you’d head off to. Any reason you want to stay away from it?” said JB, a strange look in his eye.
“It’s near my crazy old aunt’s place so I don’t want to go there. Is that such a big deal?” retorted Josh.
“Ah! Well, if that’s all it is…”
JB let out a cat-like grin and slinked past the busy bodies that crowded Durem. It was a Saturday and the two young boys were on a particular mission (or at least one was)! Today was a special day for it had been announced that Johnny K. Gambino was in Durem for the signing of his latest book: ‘Big Bucks, Big Dreams!’
The two young Bartonians, had come (or dragged, as Josh has put it) all the way to Durem for this event and JB, feverish with anticipation, was set on his one goal: meet Johnny K. Gambino.
“Say, what time did you say this event was going to start at?” asked Josh lazily strolling down the paved streets.
“I think it starts at 3, but obviously, we came early just to be safe!”
“What?! It’s 11am! We have 4 hours to wait!”
“Yeah, and your point is?”
Josh put his hand to his forehead and sighed. Traveling to Durem was less of a trip then to Isle de Gambino but it still took 2 hours to do. And waking up early on a Saturday was considered a sacrilege in Josh’s book. Still, his ever persistent best friend left him no time to complain as before he knew it, he was swept away on this little adventure.
“Maybe I should just go home…”
“What?! Are you insane? We came all the way here so we have to head over to the bookstore early to reserve a place! Unless you have other business in Durem?”
“Like I have anything else to do here! Fine, let’s just go already,” said Josh, finally giving up.
“You seem kinda grumpy,”
“Whatever, let’s just hurry and get this over with,”
JB’s eyebrow raised once again. It was a rare thing to see Josh in such a foul mood. Josh was typically easy going even when JB would force his ways on him but this time it felt like something had gotten under his skin, something to do with that bookstore. “Well, my surprise will definitely cheer him up,” he thought as they continued on their mission.
The streets lay swallowed in a sea of people. It appeared that this event had cause a bit of a stir for the tension seemed to rise as they neared the bookstore. A side from the shopping and the usual bustle of the city, it felt like the more they walked, the more excitable people seemed to become. To Josh, this excitability felt like a small tingling in his stomach though it seemed obvious to JB that this, now imprinted expression of anxiousness, had nothing to do with Gambino.
“We’re almost there, it’s just around the block. So, you said you have a crazy old aunt around here?”
“Yeah, well, she’s not really crazy. Just going slightly senile though she’s been like that for a while…”
“And what, are you scared of her? You said you didn’t want to go near her place,”
“I’m not really scared… it just brings back strange memories when I go around here; happy ones, sad ones…”
“Well, tell ya what. Why don’t you head over to the park and take it easy. I’ll go get us something to drink, my treat, and I’ll see if I can reserve a spot for the signing,”
“Your treat huh? You’re awfully generous… are you up to something? Either way, the park is even worse then the book store for me,”
“I think you’ll regret it if you don’t go. I have a feeling that your good memories will come back if you go there,”
Josh looked at the (as always) confident look on JB’s face. He also knew what it meant. JB always seemed to be able to convince Josh of anything, partially because he was relentless, partially because Josh never really put up any resistance to JB’s pushy nature.
“Alright. I suppose it’s better then waiting in a hot crowded store. Plus, how often do I get treated by you?”
“Exactly! That’s part of chapter 3 of Gambino’s book! ‘Always take advantage of a good opportunity!’ So stay right there! I’ll be back soon,” he said as he looked at his watch and dashed off.
Josh began to walk to the small children’s park near the town’s square and placed himself on a swing. The sun was shining brightly, there were lots of people walking around and everything felt like it had a festive air to it. Josh dug his feet into the sand and began to lift small mounds of it onto the top of his shoes.
“This place sure hasn’t changed” he thought as he saw the jungle gym to his left, the sandbox with the hippopotamus shaped dome in the very center and the small drinking fountain on the right. He gazed at the slide and the trees that stood opposite the swing set he was on. Josh turned himself over to face the trees and began to swing. As he rose, he would feel the bottom of his shoes brush the leaves of the trees and the calming rustling noise of strong summer foliage.
“You know… it’s not good to do that. The leaves will come right off and then there’ll be less the next year,”
Upon hearing this, Josh slowed down and stopped himself. He looked at the sandy floor for a few moments before having the courage to turn around. The ringing in his ears of that soft, feminine voice seemed to have frozen him stiff. He had not heard that ring for so long that he was not even sure if he was right… was this voice the same as he had remembered it?
As Josh turned he gazed upon a small silhouette no bigger then 5 feet, medium length ebony hair and grayish eyes; big and round…
“Bella?”
The girl gave a nervous laugh.
“You figured it out right away! Even though it’s been 7 years since we last saw each other…”
 Josh_JB_Benton · Sat Nov 05, 2005 @ 04:13am · 96 Comments |
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