Traveler - The Price (Book 3)

“I always hoped that when I told you to be careful, to call me when you get home, to put something on you, even if I’ve been saying these for a short time, you would understand that was my way to tell you that I love you. I wasn’t the type that exposes the true feelings, but you made me discover the beauty of the real feelings. These words started stealing the meaning of everything I was saying, but I know that you understood them well.

The truth is that Jo has changed me, she made me the person that I am today. She made me stay, and you know why? Because when I saw her for the first time, in that cave, I felt that inside of her is an unbreakable will. She fought until the very end, and she never gave up. She taught me that life punches you in the face often, but you have to stay focused on what you want and never give up. Never! Always be with who makes you happy. She taught me that today could be the worst day of my life, but this is not an excuse, that I have to get up and fight because tomorrow can be the best day.

Aaron made me realize that a man can love a woman more than his life. They both had that spark of madness in their souls, which made them perfect for each other. Every time I talked to him, he was telling me how tiring it is to love a woman like Jo, but that he couldn’t imagine himself loving another woman.”

I squeezed in my hand a bracelet that I took from her jewel box. I wiped my tears, and I thought that she had gone through this moment a lot more times than me. She lost many people, and she continued to live, to keep them alive in her soul.

Andy:

“As I said some time ago, I won’t lie. I have always loved her, I still do, and she will remain in my heart. She put her print on me in an extremely odd way. I came to Vals to hunt her, but I ended up falling in love with her. She had that spark that made everyone to love her. You just couldn’t hate her. This is what Kate used to say. I know that Jo was meant to come into my life and to change it, from the first moment I had met Kate. She was a warrior, an active person, and not anyone deserved her. This is why Aaron was the best for her because he shared her temper. He accepted all of her, he loved her madness, and he jumped every time into the fire for her, without thinking twice. Even if he knew all that time what had been between Jo and me, and that in a moment of weakness I admitted I still loved her, after all that time, he still didn’t change his behavior besides me, but more, he always encouraged me to stay around. This is why I appreciate and respect him.”

Deborah:

“She taught me that, most often, people don’t change, but their mask finally falls. She made our masks to fall, made us who we truly are. I know her since childhood. We lived together, and we shared food, the bed, the toys and the home. She was practically my sister. Her energy was contagious, and she was always thinking of the good of others. She used to tell me not to be so hard on myself, but she never applied that advice to herself. This is what real people do. They are like the fire. They burn to give others light. I knew she was an extraordinary person, but she shocked me once again when we arrived back in Vals, and I was with Aaron, under uncomfortable circumstances. She let us live under the same roof with her, even if I know now that it was painful for her. She was an amazing person, a forgiving person, and her soul was that big that she couldn’t let go of the people she loved. She saw the good in others, and she made them see it too, and the best example is Aaron.

And about him… I have always wanted by my side a man like him, and maybe that’s why I landed back into this world in a relationship with him. I saw their happiness, and I was craving for a little piece of what they had. I can’t deny that I felt excellent in that illusion, as long as it lasted. It felt remarkably good, and I had the impression I had everything I wanted. Then I remembered, I felt embarrassed, and I knew I had to do the right thing. This is why I am here now, and I know it will come the day when I will have what they had.”

James:

“It comes a time when you start knowing a person, and you realize that in her are lying the same feelings and wishes as in you. It’s like meeting a stranger, who you seem to know for a lifetime. This is how I felt when I truly knew her. I had heard stories about her, and when I saw how delicate and fragile she was on the outside, I couldn’t imagine all those things that were said about her were real. This until I got to know her better. A few days were enough for me to realize that I can’t trust the appearances. I learned from Jo that for you to be happy sometimes you don’t have to listen what others say.

I didn’t get to know Aaron too well, but in that time I spent with him, I realized that they deserved each other. The biggest gift they could leave us was the chance to be in our lives and to make us find ourselves. They did that every second. They kept looking for each other, and they finally found themselves.”

Ivy:

I always hoped she wouldn’t be the secondary character from her story, and I wanted so badly a happy ending for her. Maybe she has this where she is now. I can’t know for sure, I just have to find the power to believe it and hope that one day, when the time comes, she will wait for me there, and everything will be as it used to be because without her I feel an emptiness inside me. I don’t know how she was before we met, but I can bet that she was that kind of person which I could call on three o’clock in the night and tell her “Hey, get your ass out here in your pajamas, we’re going far away!“, she would have stepped out in a second. We would have stopped to grab some coffee, of course.

She was a person with a good heart. That is the thing about this kind of individuals. They love and don’t expect something in return, and they forgive you even if you didn’t ask for it, they see the good in you even in your worst moments. They always make time for others, and they help people without any hidden reasons. The truth is they are sensitive people who deserve to be kept close. I have always felt fear about losing this kind of person. So, here I am, trying to face this fear. I could never be like her, but I’m trying my best.

I remember when my phone rang, six days ago. I felt my world was falling apart when I heard about the accident. We got there as fast as we could. They searched for them almost two days, and the whole time we were hoping that Jo and Aaron would appear from somewhere, as always, alive by some miracle. The second day though, the divers pulled out the car, with the two of them inside. She was caught between the car pieces, and he was next to her.

That was the moment when I realized the magic was truly gone, that life was unfair. After all they had done for this world, they deserved a long and happy life, next to the loved ones. In the next two days, we waited for a miracle, but it didn’t come. Then, Deby decided to give them a proper goodbye, so she organized something. It was only us because she knew that was what they would have wanted.

I am now sitting in front of a tombstone, which has their names on it, and I can’t imagine this is how I’m going to talk to them from now on. I want to believe that they are fine where they are because they had been there before. I want to believe they are together, that they are happy, and they enjoy that vacation where they never arrived.

I know that life must be cherished for what it is because while I’m breathing, another person is living her last moments. I am supposed to be strong, not to whine so much, and to be grateful for what I have. The problem is that I can’t just move on so fast over such a significant loss. Life has a weird and dark way to bring people together.

***

The leaves were falling over me, at the tiniest breeze. It was already autumn, and I was here every single day. The others were coming here too because we all needed a different way to say goodbye.

We were still here, and we had to keep what Jo had created. I was happy with Andy. We had found out we were going to have a boy. Deby was getting closer and closer to James. It looks like the second characters have their happy endings, sometimes, and they finally become the main characters.

One of the most real moments in life is when we have the power to let go of what we can’t change anymore. Some things are not in our hands, and we have to accept that. The past always hurts, so do the memories hidden in the corner of the soul. We have two options: we can run from everything, or we can learn from it. I couldn’t run away from such beautiful memories, even if they hurt so much. I kept them alive in my soul.

When you understand pain, you understand life. Because life isn’t always about joy, colored balloons, candies, and laughter. You have to remember you can’t hug a memory, so put your arms around someone you love now.

We fall in love with the flowers, not with the roots, so when their time is over, and they fall, we don’t know what to do next. Jo had taught me that if you love someone, you love all of that person. From the bottom to the top, with good and bad, with the past, present and future.

There were nights when we all gathered to their home and sat on the balcony in silence. They didn’t have enough time to enjoy the new house, and that was a shame.

“It’s so hard to love them” says Deby. “You can’t see life without them. They make you see the good in everything, they hug you, they let you taste from their love, then when they go, they leave behind them disaster in people’s souls.”

“They destroy you in the most beautiful way” I add.

“Now I realize why storms are named after people” whispers Andy.

A cold wind started blowing, gathering the dried leaves on out feet. Even if it was cold, we didn’t leave that place.

“I think I found my area for meditation when I need to clarify my thoughts” says James.

“Well said” adds Deby.

“Life goes on, and when we reach our final destination, I hope we see them again” I said.

“This is how it’s going to be, I’m sure of it. I have to believe this so I can fall asleep at night” whispers Deby.

“They left us an important thing, one that we will keep until our last breath. They left us here. We are still a family, and nothing will change that” says Andy.

We all approved him. We get through some moments better together than alone. We all have in life a chapter we don’t read out loud, and this was ours. All we had together we were sharing only with us.

Anyway, we were going to keep them in our hearts, until we could hold them in our arms again. Without wanting it, people leave you. The good part is that the feelings stay.