The 7 Days

Day 4

Tyler cursed silently when he felt patches of his shirt clinging to his back. He was beginning to sweat from walking a little bit too swiftly to the train station. He glanced at his watch and it told him that he was already eight minutes behind time. When he arrived, Lisa was already waiting on the platform. He could see that she was twiddling with their tickets. A slumbering stray kitten on the opposite side of the tracks was keeping her attention. He stood still for a moment and studied her. Today, she wore a beige knee length dress sprinkled with navy blue florals. Her hair tied back in a neat bun exposing her ears. She also had on a simple pair of sapphire earrings to compliment the dress. Against the radiance of the morning sun, Tyler thought her beauty was most mesmerizing.

He took a deep breath and walked towards Lisa. She heard him coming and treated him to a glowing smile. He realised that it was this smile that first captivated him when he saw her in the train. This smile that left an imprint of her deep inside of him.
‘Hey, sorry I’m a little late. I sort of misjudged the time it’ll take me to get here,’ he said.
‘Don’t worry ‘bout it. Besides, I had good company to keep me entertained,’ she said indicating to the still snoozing stray.
‘So ... where are we heading to exactly?’ he questioned.
‘You’ll see,’ she replied mischievously.
As Tyler was headed to bed last night, he received a SMS on his mobile from Lisa. He had written his number behind the muffin wrapper before he handed it over to her. The message was rather brief. First was to apologize was messaging him late at night. Second was to ask him if he would like to join her for an outing the next morning. And third was another apology for doing things at the last minute. He replied to her message ‘When and where?’.

A train arrived as they were finishing their coffee from the vending machine.
‘This is us,’ Lisa said as she hopped out of the bench. ‘Don’t ask me anything until we reach our destination okay.’
‘Huh,’ Tyler grunted.
‘Promise?’ she continued.
‘Yes maam,’ he relented.
They boarded the train and being a Sunday, there was hardly anybody on it. They seated themselves side by side and ten minutes later, the station master gave the green light for it to resume its journey.
It wasn’t long before the scenery outside the window took a remarkable change. From the rustic grey buildings of the sleepy town, they were now greeted with a refreshing panorama of endless fields ... a picturesque vista with multiple shades of green and yellow. Rolling hills spread majestically across the horizon and on the cloudless sky above, a pair of swallows was performing an aerial courtship waltz.
The conductor came to verify their tickets and Lisa handed it over to him. It was the same guy who had checked on them a couple of days before when Tyler embarrassed himself in front of Lisa. If the conductor recognised the pair of them, he didn’t show. After he was gone, Lisa smiled at Tyler and continued looking out of the window, allowing herself to be lost once more to the charming landscape on the other side of the glass.
The swaying of the cabin eventually lullabied Tyler to sleep and when he awoke, he found Lisa staring at him. He cautiously checked himself for saliva stains and was relieved when he found none.
‘We’re here,’ she told him demurely.
Tyler got up and gave his body a good stretch before following Lisa onto the platform.
‘So now, can I ask where we’re heading?’ he asked her.
‘You’ll know soon enough,’ she replied.
Just outside the station, there were two rows of double story buildings lined up on both sides of a narrow street. At first glance, Tyler noticed a bakery, a bookshop, a hair saloon and two hardware shops. The remaining others were closed and not a soul was in sight.
‘This way,’ she gestured.
Tyler followed Lisa, keeping a couple of paces behind. For reason unknown, he felt that he didn’t want to invade into her personal space. So for a while, he trailed her in complete silence.
They eventually came to stand in front of a meadow. Hundreds of acres of shimmering grasslands dusted with wild pink fireweeds flourished before them. The view was breathtaking and the air, so clean and crisp. Every now and then, strong gushes of winds would pass, disarraying their hair in all directions.
Lisa stopped to rest on a large tree stump and Tyler sat beside her.
She looked at him and said ‘I want to tell you something.’
Tyler nodded.
Lisa stared ahead, deep in thought and finally said ‘I brought you here to meet someone.’
She paused momentarily.
‘He’s my boyfriend. Or rather he was. He passed away exactly two years ago. Last year, I came here alone and it was petrifying. So many memories of him came flooding back and it suffocated me,’ she continued.
Another pause.
‘It was unbearable,’ she whispered and he saw the first teardrop splattered on the ground.
Tyler didn’t know what to say. ‘Time will heal,’ was all he could offer and the words felt cold coming from him.
‘The worst part is that I’ve never cherished him when he was around,’ Lisa whimpered. ‘I was always busy with my life and never took the time and effort to make him feel loved. I mean, I love him, I really do, it’s just that ... I never showed him,’ she added between sobs. 'Yesterday, when I realised that I needed to come here, I was terrified. So I asked you to come along. Please don't be angry with me.'
'Of course I'm not,' he said meaning every word of it.
She brushed the tears away and stood up. ‘Come. I’ll take you to him.’
They crossed a bridge made of solid old pine with a tiny stream flowing beneath it. The burgundy dirt path led them to a small opening shadowed by dense groupings of red oaks. Beneath one of the trees, a faded marble stone stood erected. There were no engravings of any kind on its smooth surface. They came to stand in front of the stone.
‘His name is Dylan,’ she said.
Her eyes were closed and Tyler guessed that she must be having a private conversation with the man buried there.
After several minutes, she took out a can of Guinness from her bag and placed it on the stone. ‘It was his favourite,’ she said. ‘You know, the both of us used to come here often. We could spend the entire day reading or just napping. It was our special place. Now, it’s the worst place for me to be in.’

He walked towards her and hugged her lightly. He felt her body tensed and then she pressed her head into his chest with her arms wrapped tightly around his waist now.
‘Thank you for being here with me,’ she whispered.
‘My pleasure,’ he responded, noticing a lonesome grey squirrel staring wide eyed at them.