“Wake Up! Wake Up!” 

Suddenly I felt something heavy being placed on my stomach that made me open my eyes with anger.

“Get off me” I shouted at the oh-so-irritating best friend of mine and all I got in return was a flick on my forehead.

“What is wrong with you?” I asked gritting my teeth.

I could see the large grin that spread across her lips as she got off me and sat on the edge of the bed, pointing towards the calendar, “We leave today, remember?”

How could I forget? I thought to myself.

Ever since I planned on giving the surprise to Summer my heart had been beating so wildly that I couldn’t even get an ounce of sleep the night before our journey. I continuously tried to convince myself that everything’s gonna work out well, but my heart was in total denial.

“Yeah” I tried to smile at her but couldn’t bring myself in doing so.

“It’s going to be all right you know?” She said as she caressed my hair and I could feel that a part of my nervousness had gone away.

I exhaled a shaky breath and got up. I made my way towards the bathroom and closed the door behind me once I entered. “I hope so” I said with a sigh as I closed my eyes and placed my hand over my trembling heart in an attempt to calm it down.

You can do it.  You can do it. Don’t be a coward. Don’t back off. I kept on chanting the words inside my head, looking myself in the mirror, even after I got ready.

“It’s time. You get the luggage, I am gonna call for a cab” Summer said. I looked at her with a smile and gave her a nod. She left and I turned around to face my reflection to chant the words in my mind for the last time. After about a minute I finally looked away and grabbed our staff and headed towards the front door.

 

(2 Hours later)

It was quiet and that didn’t help at all. Summer was asleep and I didn’t know what to do to calm myself down.  Korea is a big country. It’s not like you are going to see him.  I thought to myself in an attempt to convince myself but failed. Summer moved on her seat and I was relieved that she had woken up. “How can you fall asleep so fast?”

“Shut up” she said with a yawn and I couldn’t help but laugh.

A few minutes passed and I turned to face Summer just in time to see a nervous expression across her usually cheery face.

“What’s wrong?’ I asked her when I saw her hand fumbling with the hem of her shirt.

“W-Why haven’t you ever shown it to me?” she asked but couldn’t bring herself to look me in the eye.

“Why haven’t I shown you what?” I asked. She was acting weird and I didn’t even know what she was talking about.

“His picture” She said, looking me in the eye for the first time since the start of the conversation.

And the crazy thumping started again. Why ask me now?

Now it was my turn to look down. “I don’t have any.” I said to her in a low voice and swallowed the lump that formed in my throat.

                                                                     

                                                                                               SUMMER’S POV

 “I don’t have any”, she said swallowing hard and I mentally slapped myself for bringing it up. She faced me after a couple of uncertain seconds and tried to smile,” It doesn’t matter anymore anyways”.

She turned to face the window and I couldn’t bring myself to not look at her. I was frustrated and a little angry to be honest. After all those years she had spent with me trying to put up an act of strength, after all the silent tears she had shed in the dark, after all the attempts she had made to forget about her past, Didn’t she know that it would take more than a fake smile to convince me?

I gave up on the conversation and closed my eyes when she chose to look out of the window once again.

After about an hour the plane landed and I could see the beads of sweat forming on her forehead.

“Hey! Don’t stress so much” I said and held her hand, trying to make her feel a little later. “Let’s go” I said with a smile and she smiled back tightening her grasp on my hand.

                                                                   

                                                                                                  READER’S POV

I stepped out of the plane but couldn’t let go of Summer’s hand. My knees felt weak and I could feel my heart throbbing in my ears as the 6 years spent with Him came rushing into my mind. His smile,  the urge of hugging him, him kissing Sasha, my last birthday gift for him, everything came back to me as if it happened just yesterday. I shook my head in order to put back the painful memories on the back of my head.

You need to be stronger than this I thought and let out a sigh.

 

 

You can do it.......

Don’t be a coward.......

Don’t back off........