the reunion

Story I

They hadn’t seen each other in over twenty years, but he knew her instantly. She was on the other side of the road, surrounded by flowers, bliss etched on her face. Clutched under her left arm were more than two dozen flowers -- roses, sunflowers, jasmin, daisies. An old woman, the vendor, followed her as she glided along the rows of flowers -- smelling, picking, caressing the colorful blooms. She bent to inhale the scent of a newly-bloomed rose and closed her eyes, surrendering herself to the moment.

His breath caught in his chest. She was breathtaking, and oblivious to the admiring and lingering stares of passers-by.

He crossed the street slowly, stopped behind a parked van and watched her. He didn’t want her to see him. Not yet. He didn’t want to spend another twenty years haunted by her face, her laughter. He had waited a long time for this moment, and he didn’t want her to run away from him again. No, he’d never let her get away from him this time.

Over the years, he had pursued and captured many others like her, but they never compared with her. The others never gave him excitement, frustration, despair. No, compared with this woman, they were boredom. Pursuing them was merely a duty he performed because it was expected of him. Every successful pursuit he made, he thought of her. The memory of her slipping away from him was the bucket of cold water that always doused his elation over his latest capture.

He saw her move away a couple of feet along the row of riotous blooms and survey the row of angel’s breath. He moved slightly forward and continued to watch her.

The years had been more than kind to her, more than generous to her. She still looked like the woman twenty years before, but different. Her hair, still the color of burnt amber, was now a soft, wavy mass that cascaded past her waist. Her mouth still had that fullness and redness about it, her skin the rich color of honey, her figure lithe. He couldn’t see her eyes, but he knew they were still the color of dark chocolate.

"Would she recognize me?" he asked himself. There was only one way to find out. He straightened himself and approached her slowly, his right hand jabbed in his back pocket.

She was reaching inside her purse for money, her back to him, when he grabbed her right wrist.

Startled, she whirled around. Her chocolate-colored eyes flashed with anger, then surprise, then recognition. He heard her sharp intake of breath. Ahh, so she recognized him.

"Ian Kincaid!"

"Melinda Anderson," he inclined his head.

Two dozen flowers fell on the pavement as Chief Inspector Ian Kincaid slapped a pair of handcuffs on the slim wrists of the woman who had murdered her husband more than twenty years ago.

"You have the right to remain silent..."

(short story by Shery Ma Belle Arrieta, Founder of ewritersplace. com and creator of the software for writers, WriteSparks! at writesparks.com)

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Story II

They had known each other since school days and had since become the best of friends. They shared everything and anything and spent lots of time together in and after school. But... their friendship never developed into anything deeper. Diane kept a secret... her admiration and love for Jack.

She had her reasons for keeping it a secret. FEAR. Fear of rejection... fear that he might not feel the same..fear that he might not want to be her best friend anymore.. fear of losing someone that she could always find comfort in. At least if she kept her feelings to herself, she would still be able to spend time with him.... and hopefully, he would be the one to tell her how he felt towards her.

Time passed and soon... school was over. Jack and Diane went separate ways.

Jack continued his studies overseas while Diane got herself a job. They still kept in touch though...penned letters, sent each other photographs and mailed each other gifts. Diane longed for Jack to be back. She decided that she would tell him her feelings once he got back. And then... out of the blue...mails from Jack stopped
coming. Diane wrote to him, but there was never a reply.

Where was he? What happened? Lots of questions ran through her mind. Two years passed and Diane was still hopeful that Jack would come back... or at least send her a note.

And then her prayers were answered. One mid-October day, she received a note from Jack... it said: "Diane, I have a surprise for you. I'm flying over. Meet me at the airport. My flight comes in at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday. I can't wait to see you again Diane! There's something I need to tell you, something I have been keeping all this time...Love and kisses, Jack"

Diane's fingers shook as she read the note. Her heart soared. Diane was thrilled. Love and kisses.... it meant a lot for a lady who had waited so long for these words. She was very ecstatic.

The day arrived, Diane waited anxiously for Jack. She had slipped into her best dress and did her best to look as pretty as she could. She looked around but Jack was nowhere in sight. She waited and waited, wondering what she would say to Jack when he got there, what their meeting would be like.

Would there be love in his eyes? Would there be longing bred from years of separation and hiding each others' feelings? Oh how she longed to see him! How she longed to throw her arms around him and tell him she was a fool to ever let him go without ever telling him how she felt. She was certain Jack felt it too. There was always a certain magic about them when they were together.

Then... a lady in a sexy blue dress approached her. She had a very concerned look on her face, "Hi, I'm Lyn, a friend of Jack. Are you Diane?" she asked. Diane just nodded her head.

"I'm afraid I.... I have bad news for you... Jack is not coming...he won't be coming back anymore," said the lady, placing a hand on Diane's shoulder.

Diane shook her head in confusion. She felt her heart constrict. What could possibly have happened?? Diane felt an overwhelming fear inside her. Her hands turned cold. Her voice cracked as she asked: "Where... where is Jack? What happened to him??? Please tell me..." Diane begged the lady.

The lady looked intently at Diane... and then... she gave Diane a nudge on the shoulder and said...

HOY, GAGA... IT'S ME JACK.... JACKLYN!!! DI MO BA AKO NAKILALA?!?! AND GANDA KO NGAYON, DI BAAAAH??!!!

(forwarded email by TAH)