Total pages in book: 143
Estimated words: 130275 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 651(@200wpm)___ 521(@250wpm)___ 434(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 130275 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 651(@200wpm)___ 521(@250wpm)___ 434(@300wpm)
I watched them with rapt attention as they sat down, and the conductor took to the stage. The crowd grew silent, the air pausing around us too. The conductor gave instruction, and the orchestra broke to life.
I smiled when Vivaldi’s Four Seasons began to fill the room. I smiled because “Spring” was one of Poppy’s favorite parts. And when it began, I could see her. I could see her up on that stage once more, playing with her eyes closed, a smile on her face, white bow in her hair and swaying to the music.
I closed my eyes too. I closed my eyes and only saw Poppy. Giving me one last performance. Just her on the stage, playing to me from the beyond. None more so when her favorite piece of all time began. “The Swan” from The Carnival of Animals.
I let tears stream down my face as the cellist took the lead. I let the notes sink into my heart. Let the melody fill up every inch of my soul. And I let Poppy play for me in my mind. Let my sister give me this. Give me the gift of her favorite music back to me.
Cael’s hand was trembling in mine as he gripped me tightly. Even he could feel the heightened beauty of this moment. A moment he had given me. A cherished gift he had given me back.
As the final note quivered on the string, vibrating into the body of the theater, it drifted over my head. I opened my eyes when the audience clapped in rapturous applause. I clapped too, but I struggled to stand. My eyes were wide, and my chest was raw. But it was from getting this part of me back, of my sister, my family. It wasn’t in sadness. It was in love and joy and hope.
It was Poppy.
I turned to Cael as the orchestra took their bows and began leaving the stage. We stood, and I lifted to my toes and kissed him. I sank against him and whispered, “Thank you. Thank you so much.”
I knew he’d heard me, even over the applause, because he brought his mouth to my ear and whispered, “I’d do anything to make you happy, Peaches.”
This boy had my entire heart.
Leo hugged me as we came out of the theater to find him waiting for us. Even his eyes showed the remnants of tears, proving how moving music and the arts could be.
Cael and I walked back to the hotel hand in hand. I glanced up at the stars. Fewer were visible in the city, but there were some still shining through. “The stars,” I said, and Cael looked up too. I pressed my cheek to his bicep. “They’re both up there, you know. Watching and smiling down at us.”
Cael’s breathing hitched, but then he said, “I really hope they are.”
Leo saw us to our bedrooms, and we each went inside. I only waited ten minutes before sneaking from my room and knocking on Cael’s. When he opened the door, I took my place against him, arms immediately circling his waist. And I held on. Nowhere would ever feel safer to me than in Cael’s arms.
As I leaned back, he kissed me. I kissed him back, not wanting to waste a single second by his side. My stomach fell when I thought of Japan being our last country. I couldn’t bear the thought of being torn away from this boy, the one I was so hopelessly in love with. But we still had time. There was still time left.
I kissed him one more time and said my reluctant goodnight. Tonight, Cael Woods had given me the greatest gift. He was so selfless and beautiful, and right now he was broken. But he was mine, and I was his.
Forever.
And ever.
And I would fight to make him whole too. In whatever way I could.
Broken Plates and Found Beauty
Cael
Tokyo, Japan
TOKYO WAS A RIOT OF COLORS. WE STOOD ON THE SIDEWALK, JUST LOOKING up at the city, the buildings, the neon colors that decorated this special place in digital prismed light. Even in my numb state, I could see how captivating it was.
“It’s incredible,” Savannah murmured beside me. Her hand smoothed over my back, and I closed my eyes under her touch. I glanced down at her. The lights reflected in her eyes, a smile stretched on her face. Noticing me looking, she said, “Have you ever seen anything like this?”
“Never,” I said. Travis was on my other side, Dylan beside him; Lili and Jade were on Savannah’s right side. We were all awestruck at the sights. We must have looked like the quintessential American tourists, as we all gaped at the buildings, mouth open.
“The home of manga,” Travis said and rubbed his hands together. “I’m home!” Dylan laughed, and the two of them set off onto a conversation I couldn’t follow. I hadn’t read a manga in my life.