I read and reread this wonderful message, allowing the butterflies in my stomach to roam free. I've been waiting for what felt like an eternity for this moment to arrive.

My mind travels back to the second all the chapters from our story came rushing in. Sitting on the hospital bed, legs crossed while printed selfies cascaded their way down my lap.

I'll never forget how wrong I was to think I needed to cut him out of my life. How I almost said goodbye to one of the single best things this world has given me—a chance to feel seen by a boy who sends so many jolts down my spine it's a miracle I'm still breathing.

But I am. And so is he. During his absence, Mom told me about his medical condition and how his family consulted her on the course of action. She was the one who recommended the clinic in Switzerland. Looking back at my accident and temporary memory loss feels surreal. Even when my brain couldn't place him in my life, my skin recognised him. When he held my hand, I knew what he meant to me despite not knowing who he was. Now, I get to see him again. All I want to do is wrap my arms around his neck and breathe him in.

It rained last night while I was sleeping, saturating me with the smell of the earth and the water sifting through its core. A constant reminder of our adventures, past and future ones. Our story unfolds, new chapters await.

With trembling fingers, I rush a reply.

My watery boy is back.

He writes back within two minutes—not that I count. Ok, yes I do.

Fourteen minutes, thirteen, ten...

My head spins, and more memories flood my veins. Trips to the lake, bonfires, and kisses. Hugs and promises. They gush in; they stick to my bones, like salt in the sea, imbuing every inch of me.

Five minutes, four, two and here he is.

Hopping off his bike. Taking off his helmet. He sees me standing on the porch. He's grinning so broadly my world fits in his plump lips.

Tommy and Bree run out and squeal, "River!" Clover joins them, jumping up and down. Bouncing shapes and giggles saturate my senses.

Mom is at the door too, saying, "River! Welcome home!"

He flies up the path like a comet. His smile is like the universe and atoms splitting. I stand still, biting my lip. Mom, who sees my face, closes the distance between us and gives my shoulder a squeeze.

"Yeah," she says, and her voice cracks a bit. "I know." "Go to him, Dawn." I nod and something inside me combusts. My feet rush to his moving frame and we collide in a matter of seconds.

When River and I hug, when he lifts me off the ground and we twirl under the sun, Mom laughs.

Is this how being in love feels like?

That you are alive. Awake and holding on.

Is this what healing feels like?

That you are in the arms of a boy, as the planet spins and your heart flutters out of your chest and into the clouds.

That your gaze is blurry with happy tears and your throat heavy with the most important of words—and you'll say them. Eight of them, to be precise.

"I think I love you too, River Allen."

He smiles a sheepish grin, and I realise this is the story of us. Happening beneath the swaying oak branches.

"I knew you'd come around, Miss. Gray," he whispers, his plump lips warm against my neck. I claim his mouth with the sloppiest of kisses, giggling at Mom's whistles.

I used to fear drifting away, but I don't anymore. My whirlwind is not scary now that I'm carrying Dad in my heart. He said I should trust this life ahead of me and by God I will.

Look at us, world. The watery boy and the ferny girl—soaring together. No longer rooted. We are gold flowing.

I know the saying: first love never lasts. Maybe so, maybe not. Right now, in his arms, I'm invincible. Right this instant, we are back together, brave enough and desperate enough to try. My gaze locks on his and I see endless possibilities, like wave crests, floating in the azure of his eyes. Whenever I'm feeling lost, I'll swim in them alongside this magnitude I feel for him... and I'll let that be enough.

River, with his lopsided grin, tousled curls and stormy eyes.

River, with his confident walk, sharp mind and me. A girl that looks around her and believes— now more than ever— that love could be another word for hope.

A/N ❀ 

I want to express my eternal gratitude to a humble, selfless woman with a mind so brilliant and creative that has helped me wade this tale. 

Thank you, my dear friend, Sevannah_Storm for your faith in me and your endless words of encouragement. Thank you for reading my thoughts so well and handling them with such care. I wish to be half as talented one day! 

To my daughter, for yet many hours without her Mommy, for her hugs and smiles and tantrums that make me realize I should close my laptop for once and scooch near you more often. 

To my watery boy that also sighs and smiles through the endless whirlwind that is my writing. 

 To you reading this, here we are together, all of us deserving to live, love and be loved, in freedom and equality. 

Remember that you matter very much. You are a miracle of molecules: infinite and extraordinary!

Until the next time,

Noda❀

✶Announcement✶: Here's a heartfelt invitation to go check out my ONC 2021 Novella "The Perfect Silence Of The Stars". It would really mean the world to me <hugs>

✶Blurb✶

Life is full of regular teens going about their pretty dull, normal lives. Except Imogen is not one of them. Recently diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, her hallucinations are so vivid that she's armed herself with a take-no-shit attitude and her polaroid camera—or any device that can snap reality back into place.

She's a girl on a mission to stay sane enough to make it into college. But that plan backfires the second she meets him.

Jayden—a fiercely alluring and mysterious boy—standing in front of her at the rooftop of her high school on Prom night seems too good to be true. They talk. She hates it. Why? Because now she desperately wants their connection to be real.

Hiding her illness to be the normal girl he thinks she is will be the beginning of everything. Before she knows it, they are wandering in search of what makes them feel alive while she battles her demons for a love so strong to hush them for good.

Witty, thought-provoking, and ultimately moving, this story will have you clicking chapter after chapter trying to figure out what is real and what is not. Who said we can't fall in love with what we can't prove we made up?