It's Always You

It was a bright sunny morning and the birds were soaring high with so much zeal and zest that it could bring hope to even a derelict to search for betterment of his life. The beam of sunlight flicked through the greenery of the tall trees and then kissed the ground pleasantly. Feeling the grass tickle her small feet, five year old Alana was sitting on a rock near the stream. This spot in the woods was her favorite place to hide from the rest of the world. Her little arms crossed in the front, her perfect eyebrows knitted into a deep frown and her lips pouted out, making her look like an angry tigress cub at war with the whole universe. She was wondering why her mama became so mad at her every time she mingled with the maids in her mansion. They were such amazing people who were always very friendly and nice to her. They shared their simple yet delicious food with Alana. Their apple pies were the best unlike the vegetable salad that mama preferred her to eat. They made her feel nauseous. She bent down to pick a pebble and tossed it over the stream causing it to bounce two times on the surface of the water. “That’s what you’ve got?” Someone stunned her with their mockery behind her but she didn’t have to turn around to say who it was. “You are late, Marty..” She complaint while still staring into the wilderness. “Sorry, I had to brush the horses..” He took a place beside her and studied Alana’s face closely. “What did your mama do today?” He asked concernedly. “She snatched away the fruit jelly candies that Barney gave me. They looked so yummy.. and juicy but I didn’t get to taste them..” She whined to him and he listened to her silently like they did every other day. “I have got something for you..” He turned to the small basket in which his mom had packed food for him. He pulled out an aluminum wrapped sandwich and handed it to Alana. She hurriedly unwrapped it and took out the sandwich. “Wow bread and jam..” She ran the tip of her tongue over her lips dramatically before pulling the bread slices apart, exposing the jam spread on it. She licked them and moaned loudly, “They are so sweet.. Do you want some..?” “No, I had at home. This is for you..” Martin was just a year older than Alana but he was always way too matured for his age. “Come, have some.. How could you resist eating them when they taste so yummy..?” She stretched her hand and brought it closer to his mouth. He took the smallest bite he could since he wanted Alana to enjoy it’s every bite. He knew how much of a sweet tooth she was. Chewing his bite, he found it much better than before. ‘May be her sweet lips turned the sandwich even more sweet than before..’, he thought. Martin grabbed a pebble and threw it on the stream. It bounced six times before it disappeared into the water. “Wow, how do you do it so well?” Alana asked munching. “I have been doing it since I was four..” He shrugged proudly. “Teach me..” He picked up another pebble and held it between his fingers, “Flick your wrist at the end of your throw and let go of the rock so it spins off your index finger..” “Index finger?” She quirked her brows questioningly. “This finger is called the index finger..” He tapped on her forefinger and she nodded. “Let the rock land parallel to the water because that will help it bounce of the water’s surface multiple times. Understood?” Alana stared at him as if he was speaking some foreign language. Marty always amazed her with his knowledge on everything around him and she never understood where he learnt all these things from when he wasn’t even attending a decent school like hers. Martin guessed correctly that nothing had gone inside Alana’s thick head as he shook his head and stood up, motioning her to do the same. “Let’s get back. Your mama would be angry at you if she saw you playing with me..” She didn’t move from the spot and kept pondering about something. “Why doesn’t my mama like us playing together?” He once again perched beside her and looked over his shoulder to gaze into her most unique violet eyes. “Violet..” That’s what he called her. “..that’s because we aren’t rich like you. I’m just a stable boy who works in your grandpa’s farm..” “How does that even matter, Marty?” She didn’t understand why that would be even considered a reason to keep them away from each other. She had known him ever since she could remember. “It does, Violet.. Your mama thinks I am a bad influence on you and that someday you would become just like me?” “You mean, smarty pants like you? Isn’t it good then? She should actually feel proud about it..” She said innocently causing him to chortle. She joined him and giggled. They played tag until the Sun went down and forgot all about their worries. “Let’s go home before they all come searching for you..” Martin began to drag her towards the De Stephano’s large farmhouse. “What are you doing here, Martin?” Ms. Lara, Alana’s mama grilled him when she saw him holding hands with her daughter. He quickly pulled his hand away from Alana’s tight grip. “We were playing, mommy..” Alana beamed a toothy smile to her mom. “Get in, Alana. You have played a lot..” She ordered with a stern tone. “..but mommy..” “Now..” She interrupted Alana from protesting and dragged her inside not before throwing a warning look at Martin which surely caused chills to crawl beneath his skin.   *************************************************************   “Tony, I found her with the maids and that stable boy yet again. We would only ruin her life by staying here. My parents are almost every day asking me to go back to Los Angeles. Alana will have an amazing childhood there with lots of exposure unlike here. There is nothing here, Tony. No Friends, no school, nothing.” Alana lay in between her parents with her eyes tightly closed but very much awake, listening to her mama’s words. “Lara you know, I’m working on it.. Just give me some more time..” “How much longer, Tony?” Her mama’s voice was a little raised than before. “You have been saying this for an year now..” “It isn’t easy to leave everything behind and travel to an unknown country, Lara. We are talking about a permanent residency in US which isn’t a piece of cake, Lara. All I’m asking is some time and patience from you.” “You don’t have to undergo all that if you do exactly what my parents told you to..” She countered back. “I’m not staying at your parent’s home, Lara. If we are going there, it is only through my way or we better stay here..” He hindered. “You are being a stubborn ass..” She spat angrily at her husband for which she got no sound as an answer from him. Alana was used to her parents’ frequent brawls by now. They almost every night went to bed with something to argue over. The tears from her eyes slowly slipped though the corners of her closed eyes. She wasn’t crying over her parents’ quarrel but to think of leaving Martin. She was his only friend and he would become lonely if she too left him. She bit back her cries but the tears wouldn’t cease.   ************************************************************** “You mean you are leaving Sovana?” Martin was helping Alana mount on Jasper, their pony when she informed him of what she heard from her parents. “Yes, we are moving to United states of America..” “The United states of America..” He corrected. “Huh?” She blinked back at him.. “Ahh.. nothing.. And when will you be coming back?” He jumped on Jasper behind Alana and started riding him out of the barn. “We are never coming back, Marty..” She looked up to meet his ocean blue eyes. He noticed how her eyes were murky from the fresh tears welling up in them. She looked like she was going to bawl her eyes out any second now. He didn’t want to think how he would manage without Alana here but he knew there was nothing in his hands to stop them from moving away and all he could do was cry even without his Violet knowing. He forced an unwavering look in his face and swallowed hard, “You will have a better life there..” He said looking ahead of them. “I don’t want to go Marty. I love my life here. What’s so better there?” “I have heard, there are tall building reaching the sky, flying trains and..” He began tell her whatever he knew about that place. “Marty, stop it.. I don’t want any of them. I just want to be with you here in Tuscany.” His heart instantly swelled with joy to hear that from her. He was aware that he was Alana’s only friend in Sovana but he honestly did not expect this from her. He wished she stayed here with him forever. “When you go there, you will make new friends and forget me.” He looked down sadly feeling his inside twist uncomfortably to think about it. “No..” Alana let out a wet sob. “Don’t say that.. I will never forget you, wherever I go..” “Then how about we try to keep in touch with each other, Violet?” He suggested cheekily. “..but how? Your dad doesn’t have a phone..” “Yeah, but I can write letters to you. You send me a letter with your address after going there and then I’ll write to you regularly..” “Really, can we do that?” Her face brightened with a heartwarming smile with her tears still rolling down her cheeks. “Yes..” He nodded proudly. “I don’t know how to write yet..” She told with a grimace. He laughed, “Okay, you get someone’s help to send me the address and after which you can convey your thoughts as drawings or pictures..” “I can do that!!” She lunged at him and gave a peck on his cheek. “..and I’ll also visit you often..” He nodded, “I’ll be waiting for you..” He admitted in a deadpan serious tone. “Promise?” She winged her brows. “Pinky promised..” They hooked their pinky together and giggled.   *************************************************************   “I’m going to miss my darling Ala..” her grandmother gave her a peck on her forehead with teary eyes. Her grandparents had done everything to stop them from moving away from Italy but Lara was very stubborn. They were in fact, very upset with Lara for taking away their only son and grandchild. Their house would lose its color and life without their little Alana. It broke their heart to send them away however, they did it for the sake of their granddaughter. “Promise to visit your old fellow during your holidays..” Her grandpa crouched down to level with her and she just nodded in return. She looked as sadder as them. The only one who looked joyous to leave this place was Lara. She couldn’t stop herself from grinning. After all these years, she was finally freed from this good for nothing place. “I promise grandpa..” She said plainly, her eyes roaming around the place to catch a glimpse of Marty but he was no were in sight from the last two days. “Gramma did you see Marty?” “No honey but he left this for you with the maids..” She pulled out a tiny shrink bag from her pant pockets and handed it to Alana. Her violet eyes shifted to her mama who had a deep scowl on her face. Alana did not mind her and got the bag before placing it securely within her pocket. “Papa, can we go see him before we start?” She asked her dad. “No, Alana we are running late. We have a flight to board, if you are forgetting..” Her mama denied her request firmly. “Papa, please.. Let me go see him once..” “No honey, we don’t know where he is right now. We cannot go searching for him.. Let’s go..” He carried her away while she trashed around in his hold, protesting to get into his Stelvio. “Papa, please.. Let me go. I don’t want to go.. I don’t want to go..” Her loud wails echoed in the calmness of the woods, finally engulfed by the roaring of their car engine. When her cries ceased, she slowly opened the shrink bag and put her hand inside. Her eyes widened when she pulled out a bracelet made of tiny black pebbles which they very rarely found near the stream. There were about fifteen of them lined in a stretchable band with the center one being the biggest and shiniest. There were little trinkets added to its end, making them clink whenever she moved them. Her lips trembled and she shed more tears than she did before. She wore the beautiful piece of jewelry. She was sure that it was handmade by Marty and she promised herself to always wear it around her wrist. *************************************************************** The first thing she did after reaching Los Angeles was to write a letter to Marty with her address and a cute drawing of her bracelet, indicating her thanks to him. She got little help from her cousin Jinn to post the letter. He lived with Alana’s maternal grandparents. She waited for a whole week but got nothing in return. She thought maybe the letter never made it to Tuscany, so decided to send another one with her address. Days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months and then years, but there was not even a single reply from Marty. It broke her heart to think of any possibilities for Marty to not keep in touch with her but she never lost her hope and kept writing one letter each day. After seven years, Tony received a call from the De Stephano mansion in Tuscany, saying that Peter De Stephano was seriously ill. Alana was twelve years old than. Her puberty had done magic on her already beautiful features. Her earlier reddish brown pixies were now touching her waist. Her fair skin shone almost like gold. Other than some slight streaks of maturity, there wasn’t much of a change in her angelic face. Lara refused to go back to Tuscany with them and Alana couldn’t be any more happier about it. When her grandpa was back to normal, she visited Martin’s cottage which was now completely demolished. She felt like her heart was pulled out of her chest and shredded into several pieces.   “Ahh, my baby Alana has grown into a lady now..” Her grandmother pulled her into a hug before bedtime. Alana flashed a shy smile at her and tucked her hair behind her ear. “Thanks Gramma..” “So, how’s Los Angeles? Tell me everything about it?” “It’s great gramma. There are tall buildings reaching the sky, flying trains and..” She paused ‘…everything but there is something still missing..’ she wanted to add but didn’t. “That’s good to know.. And do you have many friends?” Grandma asked eagerly. “I have a few..” She forced a grin. She had made friends over the years but no one was like her Marty. “Gramma, where is Marty?” She asked swallowing a huge chunk of her cowardice. Grandma laughed, “You still remember that boy? They left Sovana two years ago and haven’t heard of them since then.” ‘Two years?’ She screamed mentally. That meant the letters she wrote in the last two years had all gone to the bin without even a glance. “You should sleep now, honeybunch. It’s already past midnight.” Gramma placed a chaste kiss on her forehead. She still felt warm just like Alana remembered. “Good night Gramma..” “Good night, my sunshine..” As soon as gramma closed the door, she broke down into tears. She cried after a long time that night. She came back to Sovana in a hope to find him, talk to him and ask him, why he had never replied to her endless letters but coming back to Tuscany made her even more miserably. She got none of her questions answered but raised new questions instead. She went to sleep with watery eyes and an emptiness in her heart.   Alana’s eyes snapped open to the nagging sound of the alarm. She was once again dreaming about him. No, it wasn’t a dream, it was a distant and bittersweet memory now. She was nineteen now and even after so many years, there was nothing she could do about the void in her heart, it only grew bigger dad by day. She did everything possible to forget him, from making more friends to dating guys, but it only ended up in more heartbreaks and disasters. When she realized that she would never be able to meet that stable boy again, she finally gave up and made up her mind to never think about him. She buried him deep within her heart as a painful memory. She yawned and checked her mobile which had a few messages from Mia, her bestie. She met Mia during high school, when Alana had hit the bottom of her life. It was Mia’s friendship that managed to bring her up to the surface from the pits of misery and encouraged her to live the life that she was living now. Alana texted her back saying she would be at college in an hour. She quickly got up from her bed and rushed into her bathroom. She stayed in her penthouse which her father had gifted her for graduation. She started living there alone when she joined college. It was easier to commute from her pent house which was close to her college. She stood in front of her mirror and gathered her long, tangled hair in her palms to pull it up into a high bun. The soft jingles caused her eyes to shift on the reflection of her wrist which still had the black bracelet around it. So many times, she had wanted to rip it apart or throw it away, but her heart could never do it. She never actually out grew it. She smiled feeling amazed at how smart and thoughtful Marty was to have made the bracelet with an elastic band. It still fit her perfectly. “Smarty pants..” She mumbled before she began to get ready for her classes.   *************************************************************     A/N: So here comes the first chapter of 'It's always you.' I hope you liked it.  Please drop your comments and also don't forget to like my author page, SwaRam on Faceb00k. Loads of love, SwaRam