Begin Again - Start All Over Differently

"Thank you for inviting, Caleb and it was lovely meeting you, Avy. God bless you." Evelyn engulfed Avy in a quick, warm hug when she was about to leave.

"Oh, I am so sorry," Evelyn mumbled as she pulled apart. Her hands still rested on Avy's arms. "I can't believe I forgot." She pushed her right hand in her bag, pulling out a small purple box and placed it on Avy's hand. "Watch this whenever you want to smile, laugh, and feel good."

Avy's curious eyes were wondering what the box held, but she just smiled, thanking Evelyn.

"I'll drop you," Evan said, gesturing her to wait outside.

Once she did what he asked her to do and was out of the home, he sat on his knees, opening his arms wide for Avy to run into them. "Happy birthday. I pray to be able to give you your birthday gifts until my last day!"

Avy pulled apart a little only to treat his cheek with a sweet kiss.

<>

"Evan," she softly called, bringing his attention from the road to her. They had covered a significant amount of distance when she decided to break the usual silence in the car.

He didn't respond for a while for a part of him was sure that she was going to make yet another comment she would surprise him with.

"Evan," she called again, somewhere knowing the reason behind him not responding.

"Yeah, yeah?" He mentally made a note to thrash Caleb the next day for the situation that he was stuck in.

"You should take out some time to replace to note. Perhaps, Caleb missed it because he was focusing more on who the person is than focusing on the note in his hand. It is just the matter of a while until he begins investigating and looks at the note for a couple of more times and he would know," she paused for a moment as she slowly turned her head towards him, "it is you."

The car came to a halt as soon as she uttered the last words. He shifted on his seat to turn to face the girl who seemed to have decided to test his patience. "You know, what are you saying?"

"I do." Was he really thinking that he could intimidate her by faking fury in his eyes? She inwardly sighed, knowing her interference was beginning to get annoying but she was not doing anything purposely.

His forefinger rose to his nose before it elevated to his forehead as he rubbed his skin while holding himself back from getting even a word out of his mouth. He let out an exasperated sigh, took out the key, and stepped out of the car right at the next instant.

"Jesus," she murmured as she watched him moving to the other side of the road.

He dragged his feet closer to the road guardrails, without bothering about his car that was in the middle of the road for he was aware of the close to no people choosing that route.

His heart pounded against his c.h.e.s.t. He couldn't silence the emotions that were overwhelming him that night. Slipping his hands in his pockets, he stood there, gazing at the moon and the stars.

"How unlucky!" He knew she was standing behind him. Even though she was slow enough in closing the door after she got out of the car, he hadn't missed the sound.

"Depends on how you see to it." She was beside him in two strides.

"Do you even know what am I talking about?"

"The moon."

He was not even surprised. In fact, he laughed, pressing his hands on the railings, leaning forward.

"How?" He didn't have to add any more words to his question to be able to understand by her.

"Just like that." She shrugged her shoulders as she turned towards him, but the sparkle in her eyes said something else.

"The moon appears the luckiest to the eyes. Above everyone else. Surrounded by beautiful shining stars but the closer you go, the more you realize how unlucky he is. How lonely, despite the countless twinkling stars around him, he is. From the far... it is glamorous. Everyone wants to be in that place but nobody realizes that 'it' has to light the dark. Nobody does that for him."

He didn't seem to mind what he was sharing with her despite knowing the fact that she was someone who could instantly figure out that he was relating himself to the moon.

"Being able to bring people and things out of the darkness is a blessing, isn't it? Perhaps, the moon thinks of it this way and considers it lucky? It all comes down to how one perceives things."

"But is the moon not allowed to get tired? It has the stars all around it but can it really call any of them its own? Do any of them understand it? What if someday it doesn't want to shine? What if someday it doesn't want to light up the world? What if someday, it just wants to give up?"

The next few moments that passed in silence became unbearable for him. Why was she quiet? He turned his head towards her and found her gaze already on him. There was that different smile on her face that he couldn't fathom.

"All the stars around the moon might not care about it, but some undoubtedly do. The moon has to shine because it is made for it. The moon may not be able to call all of the stars its, but there always will be some stars around it that would be the sources of its strength and it must hold on... for them."

Her words were... different, he mentally admitted as he beheld her petite figure clad in a mauve and pink printed A-line net dress with a flared hem that fell below her knees. Under the moonlight, she mirrored a surreal, delicate doll.

He would never admit to anyone that the very first sight of her had stirred something deep within his heart. There was something strangely enigmatic about her that drew him toward her.

"How do you know it was me?" He straightened himself without averting his gaze.

He hadn't figured it out yet? Her eyes glittered as she was left slightly amused. She let herself take a step closer to him.

His unblinking stare at her face shifted down as her hand slowly came forward and touched his left hand before holding it in a loose grip. She pulled it to the front and flipped it so as to bring his palm in the sight.

What was she doing? He continued to look at her to get his answer when he failed to understand where she was hinting.

She shook her head.

Despite not being inattentive, he was being ridiculously foolish in not pinpointing at the clue that he had left.

Perhaps, he was a little lost that night.

Perhaps, he was a little exhausted that night.

Perhaps, things had become a little heavy that night because otherwise, his usually sharp mind that was being unusually lazy that night had no justification.

His eyes followed hers that went from his face to his hand and as she tapped on to his palm, right below his thumb, he froze.

She swiftly stepped back, returning to her previous position - a little distant from him. She would have kept his secret to herself had he not made the foolish mistake of drawing that small smiley in the right corner of the note. Evan Parker had a habit of drawing a smiley on his palm, on every page of his books, and basically wherever he could manage to draw one.

His roll number was just two places earlier than hers. He sat two benches ahead of her. She had observed him drawing a smiley with chalk on his desk every single day during their examination.

It took him several seconds to let it sink in that... she knew. He had always made sure to draw the smiley as faint as possible. Had it really been that conspicuous?

"What are you? My stalker?" He was kidding her. He was prepared for the usual serious response from her side. 'I am not. What are you saying and all and all and all!' He rolled his eyes, chuckling at his own imagination until he heard the most unexpected reply from Evelyn Taylor.

"Would you like if I am one?"