*Ms Tamara*
Days after Diana's celebration came and went.
And there, in her room was Tamara, a page in front of her and a further heap of paper just ahead of the page.
'Two Summers, I Whispered Your Name - Redraft,' she titled the top of the page.
With her feather in between her fingers and an open bottle of ink in her reach, she tried to think of something. Anything. She wanted to write something down, but nothing came to mind.
Eileen was elsewhere, finishing off her errands. Deciding that Tamara didn't was to disturb her sister, she wanted to make a start on rewriting the book. But, she realised that she had reached a dead end. A writer's block.
She released a sigh of surrender a few seconds later, placing the feather down and closing the bottle of ink. She then allowed herself to lay back in her chair and take a few deep breaths before sitting back upright.
Eying the page, she once more attempted to think of anything that might come to mind, but instead, her mind went to something other than her work. Her head followed the idea her mind had and her gaze reached her bookshelf.
She knew that when there were no ideas on her mind, reading was the best remedy to restore her creativity. To inspire her once more.
And so, standing up, she walked over to her shelf filled with books before picking out whatever book came to her grip. Pulling it out and flicking to a page, she began reading. She walked around, her mind dwelling on the life of the world she allowed for herself to be immersed in.
And it wasn't very long before... a spark.
Something resonated in her heart and then, slowly but surely, allowing for it to curate, an idea came to mind.
Placing the book beside her on the table, she picked up her feather and opened up the bottle of ink. Dipping the tip of her feather into the dark liquid, she retracted her hand and held it right above the page.
That was when she copped onto something. The idea didn't match the theme of hers and Eileen's work.
She grumbled under her breath before deciding that she wanted to write it down anyway. The idea had potential, she felt it in her chest.
She began, the first stroke of the feather, then the second and so it went, character by character, all produced by her hand. Soon enough, sentences appeared on the page, stretched from the top, nearing the first quarter of the page. As soon as she had one sentence finished, another one entered her mind and before she knew it, she filled out the page.
Adding a full stop, she took a deep breath, sensing the smell of the ink, prior to reading through all that she wrote.
But sentence by sentence, line by line, paragraph by paragraph. Something about her writing sounded all too familiar, and it didn't take her long to figure out why it was so. In fact, compacting the amount of information, the description, she realised almost right away what it was about her writing that made it seem so familiar.
'That night... the party...' her mind went on. 'His arrogance... assumptions... they fueled this idea, didn't they?'. Though she asked herself such a question, her mind couldn't give her a concrete answer.
Not wanting to think anymore about him, she let her feather fall from her fingers and down onto her table before grabbing the page and crumbling it up into a ball. Leaving it on the table, she closed the small ink bother before, once again, raising herself onto her feet.
'I... I must go for a walk. I must clear my head from all of this nonsense...' she thought to herself as she turned on her heels before rushing out of her room. Heading downstairs, that was where she put on her footwear before taking a thin coat of hers and draping it over her shoulders.
Just as she was about to leave, Ms Hope appeared from around the corner, holding a serving tray. "Where are you going, dear Child?".
"For a walk, Ms Hope. And if Mama or Papa, or even my sisters ask for me, tell them the same, please," Tamara responded.
"Is everything okay, Dear?".
Tamara nodded, a slight chuckle of nervousness managing to escape past her lips. "I-... I just need to clear my head. That's all.".
Keeping her eyes on Tamara for a mere few moments, as if thinking that she was lying. As if trying to decode the proper reason for her leave outside. But with the clearance of Ms Hope's throat, she asked, "When shall we expect your return?".
Tamara paused for a moment, unsure of a reply. "Soon...". And, just like that, she opened the door before heading out of the house.
---
*Mr Theodore*
At the dining table were Diana and Theodore. The silence was shared amongst them both as each tended to their own plate of food.
Unexpected by Theodore, the silence was broken by his cousin's voice. "I am planning to go to the city centre soon...".
As a reply, he hummed in acknowledgement.
Pursing her lips, Diana kept her gaze on Theodore. "And I want you to come along with me, Theo.".
Pausing as he looked up so that their gazes met, he gave her a look of slight confusion. "Why? Why would you like me to come along with you?".
"You've been stuck in this house for lord knows how long, in your room, behind your table, writing. I bet you've even forgotten how it really feels to have the warm, morning breeze embrace your skin," Diana spoke out.
"That's a lie..." Theodore pointed out. "I take Betsy out for rides often.".
Realising a sigh from the realisation that he was right, she tried to look for another reason that would make him want to accompany her. But she couldn't think of anything. "I'd like for you to go with me... just because.".
"Just because why?..." Theodore asked.
"Just because I said so..." responded Diana. "I might call for the Clarke sisters to come along too.".
Theodore choked on his food. "The Clarke sisters?".
"Yeah... why? Don't you want them to accompany me also?... They are amongst the rare ones that make me feel as though I am normal...".
Theodore wanted to retort to her decision of wanting to bring Clarke sisters along with her, but after hearing out the rest of what his cousin had to say, it made him second guess his words. In the end, he decided it was best to remain quiet. After all, he didn't want to bother his cousin with his problem. More specifically, his problem with Tamara.
Though he was silent, he had hope that - if the Clarke sisters were to come - Tamara would stay at home or something of the like.
"When are you planning to go anyway?" Theodore asked.
"About a week from now. I want to pay the Clarke sisters a quick visit and ask them if they'd like to accompany me. If they do, it'll give both them and me enough time to get ready.".
"And if not?".
"Well..." Diana began. "I mightn't want to go...".
Then, a roar of thunder caught their attention as the rain began to fall.
---
*Ms Tamara*
Entering the forest outside her home, she wandered past all the trees. Touching each one that was within her reach. Using them as her aid to stay on her feet.
Walking some distance away from her home, she reached an opening, a field. Ahead of her, there was a hill.
So, climbing it and reaching its summit, she was greeted but a wall of wind. It caused any loose hair of hers to fly to the back of her head. Her house dress twirled in waves as she had to grip onto her thin jacket so the wind wouldn't blow it off her.
Moving her gaze to the sky, she was greeted by the dense clouds that moved from one side of the sky to the other. Judging by their appearance, they promised nothing but the rain. And then, it was heard. A crackle of thunder in the distance.
Her gaze was caught by a figure, on a horse, riding the field. A loud neigh from the animal travelled through the windy air, further making Tamara aware of other people's presence on the grass plain.
Judging by the approach of the person, she knew she had caught their attention. Riding up the other side of the hill, she began to slow down as they further approached and reached Tamara.
It was there that she realised the person was actually a man, and when she looked at his face, only then did something strike her chest. He seemed familiar to her.
Hopping off his horse and approaching Tamara, he held out his hand as a majestic smile stretched across his lips. "Miss Tamara... is that correct?".
She looked at him in surprise, and only when she looked into his eyes... did she remember.
"It's you..." she muttered under her breath.
To her words, he couldn't help but let out a laugh. "It's nice to see you too.". There, he paused. "I won't be hurt if you don't know who I am. I'd be more than happy to reintroduce myself to you once more.".
To his words, she accepted his offer of a greeting by placing her hand on his. This furthermore made the smile on his face grow, a bit.
And then, just like on that, one night, not so long ago, he bent down ever so slightly before raising her hand so that his lips met the back of it.
His gesture made a smile break through the surface, evolving as such on her lips. "How could I ever forget the name of a man whose gestures could woo any woman in this kingdom of ours, Mr Pavel Fuegerson.".
"First and last name? Count me as impressed, Ms Tamara Clarke.". The smile on her face failed to recede with each sentence Pavel had to say. And the fact that he too knew her full name. Such made her scoff in slight disbelief mixed with joy.
But then, with her mind thinking of something else, the smile on her face slowly began to recede. Her mind brought up the night when she argued with Theodore. And those words he said seconds before she left to go inside. 'Yeah... try and you might just find your Mr Fuegerson amongst the wide crowd in there...'.
'Such words always dwell on my mind, but they fail to find the answer to why he said what he said...' Tamara thought to herself.
"Why the change on your face?..." Pavel's words pulled Tamara out of her trance. "I see your smile reduced to the fraction of what it was only seconds ago. Was it something I said?...".
"No, no, not at all!..." she responded. "You mustn't worry about such, just something... from home. It's actually why I came out here, to clear my mind...".
"Seems like it makes the two of us, then," Pavel replied, his smile too reducing to half the size it was only moments ago. "How is your family? Are they all well??".
"Yes, yes - quite frankly - they are. Thank you very much for asking.". Making a pause, Tamara took in a deep breath. "How is your family?".
She noticed the smile on Pavel's face return. "They are well. As best as they can be...". A pause. "Thank you for inquiring back.".
Before another utterance could have been made, a loud crash of thunder left them both looking to the incoming cloud of darkness as the first of drops began to fall from the sky.
"Well, we better head off now. It looks like it'll begin pouring any minute now," Pavel spoke. "Would you like me to drop you off at home? Riding on a horse will be faster than walking.".
Tamara spent a few moments looking at him as he got himself back onto his horse. She shook her head. "No, there won't be a need for that. I am quite fond of walking, more walking in the rain.".
Another gust of wind blew past both Tamara and Pavel as they looked at one another. "I'd like to see you again, Ms Tamara... just like this, on a field. Preferably if it wasn't to begin raining.". Tamara giggled at his words. Before she had a chance to respond to his words, he continued, "I'd like to get to know you more, Ms Tamara.".
And just like that, turning, he galloped away on his horse, heading down the hill. Tamara stayed in her place, watching as Pavel went further away from her. Reflecting on their interaction, a small smile grew back on her lips before she turned and headed back home.