Dear Kimmy
I'm trying hard to think as Jeremy would have thought. They are right; Jacob and his family are very right. I knew him better than anyone else; just like he also knew me better. Where could he have hidden the diary? Why would he need to hide it? Maybe he burnt it. But knowing Jeremy; he wouldn't have done that.
Dear Kimmy; I have strong reasons to believe that he hid the diary somewhere. Why; he was never the type of person to burn or throw away letters…and a diary too, I would like to believe. He believed that when we bring pen to paper; whatever we write has sentimental value. I am reminded of some scenes from when we were very young ….
THE SCENE FROM WHEN HE WAS TEN; AND SHE WAS TWELVE
"Jeremy, my mother said I must burn all the letters that you keep writing to me. I told you to stop writing them, but still you do."
"But I cannot stop. What should I do when I want to tell you that you look beautiful?"
"You can just tell me when we meet. You don't have to write it down, Jeremy!" Kiara stamped her foot on the ground.
"But Kiara, if I tell you, then how will I show you the hearts? I love writing letters because I can always draw some red hearts for you. When I talk, my words cannot draw the red hearts."
Kiara melted on hearing that. She smiled with her heart, and looked away shyly.
"What are we going to do with the letters?" she asked.
"Hold on to them. I will find a way out." He promised her.
And on the following day after school, he updated her: "My friend told me something that I never knew before. He was just talking when he mentioned that all the bins at the park have a secret compartment."
"What secret compartment?" Kiara frowned.
"You see those bins which are built on to the sides of the walkway?" he asked.
"Yes, I know those ones."
"Well, according to what I heard today, if you check carefully underneath it, the bottom has a metal that can be removed, revealing a secret pocket."
"How will one check that? You will have to open and touch the trash? Gross!" Kiara said in disgust.
"No. You can open it from outside. Isn't those metal bins hang on those two pillars? So if you tilt it a bit, you will see that there is a small ring-like item that goes around the bin. It connects the two parts; the bottom of the bin and the bin itself."
"Who had the time to realise that? What were they looking for anyway?" Kiara laughed.
Jeremy continued to explain, "If you move that ring upwards a bit, it will open up and there is a hollow space in there. So listen, Kiara, these letters are our secrets. We will keep them there."
"In a bin? What if someone finds them?"
"No-one ever opens that part, Kiara. It's the base of the bin."
"Ahh, what if people see us trying to open it up? I don't think that base was ever made to be opened."
"Let's just try it." Jeremy smiled.
And on the next time that they were at the park; she carried the letters with her. Except for Travis, they were all there, the Rains family as well as the Noels.
"Did you carry the letters?" Jeremy whispered.
"Shh, I have them," she whispered back.
"What are you two whispering about?" Jacob asked.
"Nothing," they both snapped at the same time.
Everyone was having fun, and the two managed to slip and find a bin right at the end of the park. There were not many people there, and he struggled to open it.
"Be fast! If a policeman sees you, they will think we are vandalizing." She urged him.
"Shh, Kiara! Stand in front of me. Stand there so that you shield me. I am almost done….yah! Done. Give me the letters!"
"But Jeremy, I am still uncomfortable with having them in a bin? Of all the places?"
"It's the safest place, Kiara. They are not inside the bin. They are in the base, here. If we keep them at home, our mothers will find them. Give me."
"Here," Kiara handed over the letters which were in a plastic paper.
"Good. Now stand there a while longer. I need to seal this ring."
"Be fast, Jeremy!"
Jeremy struggled with the ring, and finally he got it.
"Let's go," he pulled her hand.
"For how long will we keep them there?" Kiara asked.
"Until you turn sixteen. Did you read them carefully? You were supposed to read and keep the words in your heart," Jeremy said.
"Why is that?' Kiara chuckled.
"What if they go missing? You know, the people who maintain the park may change the bins, you know? And then we lose our letters. Those are our special secrets."
"Oh, I see," Kiara responded.
SCENE FROM WHEN HE WAS FOURTEEN, AND SHE WAS SIXTEEN
"Let's go back home, I am tired of walking." She yawned.
"Not now." he said. "Come, I will show you another part of the park where we have never been to."
"I've been to every corner of this park," she laughed.
They walked hand in hand, and Jeremy, after they passed by two metal bins hanging on the sidewalk, started to laugh.
"What?' she asked him.
"Do you remember when we hid our letters in a bin?"
"Oh yes, we called them our secrets? Do you think they are still there? Let's go and check!" Kiara beamed with excitement.
She ran down the park, and he followed her, both of them laughing.
"Let's make a bet; I say we will not find them." She panted excitedly.
"I say we will find them. So what will you do for me if we find them?" he asked.
"I will have to make you something. Something to eat, like some nice soup."
"Ahh, boring!" Jeremy complained.
"What do you want, then?" she giggled.
"How about if we say you will have to kiss me?"
"Jeremy!"
"What did I do wrong?" he stopped running and shrugged his shoulders.
"Kissing is all you ever think about! And if we don't find the letters?" she asked with a twinkle in her eyes.
"Then I will have to kiss you," he said.
"Jeremy stop! Isn't there anything else in your mind?"
"What's wrong with kissing? I like it." Jeremy smiled and closed in on Kiara, acting as if he was going to kiss her on the cheek, but she dodged.
She continued to laugh, and soon they were both standing next to the bin.
"Do I still need to stand in front of you and cover up so that no one sees you vandalizing?" she giggled.
"I'm not vandalizing! Stand there. But promise me, if we find them, I kiss you. If we don't find them, you kiss me."
"Either way the kissing will happen," Kiara chuckled heartily.
"I'm opening now," he said.
He struggled a bit with the bin, and before long, he had managed to open.
"Oh goodness! You won't believe this! They are here! So, does it mean this bin has not been replaced in all these years?"
"Let me see," she snatched the plastic. "Wow, our letters! Our secrets!"
"I can't believe it! They have been here for how long…four, five years?" he sounded very surprised.
"Why would they replace the bin? It is right at the end of the park and is almost always empty. People hardly ever come here. And look, it still looks good." Kiara said.
"Ok, now you may kiss me. You promised." He stated proudly, waiting eagerly for the kiss.
"Jeremy, I never made such a promise!" Kiara giggled and started to run away.
"No Kiara stop! Please Kiara, you need to fulfill your promise. We made a deal."
He caught up with her and pushed her closer to the nearest tree.
"OK I will do it then." She stated, and before the words were done coming out of her mouth, she gave Jeremy a peck on the cheek and started running away from him, laughing loudly.
SCENE FROM WHEN HE WAS NINETEEN, AND SHE WAS TWENTY-ONE
"I don't think I enjoy the park as much as I used to when we were kids," she said.
"Hmm?" he continued throwing some roasted nuts into his mouth.
"Why are you still tossing the nuts like that? Look how much you have wasted!" Kiara's voice chimed.
"Relax my love, I'm just having fun."
"Fun wasting food?"
"Look, I'm going to throw this up into the air, and I will catch it. Here, look…" he threw one nut and tried to catch it with his mouth, but it hit him on the chin and fell down.
"You've wasted enough food already, Jeremy," she complained.
"Ok I will stop only after trying ten more times."
"It's just like buying food to throw into the bin," she complained.
Jeremy laughed and said, "now that you talk about a bin, do you recall how we once hid our secret letters in the base of a bin?"
"I do!" she burst out laughing along with him. "We were young and rather silly, I would say! But it was so much fun!"
"It wasn't silly. I think that place can still be a great place to hide stuff," Jeremy sounded amused.
"What do you want to hide? We're grown up now, we can't be hiding staff there anymore."
"But it would be nice to do so. I mean, how many people can possibly know about the base of a bin?" Jeremy said, and threw another nut in the air.
"Jeremy stop! You're wasting the nuts again!"