1
(1934)
(Oct 31)
The day has arrived. Up until this point, June had to wear a cast every day and night, with first a wheelchair and then crutches. But today they would go to the hospital one final time to do what needed to be done. Both June and Sammy were in a good mood.
I feel like I could fly right now. June thought merrily.
Switzerland is an unbelievably scenic country that nature had constructed, situated North of the Alps and south of Germany, it was a good place to rest and relax which was just perfect for them. And today, they were finally going to take their cast off.
June sprinted all the way home, not feeling tired at all. Sammy watched gleefully as he also sprinted. Steven had gotten themselves an enormous house, which they lived in from 5 months ago until now. Steven has given good care for the children and subsequently made their relationship better together.
2
Nearly two months have passed. It was getting colder by the day. They wrapped themselves in thick winter coats. Their wounds were completely healed; only a faint red mark was left against June's thigh; Sammy's arm was well enough for him to somersault through the snowy fields. The lakes were completely frozen over at this point. You could still see the fish underneath staring helplessly at their unlucky fate. Over the surface, June skidded across the ice with her ice skates, gliding majestically from one end to another, dancing gracefully in the wild snowflakes and chilling breeze. She did it like there was no tomorrow.
Christmas was near and Steven decided that June and Sammy should return to school after the holidays. They agreed.
June and Sammy were resting their legs on soft couches around the fireplace one evening when Steven came through the front door from shopping, they looked up and saw a letter on top of all the groceries. June stood up. 'What is it?' she asked.
'Looks like it's sent from someone pretty wealthy,' suggested Sammy.
'It's for you, June,' said Steven, before handing it to her. 'You should read it.'
She took the letter and held it close. It was made with card paper and it had silver paint coating the hardcover, a golden rose stamped at the seal. She read it without hesitation.
Dear June. She read and instantly recognised that fancy handwriting. She'd know it anywhere. But how could it be? Why was he writing to her? And more importantly, he's alive and looking for her. How is that possible? She read on:
I know in our school I was recognised by everyone there and was loved by everyone. You've probably seen me a few times in assembly or out at the playground and thought that I was happy. I really ain't happy. I don't really feel great or care about how many people admire me because they would never understand what it felt like to lose their parents at the age of 6, leaving them in demise and despair.
But I do care about you. You're the only thing in this world that has truly made me feel worth living for. While other people admire, they also have jealousy. You have neither, and that's where you're different from everyone else. Where are you? Where can I find you? If you ever see this, write back to me. No matter where you are, I will find you—I think you will understand.
Love, Benjamin Faley
P.S. I heard Steven came looking for you. He might be lying tho. Typical Steven.
She finished reading and looked up to see Steven shrugging awkwardly. She went to her bedroom and cried then. She still hadn't mentally recovered from the tsunami. She thought of all those people. My parents, my friends. She thought and wiped at her teary eyes.
She just lay there, for the longest time, wondering what to do next. Finally, she decided that she was going to write back to him. After all, Ben was the only person that she could call a friend still alive and looking for her.
She began to write back.
3
Ben had mixed feelings about his situation.
First. after the passing of his father, millions worth of fortune was passed down to him and he felt fine with that.
But as he came to Denmark he had a big issue—he was pretty homeless—but that was fine too because his aunts and uncles agreed to let him stay at their place for the time being.
After a few months of settling back into business, Ben decided to write a letter to June, desperately wanting to find out what happened to her. He made several copies of those and sent them to various addresses.
Another few months later, one morning he got a letter from Switzerland under the name of Juno Rashel Haven. He could not have been more excited. He opened the package that came with it and inside was a golden necklace and a trophy with a note inside it:
Here's the trophy that I had last year and you were supposed to have this year. Keep it :)
He felt warm inside and he got on reading the letter:
June from Switzerland:
I'm okay and well. I'm glad you're alive and remember me. It wasn't a great experience for me for the past six months. Sometimes I feel scared so bad. I kept having nightmares of the tsunami and I felt so tired. Steven and Sammy had been really good at helping me recover I guess. Either way, I got hurt really badly when the wave hit, I could barely remember what happened, I wish I could just forget about it. My right leg had no feeling in it at all for a few weeks after the incident. I'm sure that I'm a bit less sane than when you last saw me from the suffering.
I would love to have more people right now. I have a feeling I won't see any more familiar faces for a long time, so it'd be fantastic if you could come, Ben. Thank you for checking up on me.
Yours truly, June ♡
In that instant, he knew what needed to be done.
The next morning, Ben said his farewells to his tearful aunts and uncles and readied himself to take off to Switzerland.
4
'There, that should do it.' June slipped the parchment into the envelope. 'Hopefully Ben wouldn't get too overwhelmed by it,' she chuckled to herself—an intriguing sight from her in a long time.
'Do you think he's gonna come, June?' asked Steven.
'Of course, he will,' mused June. 'although… I don't think he will be too engaged.'
'You told him?'
'I took it too seriously, despite being maimed for life-long, you mean.' said June softly, with some emotion.
'No, June. Believe in yourself, you can do anything. Wasn't your dream to become an athlete?' said Steven.
She didn't reply. Her green eyes stared forward blindly, lost in thought.
Sammy knew something was up, so he initially shuffled across the couch to get closer. June's hand held the envelope, fiddling it with her fingers, her blonde hair resting on her shoulders.
'There's something I haven't told you about…' began June. 'Not all wounds can heal, and not all dreams can become reality.'
'What do you mean?' asked Steven, a little overwhelmed.
'Last week when we went mountain climbing… remember at some point I told you I was exhausted and couldn't climb to the top?
'Truth be told, it's because the pain came back, at some point my legs just gave out. I thought it was just memories, but no. The pain triggers the memories and the memories trigger more pain, and so on,' she said matter-of-factly. My dream had been crushed; I can never do long runs again.' She began crying, and streaks of tears rolled out uncontrollably.
Oh wow. thought Sammy, dismayed. Oh wow.
It would never mend. Steven realised. She's too young to have a limb problem. 'Come on June, we'll go and get that letter of yours sorted.' said Steven, helping June to her feet. Uneased of her mind, she nodded.
5
The entire nation of Switzerland was snowing heavily, two weeks after Christmas Day. Ben called a taxi which drove him to Bern, where they lived.
June was looking out of the window when he arrived, she inhaled in awe as Ben came off with sunglasses and a full suit. He'd be flexing. June thought in amusement. He gestured for the driver to go, took off his sunglasses, and walked up to their front lawn from the sidewalk. He seemed to have seen her and gave her a wink before knocking on the front door.
She opened the door and smiled brightly, dazzling Ben. 'June, it's really you!' stuttered Ben, can't help but grin.
'Nice to see you, Ben.' said Steven across the doorway.
'C'mon in, it's pretty cold outside there,' June said, which made Ben blush. He quickly stepped inside and closed the door behind him.
'Don't mind me, I don't deserve to have this much money, but my father passed away indirectly by the tsunami, and here we are,' explained Ben, taking out two boxes. 'This is a gift for you and your brother.'
June unwrapped hers and yelled in excitement to find a brand-new pair of skis that glowed in the dark; Sammy got a remote-controlled drone. 'Merry late Christmas, but it's better than never.' said Ben.
'Thank you, Ben.' June hugged him which made him turn red again.
'You're welcome,' said Ben, who struggled to keep his composure. He quickly changed the topic. 'Sorry for your parents, we both lost someone close to us that day.' Not until his last moment. thought Ben.
'I'm beginning to see a trend,' joked Steven, 'This house is turning itself into an orphanage.'
'Shut up, Steven!' fumed Sammy, startling everyone. 'That's not true!'
June shrugged, 'Never mind, Sammy.' she turned to Ben again. 'Do you want to live with us?' she asked, 'I have a feeling you didn't really plan on where to live before you came here.' She was right, of course, as Ben would feel pretty stupid going back to his aunt after telling them he'd be gone forever.
'I'd love to,' replied Ben. 'And I can take care of all the living costs. Lucky me, I guess.' He nodded at Steven, who nodded back.
'Really?'
'We can share, half and half,' Ben winked. 'How does that sound… cousin?'
Sammy and June choked. 'You are cousins?' she looked at Steven, shocked.
'We are, surprisingly, brothers,' replied Steven. 'Even if we don't look like it, not one bit.'
'Well, that's some new information in a while.'
'Yep,' said Ben's mouth while his mind was admiring every detail of her figure.
6
(1964)
I remember clearly that day when we snowboarded down a slope of the Alps and played with snow. thought June, lying in bed that night in Kristiansand, her hands holding her ankles, her knees pointing at the roof. It's weirdly coincidental, that Ozin came a week later leading to an anti-climatic life-saving interaction. It's almost as if he noticed us on the mountain that day. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, reliving the moment, she could see
(1935)
herself backing up as if startled by something gasped then cried out, 'Ohh!!' her legs buckling underneath. Ben reached out just in time for her to fall back into his arms.
Ben helped her up. 'Are you okay?' he asked.
Panting, she nodded, 'I'm okay.' Then she stood up just in time to see Sammy and Steven high-fiving each other. 'One down, one more to go!'
'That's not fair, Steven!' she started playfully. 'You hit my only weak spot you could ever find.'
'All fair in love and war,' replied Steven matter-of-factly and gathered more snowballs. 'Not to mention my godlike accura-' He was silenced by a direct hit in the chest from a snowball that Ben threw before he could finish his sentence.
'Think twice.' he called from afar. June laughed so hard she went sprawling in the snow.
'Okay okay. I surrender. You win. Though I highly underestimated you, Ben. Don't tell me you also excel in throwing sports at school?'
'Never mind that,' Ben helped June to her feet. 'Let's head back for lunch, you must be hungry.'
'Wow,' June stared at him in awe. 'I didn't know you had such good throws.'
'Well, you didn't know I have 17 aunts and uncles in total either,' shrugged Ben. 'though that's hardly-'
'Did you hear that?' exclaimed June. 'I heard something in the distance.'
Sammy and Ben nodded. Steven seemed confused. 'Hear what?' he asked.
Weird. thought June.