Written Stars
Magnolia Robbins
Copyright © 2017 by Magnolia Robbins. All Rights Reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of very brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
1.
Megan
Amber Dreams – The Girl in the Wild, by O.S. Ellis
The day I had turned twenty four I decided to venture into the wilderness. I’d just lost my mother, a woman who, in all her years of living, had never let fear stop her from anything. She’d told me right before she died that if ever anything stopped me in life, she hoped it wasn’t from lack of trying. That I would do everything I ever dreamed and do it big and grand and marvelously.
So, even with my terror of what lied ahead. What little knowledge I had of surviving. What things in my life I had to put on hold to do it. I left. I put my doubts behind me and I traveled into the great unknown, letting my dreams drive me forward and fate play its hand. And it was the most amazing thing I’d ever done.
.........................
It was three nights into the new year when I’d first met Olivia. I remember because it is when the big snowstorm hit Portland. Everyone was panicked out of their minds and out buying groceries. I knew because I was one of those lunatics.
“I can’t hear you,” I yell into the phone, trying to overcome the noise level of the massive amounts of people crowding the isles.
“Don’t forget to get water! Everyone forgets water!” Claire calls back to me. I look down at the three dozen bottled waters in my shopping cart, amongst various other things.
“Got it. I’ll see you in a little while.” I don’t know if she hears me or not but I hang up regardless.
It takes me another half hour to fight through the crowds and get all my groceries checked out. The cart rattles as I drive it onto the pavement towards the SUV parked across the street. After I have loaded everything into the car, I gently push the rickety thing to its stall.
Redford Books catches my eye down the way. Its old weathered sign hangs above the store. The open light flashes in the window. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been inside the place. My mother had taken my sister and me when we were kids. Every Friday she’d let us wander the shelves with all the used books. We’d collected so many over the years there were boxes and boxes stored in my basement.
Something about it looks magical. I couldn’t keep from staring. Even when I sat down in my car, putting my keys into the ignition, my eyes peer back in my rear view mirror.
“Oh, what the hell.” I mutter to myself and hop out. There had to be at least another good thirty minutes before the snow was going to fall. I wander over to the building, reminiscing on old memories as I pull open the door.
“Is it snowing yet?” the woman behind the counter asks me when I enter.
“Just some flurries. They said it should hit at about eight.”
“Well, have yourself a quick look around then. We’re going to close up shop early today.”
Before she turns away, I catch her glance. “Can you tell me if Mr. Redford still works here?”
“Megan Riley, is that you?” The voice comes to my right and before I’m able to respond I am pulled into a massive hug.
“David!” I smile, hugging him back gently. His salt and pepper hair looked good on him.
“You’re looking well,” I laugh softly as we part. He pats my back and leads me down the History isle, leaning into me.
“Your mother told me you finished law school and you’re working as a defense attorney?” When I nod, he looks genuinely impressed. “Well good for you sweetheart. I always told her you were going to do big things.”
“When did you see her last?”
“Oh, she came in here a few weeks ago looking for some sort of cookbook. I can’t remember what the name of it was. Are you two still going through that spell?”
I nod, my mood turning somewhat somber at the mention of it. “It’s okay though. She’s entitled to her opinion.”
“Well if you ask me, the heart can’t help what the heart wants.” He gives me a little nudge and I squeeze his arm. “Thanks, David.”
“You let me know if you need anything, alright?” I nod and he turns away from me, heading back up around the counter.
I spend a long while wandering the isles, letting my hands roll over the books and remembering the childhood memories I had here. When I reach the shelves of used literary treasures in the back, I take my time rooting through them, wondering if I’d find any old ones I used to read with my sister, Claire.
My eyes catch glance of a weathered book with green and gold binding. As I reach up to pull it off the shelf, my hand touches another and we linger there for a moment before both of us pull back.
“You go ahead,” I say as I turn to meet her. She is a stunning looking woman, with beautiful curly dark brown hair and the most enchanting green eyes. She wears a spunky looking purple beany and a burnt orange button down coat. Something about her is incredibly intriguing. I guess I stared at her for an awkward amount of time because she gives me a funny smile.
“After you,” she says to me, nodding at the book.
“I don’t even know what it is,” I admit, looking at the cover.
“You’ve never read Amber Dreams?” The woman laughs softly. Even so, it fills the room and sends a flutter through me, the likes of which I’d never felt before. “It’s a classic.” She pulls it off the shelf and flips through its pages. You could tell by the look of it that it had been well loved. “Written by a marvelous author. I hear she’s from Portland.”
“Really? What’s it about?”
The woman looks me over for a moment. “It’s the story about a daring young woman who goes on this big life-changing trip through the wilderness to rediscover herself.” When she hands it to me, I study the cover, looking at all the creases and folds in the book.
“It must be a good story,” I decide, noting its condition.
“I would know, seeing as I wrote it.” She gave me a cheesy wink and smiles.
My heart skips a little beat. “You wrote it? You’re joking.”
“I’m as serious as a heart attack,” she replies. “I always hated that saying. Why would you ever joke about a heart attack?”
“That’s amazing.” I am genuinely in awe of her.
The woman pauses for a moment before she gives me a smile. It sends my heart aflutter. “I’m Olivia,” she removes her hand from its black glove and offers it to me.
“Megan,” I reply, smiling back at her. “Nice to meet you, Ms. Famous Author.”
“I wouldn’t exactly say I’m famous,” she says as we walk down the aisle together. “I just got lucky.”
“You have a book in a bookstore, that’s pretty amazing to me.”
The two of us can’t stop smiling for some reason. We stand in silence for a moment before I work up the courage to ask her what is on my mind. “Can I buy you a cup of coffee?”
“I don’t think so,” Oliva says immediately and my heart sinks a little. When my face drops I see her smile and let out a little laugh. “You can buy me a hot chocolate though.”
.........................
&
nbsp; Double Shot Café is open down the street from Redford’s. I insist on paying David for the book and then the two of us decide to walk. The snow is already starting to pick up but I am too captivated by our conversation to notice or care.
“So you lived in the wilderness for a month all by yourself?” I ask, in awe.
Oliva nods. “Yep, just me and old Mother Nature. I wouldn’t have traded it for the world.”
“What made you want to do something like that?” I hold the door open for her when we arrive and she skips in. The way she moves so carefree and innocent makes me feel happy inside. Some part of me wishes I was like her.
“Why does anyone want to do anything? If you ask me, I think it was just meant to be. It was something I was destined to do.”
“Two hot chocolates please,” I tell the lady working the counter, with a smile.
“What happened to coffee?” Olivia asks me as I pay for our drinks.
“I like to live on the wild side,” I smile as we walk to an empty table along the back wall of the café. “So you believe in destiny?”
“You don’t?” She looks at me curiously.
“I just think that people are ultimately in control of how their life works out. They are responsible for the choices they make and the consequences of those decisions.”
“Let me guess. I bet you’re a lawyer or a cop or something, am I right?” Olivia raises an eyebrow at me as the barista brought us our drinks.
“Thank you,” I say as she sits them on the table. My shocked glance returns to Oliva, who looks pleased with herself. “Wow. I’m a lawyer. How did—“.
“Before you ask, I have a gift. I was always good at figuring out people. My mom used to say I was like Sherlock Holmes.” Oliva smiles at me, taking a sip of her hot chocolate. “Oh my God, this is so good.”
“I’m pretty sure you’ve probably seen me on television or something,” I roll my eyes at her, taking a sip of my drink. She’s right. It is delicious. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had something sweet.
“You’re on television? Are you an actor on Law and Order?”
“I meant the news..” I let out a laugh. “You mean you don’t know who I am?”
“I don’t regularly follow the happenings of the local judiciary system.”
For some reason, the fact that she is oblivious relieves me. “It’s not like it’s the most interesting thing in the world.”
“I’m sure you make it a lot more interesting,” Olivia says and then I catch her face go crimson, looking down at her mug.
The feeling that she gives me inside my chest is intense. In an attempt not to embarrass her further, I avert my eyes for a moment, looking out the glass windows in the front of the building. “Man, it’s really coming down out there.”
Olivia turns the upper half of her body to look behind her. I watch her stare at the snow, those beautiful green eyes bright and full of life. Her face lights up when she turns back towards me. “Let’s go make snow angels!”
2.
Olivia
I’d never felt so small looking up to the stars that first night. They filled the sky around me in every direction. All I could think of was how amazing it felt to have existed. Even my tiny speck of a life in the grand scheme of the universe. Here I was. Breathing the fresh mountain air. Sleeping under a bed full of stars. It reminded me how short and precious time is. That as cliché as it always sounded, we should enjoy every moment of it.
.........................
“I’m going to the bookstore!” I yell from the kitchen, grabbing my keys off the counter.
I can hear the newscaster prattling on in the other room. When I turn the corner to catch glances with Lauren, her lady friend Stephanie is buried in the side of her neck on the couch.
“Are you nuts?” She asks me in between soft pants. “The weatherman just forecasted FEET of snow, Olivia. FEET.”
“And when we’re stuck inside tomorrow with nothing to do, you’ll be jealous that I have a plethora of books and you don’t.” I give her a goofy smile.
“Oh, I’ll have plenty to do,” Lauren says and nods towards the girl. “We can share if you want.”
“I think I’m good,” I walk over to give her a gentle kiss on the forehead. “You two have fun. I’ll be back in a bit.”
“Be careful out there!” Lauren manages to get in before she’s back to her entertainment.
Redford Bookstore is probably one of the most historic places in all of Portland. It had been around forever. I’d been going there ever since I was a little kid. My dad used to take me on Sundays to wander the aisles and pick out new books to read. I don’t think I knew of anyone who had a bigger collection of novels.
It is about a twenty minute walk from Lauren and I’s apartment to the store. I didn’t like to drive if I couldn’t help it. I’d have an hour or so to kill before the snow started to fall hard, so it wouldn’t be too big of a deal.
The store has a few patrons but it was mostly barren. I decided that they were all too busy buying up the entire grocery store across the street. I swear, those people who acted like the apocalypse was coming because of a little bit of snow were crazy.
David Redford, the owner, gave me a smile as I wandered down through the store.
“How are you doing sweetheart?” He asks me as he shelved some books.
“Oh, about as good as any other day, I suppose. Got anything good in?”
“We have some new mystery novels up front. I’d go check out the used books though, if I were you. I think someone dropped something off you might find interesting.”
Just as I am about to turn to head in that direction, a girl catches my eye. She’d wandered in out of the snow, dressed in a black button down coat and a pair of khaki slacks. The boots she has on probably cost more than my rent payment. Tiny flakes of snow are melting in her pretty dark brown hair.
I realize I had been staring for an awkward amount of time when I saw David go up to greet her. They seemed like old friends. She breaks away from him and I hide down an aisle as she passes me, heading back towards the used books.
God, you are such a creeper, I think to myself as I wander behind her. David had said there was something back here he wanted me to see, so I rationalized my odd behavior due to that. When I turned the corner away from the woman, I see what he’d sent me to find. Sitting on a shelf was that familiar green and gold bound book I am so fond of. It looked worn out and loved beyond recognition and it made me so happy to see it that way. As I reach up to pluck it from the shelf, my hand collides with hers. We linger there for a moment and then I turn to look into her eyes.
The two of us stand behind the strip mall where Double Shot Café sat. There is a huge hill and a field that ran along its backside. Megan stares at me with her big beautiful brown eyes. “So what exactly is a ‘snow angel’? Is it like a snowman?”
I shake my head in disbelief. “I can’t believe you don’t know what a snow angel is. You’ve been through what—twelve years of college? Did you live under a rock?”
“Seven,” Megan corrects me. Before she could say another word, I gently push her and she tips backwards and falls into the snow behind her. She lands on her butt and catches herself with her hands.
“What the hell!” She stares up at me.
“Lay back,” I explain and fall down beside her. I let my arms wave up and down against the snow and spread my legs in and out. “Do what I’m doing.” Megan looks completely confused but imitates my movements anyway. I manage to sit up and then help her to her feet.
When we turn back to look at our masterpieces on the ground, Megan’s face fills with a smile and she lets out a laugh that is the most beautiful sound I’ve ever heard.
“They do look like angels,” she says, squatting down to admire our work.
“Yeah,” my voice trails off, watching her beneath the light of the streetlamp. When she turns around a pile of snow hits me square in the face. This time it’s my turn t
o be surprised.
“Woops,” Megan says with a laugh. Just as I recover and lean down to gather a bundle of my own snow, she takes off up and over the hill. We run around like giggling schoolgirls taking turns tossing piles at one another. When she finally starts to lose her breath, I catch up to her. I can't slow down. Our bodies knock into one another and we tumble into the fallen snow.
She lands on top of me somehow and I stare up at her, both of us motionless. We pant lightly, neither of us opting to move. There’s a strand of hair caught on the front of her face and I reach up and move it with my gloved fingers. When I do, she leans down and softly places her lips to mine. It is a subtle kiss and one I was not expecting. I hadn’t imagined for a second that someone as beautiful and enchanting as she was would ever have any interest in a girl like me.
The kiss was over before it had even began.
“I’m sorry,” she says, embarrassed. She rolls off of me and gets to her feet. “I don’t know what I was thinking.”
“I didn’t mind,” I reply, watching her from the ground. She blushes when I say it and it was the cutest thing. I wouldn’t mind doing it again, I think to myself, watching her.
“I probably should get home,” she dusts herself off, looking out towards the parking lot.
“Can I walk you to your car at least?” I ask as I stand.
“Sure,” she says, smiling at me. The two of us make our way back down the hill. By the time we reach the pavement, I have a very bad feeling about the whole car situation. The snow has accumulated much faster than either of us had noticed. It is nearly up to my knees and we both have trouble wading our way through it. The parking lot is mostly barren and what few cars remained were half covered in snow.
“Shit,” Megan groans as we made our way over to her car. “I should have known better.”
I probably shouldn’t have said it, but it came out anyway. “See, it was destiny.”
Megan looks at me in disbelief. “No, it was my poor lack of judgement.”
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