When Time Runs Out (Part 1) - Story Day

I realized the other day that I have a flashfiction written in almost every genre except romance. I even have one that borders on horror, depending on where the story went after I stopped writing it. I decided I may as well be able to say that I've written flash fiction in every major genre, and so I present you with a romance that is no more. It ended up being longer than expected, so I chopped it into two parts and you'll get the second part next week. :) Enjoy! (Oh, and give me romance tips. 'Cause I've never written it before and it's cringey. XD)

The Prompt

"As she flicked through the letters, a small, handwritten envelope caught her attention and her heart began to beat against her ribcage."

-TMDWA (The Most Dangerous Writing App)

The Story

As she flicked through the letters, a small, handwritten envelope caught her attention and her heart began to beat against her ribcage.

Gracie

That's all it said. Just that one word, written in a beautiful, looping script she'd never seen before.

Who would write a letter to her dead sister?

Trembling, Kara reached for the envelope, pushing the newspapers and magazines and bills away in order to focus on that one precious word. Tears blurred her vision as a deep ache settled in her chest, making her throat hurt.

Should she read it?

It's not like Gracie is here to get after me for snooping, she thought. But she didn't want to mar the beautiful lettering of the envelope by tearing into it. Instead, Kara went through the trouble of finding an envelope opener and slitting the top as neatly as she could.

The papers inside were crisp and white, filled with the same almost-perfect handwriting. Kara sniffed and flicked an escaped tear away, folding the pages out in front of her.

My darling Gracie,

Today is the anniversary of our meeting. Do you remember all those years ago when we ran into each other at the ice cream shop and I spilled my coffee ice cream all over the front of your white sweater? I thought I was about to meet my Lord right then and there.

But you laughed instead and wiped it off, telling me that you had worn that sweater in the hopes that something would stain it so you could get rid of it and never have to look at it again.

Oh, sweet girl, I miss you.

Do you remember all those times late at night when we'd sit on my parents' veranda and dream about the great beyond? You always thought there were aliens out there, somewhere, just waiting to be found. I secretly thought it was ridiculous, but I never contradicted you for fear you'd leave me.

Now I know better.

I suppose the point of this long, rambling letter is simply to tell you that... I love you. I do. I know I never said it out loud, but I'm pretty sure you already knew.

Regardless of what you were aware of, I thought you should know.

Kara paused reading and furrowed her brow. Despite the perfect lettering that was almost girlish in its flourishes, this sounded like her sister had had an admirer - and a hopeless romantic at that.

One that Gracie had known about but never shared with her family. Why had she kept him a secret? Their parents would have been proud and excited. Kara herself would have wanted to know all the details and meet him as soon as possible. So why had Gracie kept him to herself?

Do you remember that day I found you crying in your car, and you told me to go away, to leave you be? Do you remember how I broke into your car because I knew you couldn't be alone? Do you remember letting me hold you as you told me how alone you felt in your family, how unloved and worthless?

Kara stopped reading again. Her sister had never said a thing about that. Of course she had been loved! Why would she think she wasn't? She swallowed and glanced back at the page.

That was the day I determined to love you as much as a poor boy like I could. That's when I started buying you gifts, do you remember? You would blush every time and stammer something about how nice it was.

A half-smile lifted Kara's lips. Ahh, so that's where all her random junk came from. None of the knick-knacks had ever served any purpose, and all of them were ridiculously ugly, but Gracie had doted on them.

After a while, you said I had to stop or your parents and sister would get suspicious of your sudden wealth. So I tried to be there for you, to show you that I was willing to clear anything out of my schedule in order to spend time with you. To show you that you were important with me. I would do little things for you, like open doors or pull out a chair for you. I'm not sure you ever noticed those little things, but they were my way of trying to say, "I love you."

This letter is the hardest way of showing my love I've ever had to do. I've always felt incapable with my words, like I'm too blundering or too wordy. So I never wrote you any notes or said all the things I should have said so long ago.

I love you, Grace Marie. More than life itself.

---

Part 2 coming next week. :)

What was the worst part about this fanfiction? The best? Which part did you cringe at the hardest? What are your best romance tips? Was it a bad idea for me to even try? XD

Until next time,

Take courage, pursue God, and smile while you still have teeth!! ^_^

-Joelle

(P.S. I do believe the solution to the subscribers-not-getting-emails problem has been fixed! Thanks to the amazing Saraina Whitney, that is. *bows to Saraina* Let me know if you got an email for this post and haven't been getting any before so I can make sure that we found the problem. Thank you!)