Once upon a time, there was a beautiful girl named Annabella (which means Grace and Beauty.) She loved to sit outside in the garden under the midnight stars as they shined brightly, the wind blowing through her beautiful hair, bursting with gigantic curls. Annabella closes her lovely, mysterious, midnight blue eyes, taking in the breathtaking smells of the garden, feeling the cool and gentle breeze as it blows through the warm evening air, listening to the delightful sounds of the waterfall and the pleasant chirping of the crickets. There, there is a welcomed peace.
There was a handsome boy named Caleb (which means Faithful and Bold), admiring Annabella through the magnificent rose bushes. Caleb had always loved Annabella but had never told her. He stood there, trembling, trying to determine if he should go talk to her or not. Caleb finally mustered up enough courage, took a deep breath, and slowly began the walk towards the bench opposite Annabella, quietly sitting down, she never heard him.
Opening her eyes, Annabella was surprised to discover Caleb, with his deep, caring, sea green eyes, watching her. Annabella blushed and smiled.
“May I sit with you awhile?” asked Caleb?
“Of course you may. What are you doing out here this late?”
“Just admiring the beauty of God’s creations. I should ask the same of you, Bella.”
“Thinking.”
“About anything in particular?” asked Caleb.
“ Life. My future. God. Love. You know, all the things a girl thinks about.”
“That’s quite a lot to think about. Do you come here to think often?”
“Yes, I do. It’s a quiet and thought provoking place.”
“Maybe I should let you get back to your thinking then. I’m sorry to have interrupted you Bella. Good nights and sweet thinking.”
“You don’t have to go Caleb. I don’t mind sharing my thinking space, or time. It’s nice to have someone around to bounce ideas off of once in a while.”
Hours passed as Caleb and Annabella sat under the stars, discussing everything and then some. They laughed at things from childhood, and dreamt of things to come. They talked about what they wanted to do in the future, both wanting to help others in their chosen professions, Bella desiring to become a nurse, and Caleb, a firefighter. They talked about the beauty of the garden, the smells and sounds that it held, and how peaceful it was. They talked about the hope of some day getting married, and the beautiful children they would have, neither one of them brave enough to think about the possibility of their future together.
The sun was starting to rise, orange, blue, pink, and purple, above the waterfall before they realized it.
“Oh my goodness, what time is it?” asked Bella.
“6:15am – wow, we’ve been talking for six hours, I think that’s a record!”
“I do believe I should be heading back to the house, it’s time to get ready for the day.”
“Thank you for allowing me to stay and talk with you in the garden, Bella. I enjoyed it very much. You are very bright and caring.”
Blushing, Annabella replied, “As are you. You are welcome to join me anytime.”
“I will, my love, don’t worry,” whispered Caleb as they parted their separate ways.
On her way home, all Bella could think about was Caleb and the fantastic conversations they had had. She had known Caleb most of her life, but this was the first time she had seen Caleb in a different light. In the light of the stars, he looked almost grown and kind of, handsome in a way.
“What am I doing, thinking about Caleb like that? He’s just my friend. I’ve known him forever. He’s still the gross little boy that used to pull my pigtails,” thought Annabella to herself, “I can’t think of him LIKE THAT, can I?”
Caleb grinned from ear to ear all the way home. He was replaying the conversation from that night over and over again.
“Bella’s so beautiful, the stars brought out the twinkle in her eyes. She really cares about important things,” thought Caleb, over and over again.
“Will she ever think of me LIKE THAT, or will I always be her ‘little brother?”
A mystery to both of them, Caleb and Annabella had the same uncertainties about their relationship.
A few nights later while sitting on the sofa reading, Annabella’s phone rings, slightly confused because it’s getting late, she answers.
“Hello?”
“Hi Bella, it’s Caleb. I was wondering if you would like to go for a walk. It’s a beautiful night, the crickets are chirping and the moon’s so bright you can see as if it were daylight.”
“Caleb, it’s almost eleven p.m. Is everything alright?”
“Everything’s fine, I just thought you would enjoy the incredibe radiance of tonight. The full moon is perfect for photographing.”
Caleb caught her attention there. Full moon? Radiant evening? Photographing? He knew just want to say to get her to agree. He pulled at her heart strings.
“Sure. When and where?”
“Now. Look outside.”
“Caleb, I’m in my pajamas, hang on a second!”
Running up stairs to change into some comfy clothes, Bella has a grin as big as Texas.
Once changed out of her pajamas and into a pair of black sweatpants and a pink t-shirt, Bella applied a dab of blush and a touch of lip gloss. Taking a deep breath she collected herself and headed back down the stairs.
“Why am I so nervous?” Bella asked herself, “it’s just Caleb.” But somewhere deep inside, she knew why. Grabbing her camera, she took one last deep breath before opening the door.
To her surprise, Caleb was wearing blue jeans and a brown polo. Bella allowed herself to acknowledge that he looked mighty handsome, standing there on her porch late at night, moon shining bright above, with a boyish grin on his face.
“I’m so glad you agreed to walk with me. It would have been quite embarrassing to be standing on your porch and for you to have refused,” he said with a wink.
They walked down the road in silence for a few minutes, until they came upon a field of wildflowers.
“What’s your favorite color?” asked Caleb.
“Purple. Why?”
Running into the field, Caleb finds a huge handful of all different kinds of purple wildflowers. Returning to Bella with a sweetly nervous smile, he hands her the flowers, “That’s why.”
Admiring their beauty and being enticed by their sent, Bella said, “They’re beautiful, thank you.”
“Beautiful flowers for a beautiful girl.”
“Oh no!” thought Caleb, “Did I just say that out loud?”
Bella blushed, “That’s so sweet. Thank you. You aren’t too bad looking yourself,” Said Bella with a sweet yet sly smile.
Taking Bella’s camera from her hand, Caleb started to snap pictures of her dancing around the field, in the moonlight, admiring her flowers. She was beaming as bright as the moon. Shortly afterwards, they started to take pictures together, the field and mountains towering behind them made a beautiful landscape, even in the dark. Before long, a summer storm raged upon them, splitting thunder, exploding lightning, and hammering rain drenched them. Sprinting through the gigantic puddles that were now flooding the streets, Annabella slipped and fell, twisting her ankle in the process. Rushing to her rescue, Caleb scooped up the drenched Bella, carrying her back to her house.
Once inside, Caleb went to get the shivering Bella a towel to wrap around her and keep her warm. By this time, Bella’s ankle had begun to swell a little, the sweet Caleb returned with the towel, wrapped it around her, and went to the kitchen to get some ice to keep the swelling down. Being in a great deal of pain from the sprain, Bella asks Caleb to bring her some pain reliever from the cabinet. Grabbing two pain relievers, a bag of ice and pouring two glasses of sweet tea, Caleb heads back into the living room to check on his patient. With a thankful smile, she takes the pills with a long gulp of tea as Caleb places the bag of ice on her ankle.
“What a great way to ruin the evening, I’m sorry I’m such a klutz.”
“It’s not your fault. I’m sorry that the rain ruined our walk, it was beautiful when I first called you.”
“It’s not your fault either, do you want to watch a movie since you’re already here?” ask Annabella hopefully.
“I’d love to.”
Struggling to get up Annabella says, “I’m going to go change out of these wet clothes, I’ll be right back.”
“Let me help you.”
“I’ve got it, thank you though,” just as those words came out of her mouth, Caleb caught her as she started to teeter.
“Can I help you now?”
Laughing, Bella agreed to allow him to help her. Picking her up as if she weighed nothing, she put her arms around his broad shoulders and was carried to her bedroom.
Sitting Bella on her bed, Caleb asked, “Can I bring your clothes to you? I don’t want you trying to walk around the room after trying to walk in the living room.”
Bella’s face turned a light shade of pink, “Sure, just grab a pair of sweatpants and a shirt out of the closet, but excuse the mess.”
Caleb handed her a pair of dark blue pants and a yellow shirt that brought out the color of her eyes, “I’ll be outside, call me when you’re finished.”
Closing the door behind him, Caleb stood in the hallway. He heard movement in Bella’s room and knew she was trying to move around the room on her own.
After changing her clothes, Bella was determined to get over to her dresser to put fresh deodorant on and fix her hair, which was now one giant frizz ball. Slowly hobbling along, she eventually made it. Pulling her hair back into a barrette and applying a touch of lip gloss, she looked into the mirror and thought to herself, “I don’t look too good, but this is as good as it gets, he’ll have to live with it.”
Making her way back to her bed, she sat down, exhausted, and called to Caleb that she was finished. When he walked back in to get her, he was speechless. There she was, sitting on her bed, hair still frizzy, eyes shining bright, looking so innocent and young, but yet so beautiful. He couldn’t help but smile.
Once again he picked her up with no effort and carried her back to the couch. Flipping on the T.V they skimmed the channels for something to watch, settling on a cheaply made comedy. Fifteen minutes later Bella was starting to get hungry, “Do you want some popcorn?” she asked.
“I’ll get it. Where do you keep it?”
“In the cabinet beside the microwave, top shelf.”
“Good place for it. Can you reach it all the way up here?” he asked with a chuckle in his voice as he peered around the corner.
Laughing, Bella responded, “Don’t pick on me just because I’m short.”
“Would I do such a thing?” Caleb asked as he put the popcorn into the microwave and set the timer.
“You? Never!” teased Bella.
Searching the kitchen for a bowl to put the popcorn in, Caleb finds a large metal one in the cabinet by the refrigerator. Dumping the popcorn in, he returns to Bella in the living room. Sitting beside her on the couch, he hands her a blanket and the popcorn. Laughing at how ridicules the movie was Bella realized what an incredible laugh Caleb had and how a once boring night was turning into the best adventure she could have asked for. Halfway through the movie, Bella became sleepy. Absentmindedly, she leaned over and curled up against Caleb. Smiling to himself, Caleb put his arm around her and held her while she slept.
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