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Chapter One by Nancybe |
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| Julia
stood on the precipice looking down at the dark
man on the beachfront below her. She watched for
a moment as he walked along the sand, head down,
shoulders hunched against the wind. His stance
and demeanor reflected the melancholy that she
knew reigned in his soul, and her own emotions
were as turbulent as the sea before her. She had
thought she had understood his mood all these
months,but apparently she had not. Her
assumptions had driven her away from him in an
effort to protect herself from more heartbreak.
But what she had learned tonight – from a
surprising source – had made her question
her own instincts, instincts that had always
served her so very well in the past. As Julia had made the trek from Collinwood to the Old House earlier in the evening, she had reflected on what had transpired between Barnabas and herself over the past few months. She had hoped that his grief over losing Angelique would dissipate after a time. She had been supportive but had also given him time alone to work through his pain. Her motives in this last were not purely unselfish. She had needed time as well to deal with her own grief, a grief precipitated by his sudden realization that he had loved Angelique after all. Julia shook her head. How could he possibly believe…? She didn’t bother to finish the thought. She had been over and over it, and it never failed to make her heart constrict in her chest. It had been painful for her to be with him when his grief had been the most acute. Eventually, he had stopped mentioning his late wife in every sentence, and Julia had hoped that he would finally be able to build a new life. His curse had not returned and endless possibilities lay before him for the first time in two centuries. A normal life. How long had he yearned for a normal life? Now the future was open to him, and yet, he did not seem able to emerge from his depression and move on. She had thought that perhaps, once he had moved on, that he would find his way to her. But as the weeks turned into months, her dreams began to seem like silly schoolgirl fantasies. She had decided that it was time to think of herself for a change and her own well being. She had always felt in her element at Wyndcliffe, and she decided to devote her energies to re-building her career. She had thrown herself full-force into her work, spending less and less time at Collinwood, and subsequently, less and less time with Barnabas. She found solace in her work but failed to recognize that she was slowly erecting a protective barrier around her heart. The old patterns were comforting, but she had forgotten that their close companion was loneliness. MORE TO COME. Parts: |