Chapter 8

"What are you thinking of?" I asked while hugging her from behind. Her head tucked under my chin.

She shrugs her shoulders and plays with my fingers that are resting on her stomach.

"I know you are thinking," I said against her glorious red hair.

"Hmm," she only humming to answer me.

She distangled my hands, stood up, and run away from me.

Her laughter is echoing through the woods.

Her braided hair is bouncing while she runs.

Her long blue dress is waving behind her.

Why did she choose to wear that dress today?

That's her favourite dress, the one that she wears only for special occasions.

Bright sunshine is hovering above us magnificently, making her glowing against the dull green of trees and brown of ground and rocks.

"Catch me, and I'll tell you what I think!" She said without looking back.

I know she will tell me even if I don't catch her.

She always does.

But between her and I, we both know that she always loses.

She wants me to catch her, so I run after her.

"I'm running!" I yelled at her faraway figure that got closer in each second I ran after her.

"I know!" She yelled back and laughs.

In a matter of seconds, I reached her and lock my arms around her small body.

She shrieks and screams but didn't resist me.

I laugh against her shoulder, and then she said it.

For the first time, she said the words that I've been waiting to hear from her mouth.

Words that are easily coming out of my mouth with so much certainty after only known her for a couple of days.

Words that I only ever said to her.

Words that make her nervous and feeling sorry for not be able to say it back to me.

Words that she never said to anyone before.

Words that she kept to herself because she wants to say them to the right person.

Words that she promised to herself she will only say to one person.

"I think I love you, Gale." Her voice almost like a whisper – like a secret prayer.

"Ava..." I whispered back and slowly raise my head from her shoulder.

"I really do..."

Her hair is dishevelled from all the running.

Curtains of red hair barricading her face from my line of sight.

I can only see her nose and parted lips.

She slowly turned around to face me...

-----

Gale woke up shocked and gasping for air.

His eyes wide and his forehead sheen with sweat.

Heart hammering on his chest, and he felt his cheeks heating. He was blushing.

He sat on his bed to calm his breathing inside the guest room of the Ledford – formerly Blackwell house.

He looked to the bedside table and took his phone.

It was only half-past four in the morning, and he sighed.

At least, he didn't feel any dizziness or nausea like the last time he dreamt of Ava.

This dream that he just got... Just trying to remember made his heart starts beating faster. He felt his cheeks getting warmer despite the fact that they're already hot.

Gale raised both of his hands and looked at them.

Not long ago, he was holding Ava with these hands inside the dream. The feeling of her flesh under the fabric of her dress still tingling on his skin. She was so small under his arms. It felt so real...

Her nose...

Did he saw freckles? He hopes he didn't only imagine it and really saw freckles scattering on her skin.

Her parted lips were naturally pink and luscious.

Gale sighed, but then he smiled softly at the images from the dream he just had.

That was a beautiful dream.

"She must be real," He said to himself as he stood up and got out of his room. "She has to be."

He wants her now, not just because he was curious. He knew he always wants her. Like dream Gale always said, he loved Ava Shelley.

Whatever happens, he will find her.

After three days staying with Ben's family, Gale already familiar with their schedule. At this time, either Ben or Molly already awake because of baby Dani.

When Gale reaches the kitchen, he sat down on one of the stools unceremoniously, startling Ben whose making coffee on the counter across from the island.

"For goodness' sake! Are you a ghost? Why are you coming unannounced without making a sound like that?!" Ben said as he rubs his chest in shock.

"Can I get a cup of coffee, please?" Gale asked with a giddy smile.

Ben took another mug from the upper cupboard. "What are you doing up at this hour anyway? It's not even sunrise yet." Ben said as he poured the coffee into two mugs while looking weirdly at Gale's strange behaviour.

Gale took the mug Ben offered him with a grateful smile. He was not in the mood to tell anyone about this dream. What he felt in that dream was private and very intimate. But at the same time, Gale wants to tell the world that he was now sure of Ava Shelley's existence. People might call him crazy for this, but Gale doesn't care. He would find Ava, and he knows he would fall in love with her in an instance when he saw her. She's real.

Ava is real.

Ben was waiting adamantly with one of his eyebrows quirked up in a way that was so Ben.

"Are you not gonna tell why you awake at this hour?" Ben questioned.

"You're supposed to know the answer after what I told you on Sunday," Gale answered curtly, not elaborate further.

Ben frowned for a moment until both of his eyebrows shot up it almost touch his hairline. Finally understood why Gale already awake.

"You don't say!" Ben exclaimed.

"Yup," Gale said and then sipping at his coffee religiously.

Ben waited for a few moments, but Gale didn't show any signs that indicate he will tell Ben about the dream.

"Well?"

"’Well’ what, Ben?"

"Aren't you going to tell me?"

"No,"

Ben gasped. "But why?"

"I just want to keep it for myself. I don't know if this dream I just had was memory or imagination" Gale said.

"I thought you want us to help you to find this Ava? How are we supposed to help you if you don't want to share the information you got from your dreams?" Ben asked confusedly.

Gale shrugged and continue sipping his coffee. He really doesn't want to share this dream.

Ben rolled his eyes and mimicking Gale sipping his own coffee. He kept stares at Gale from across the island and that irritates Gale.

"She wears this blue-long dress with- I don't know, some kind of a sheer cream outer. Hair red – auburn red and I believe I saw some freckles on her nose. That's all I can say. The rest is only for me to know." Gale said exasperated.

"Did you dream something inappropriate? That's why you don't want to tell me, aren't you?" Ben suddenly said. His voice teasing, and he was grinning.

Gale took a napkin beside him and thrown it at Ben's face. "I'm not a freaking teenager, you pervert!"

That got Ben laughing uncontrollably. "I was just joking!" He said in between his laughter.

Despite feeling annoyed, Gale smiled at watching Ben laughing. It's really been a long time since they spend their time together like this.

"You and I are going to hike today. Be ready at eight!" Ben said after he stopped laughing.

"Oh, right. You wanted to take me hiking. Which trail? Where do we start?"

"Rotary trails, we start at the Kicking Horse Pedestrian Bridge. We’re not going to hike per se. I want to take you for a tour around Golden first. We could hike on a harder trail next week." Ben explained curtly.

"You know what? It's useless to ask because I don't know where that is. Good idea to take me for a tour," Gale joked.

For some reason, Ben didn't laugh or tease Gale. He looks at Gale seriously and his eyes were sad. Gale knew that look. It was the same look Ben gave him the first time they met at the hospital - five years prior.

At that time, Ben was anxiously waiting for Gale to wake up from his coma, but when Gale finally opened his eyes, he told everyone that he can't remember anything. The look in Ben's eyes was heartbroken and shocked mixed into one. There's no place to hide the sadness and hopelessness in it.

Gale sighed. "I know that place, wasn't I?" He asked and Ben nodded.

"You always went there with your dad since you were six. You loved the river. But when you were around twenty-two or twenty-three? I couldn't remember for sure, but around that time, your love for that place was increased tenfold. Weirdly, you always went there alone at a certain time, every single day when you came to visit Golden. You never let your dad come with you with a reason that your dad needs to rest because his heart was getting weaker." Ben explained.

That's a piece of new information there. What could be the reason behind Gale's love for the place?

"I always went alone?" Gale asked.

"Yeah," Ben said while tilting the half-empty mug in his hands. "But I remember vividly, one time your dad was insisting he will go with you, but you didn't let him. You guys argued for about half an hour in front of the twins and me until finally your sister and your mom came back from shopping."

"What happened?"

"Hayley helped you to prevent your dad from going, and you guys succeeded. After that, I saw you two whispering before you left. I think you hide something from us and she was the only one who knows."

It always feels weird to listen to someone else talking about what Gale did in the past, but he couldn't remember what they were talking about. This time was one of those times when Gale felt that way. He was glad to receive something from his past, but at the same time, it makes him sad that he needs to be told about what he did or how he was like before the accident.

"Why didn't I want to take my dad?" Gale mumbled to himself.

"I don't know,"

Suddenly, Dani's cry was heard from another part of the house. The sound startled both Gale and Ben.

"Diapers duty calling," Ben stood up and walks toward the kitchen door but stopped before it. "Don't think about that too hard. Today, we'll go there, and maybe you will recognize something. Go back to sleep if you can."

Gale snorted. "Yeah, like that could happen after coffee. I will probably take a shower and go for a jog. I feel so energized."

Ben rolled his eyes. "Whatever suits you then, Blackwell. When we get back from hiking, I hope you won't complain about sore muscle." He walks away with the half-empty mug and left Gale alone in the kitchen.

Honestly, the real reason why he couldn't possibly go back to sleep was that his mind was reeling with curiosity and the only way to stop it was by doing something that can give Gale a distraction.

Staying in his room until the house coming alive was not even a choice. He will end up scrolling through his phone, searching for the real Ava Shelley.

No matter how much he wants to find her, he still needs a rest from all the searching. His brain deserves it.

The past two days, he had been looking for a redhead Ava Shelley on every social media platform with the help from Ben and Molly – but they find nothing that indicated the real Ava. He was tired. Ben and Molly also tired watching him tired. A day without searching for Ava will be just fine.

Gale stood up from the stool and brought his empty mug towards the sink, and washed it. He exits the kitchen – humming and smiling to himself. He doesn't know why, but after hearing Ava's voice in his dream, he feels so giddy and can't stop feeling like a schoolboy in love.