Beneath the Willow Tree

Bobby knelt in the grass, holes and grass stains covering his faded blue jeans. His bronzed arms, toned from years of hard work and hard play as a child, shined with perspiration in the hot summer sun. A gentle breeze blew through the air making his short, dirty blonde hair dance on his head like the grass on the hill where he knelt. He was in the relative solitude of the town cemetery, a place not many people ventured unless there was a burial taking place.

The wind flipped a few pages of the book Bobby was reading, and he hastily flipped back through trying to find the page he lost. He sat beneath an old willow tree in his varsity jacket reading A Tale of Two Cities and enjoying the solitude that he always found at the cemetery. Bobby found that books made better friends than most people did, and though he enjoyed sports and the physical release they provided, being a team player wasn't one of his strengths. He often left practice alone and would escape to someplace serene like the cemetery or the river to reflect on the day and unwind after being forced to interact with people at school. Despite being seen as somewhat shy or anti-social, Bobby was a good country boy with a sense of adventure too big for his little town. All he needed was a sidekick, or even just a friend...

Footsteps could be heard coming up the dirt path, and Bobby turned around to see a figure approaching in the distance. Nobody comes here... did somebody follow me? Ugh, what do they want with me... he thought. The sound of clogs scuffing against the dirt grew louder as a young woman approached. Seeing Bobby against the tree, she hesitated a moment and stared downwards as she walked by him on the path. He watched her gracefully walking by, and for a moment she looked over and their eyes met but he did not recognize her.

"Hey!" He called out to her before she got too far away. This time she hesitated too long and tripped over a rock in the path, falling to her knees.

He leapt up and ran to her side "Are you okay miss? I didn't mean to startle you like that." he said extending his hand to her.

She pushed his hand away "I'm fine... I can handle it, don't worry about it" she said, biting her lip to hide the pain as she rose to her feet. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"I could ask you the same thing," he said "I come here all the time and I've never seen you before."

"I just moved here from the city" she brushed the dirt off her white dress and clogs. "Ugh, this is going to stain... I shouldn't have to dress like this". Flipping her long brown hair behind her, she turned away from Bobby towards the path so he wouldn't see her face turning red with embarrassment.

"Then... why do you?" he said, puzzled but somewhat intrigued by this other person. She didn't seem to be like other girls, or like other people for that matter.

"Well, if you must know... my family is rather wealthy and my mother insists that as a young lady I must learn to be proper so I may marry an intelligent and wealthy gentleman like she did. I think it's a bunch of crap! Arranged marriages are so 30 years ago..." she said, looking back over her shoulder at Bobby "Be seeing you, boy" she grinned and walked away.

*****

Bobby spent the next couple weeks at the cemetery, going there right after practice every day to read and wait for the girl to show up, but he never saw her. He had never wanted to see someone else like he did her; something about her was just charming.He sat there in the grass against the tree, picking wildflowers and twirling them between his fingertips as he thought about what her name might be. Maria... no, maybe Sandra, no she looks like more of a Jessica. Whatever it is, I bet it's beautiful...he wondered.

"Oh, is that for me?" a familiar voice said. Dropping the flowers and craning his neck upwards, he saw the girl standing there in the same white dress grinning at him.

"Where did you... I didn't... how long have you been standing there?" he stammered. She reached down and plucked the flowers off the ground, admiring them for a moment before putting one in her long, wavy hair.

"Well I wasn't going to let you get the drop on me; we saw how well that turned out last time" she smirked, tucking her dress behind her and sitting down next to Bobby. She nodded at her bare feet as if to indicate how she was able to sneak up on him.

"What are you reading?" she asked, picking up the book next to him "A Tale of Two Cities huh? And I would've pegged you as more the ATV Magazine type." Bobby looked down at his stained jeans and worn shirt. For the first time he was aware of how ragged his appearance looked, and he silently cursed himself for not shaving or dressing nicer.

"Annabelle" she said abruptly, holding out her hand and smiling at him. He shook her hand with somewhat of a blank expression.

"Oh uh, Bobby" he said, snapping out of it and smiling back. He wasn't used to this kind of attention from anyone and found it both exciting and terrifying at the same time, but everything about Annabelle seemed so natural and easy, like he had nothing to be afraid of around her. Annabelle... her name sounds as beautiful as she does.

"Well it's nice to meet you Bobby, although I have to say tripping over my own damn feet isn't normally how I like to meet boys. Then again, you didn't laugh at me like most of those boys would." she said. The wind blew strands of her hair past her face as she gazed at Bobby. She tucked her hair behind her ears, accidently knocking the flower to the ground. He picked it up, sticking it back in her hair and smiled at her,

"It's nice to meet you too, Annabelle"

*****

The months went by slowly for Bobby, and he found himself thinking about the days he would meet Annabelle at the cemetery. She wouldn't always be there; it wasn't easy when her parents expected her to come straight home from the private school in the city. She would tell him how she always loathed having to practice the piano and those stupid dresses, and found herself thinking about the days she would see Bobby too. He liked her down to earth personality, despite her family's wealth that she seemed to have contempt for. He didn't know what she saw in him; maybe she liked his deep and reflective nature, and saw his shyness as charming. They started to realize they had certain things in common they wouldn't have guessed. Annabelle, for all her groomed appearance and forced proper behavior, was apparently quite the tomboy at heart and loved to go on adventures; and Bobby knew all the best places to take her.

"Ok as soon as we get there, you have to lose the dress" he said, holding Annabelle's hand and leading her along blindfolded.

"Excuse me? You really do have quite a way with girls don't you, I bet they can't resist you when you talk like that." She scoffed, but Bobby noticed her still grinning despite her mock indignation.

As they got closer to their destination, the sound of rushing water could be heard. Annabelle removed her blindfold and ran forwards a few paces before stopping at the edge of a cliff overlooking a gorgeous waterfall, the likes of which she'd never seen living in the city. Much to Bobby's surprise she quickly started undressing. He looked away, not wanting to be improper with such a lady around, but he glanced back to see that she was wearing a bathing suit.

"Oh come on now, you've been dropping hints all week... you're terrible at keeping secrets. I knew we'd be going somewhere with water but I admit I didn't expect this... it's gorgeous!" she said.

They spent the day together jumping off the cliff into the pool of water below and enjoying each other's company. Bobby was surprised to see Annabelle was as bold as he was, jumping off the cliff without any coaxing. Unfortunately for them both, they were not the only ones there that day... Somebody witnessed Annabelle and Bobby together and told Annabelle's parents, and that night when she came home they were waiting.

Bobby didn't hear from Annabelle in almost a month. School vacation was almost over and everyday he would go to the cemetery, until one day he saw a note pinned to the willow tree from Annabelle. It explained that her parents were forbidding her from seeing him again, and were putting tighter and tighter restrictions on her. The note said that she wasn't going to do it anymore, leaving Bobby wondering what that meant exactly. "Be here August 15^th at 8pm, it will be the last time we meet here." the note said.

The crickets chirped in the distance as Bobby leaned against the tree. He fiddled with a rose in his fingertips, reminiscing of the wildflower he held the first time he learned her name. Despite wearing his best clothes and attempting to groom his scruffy facial hair, he still looked like a country boy, but he knew Annabelle liked this. He heard the familiar sound of footsteps on the dirt path that he heard the first day they met, and he grinned to himself as he hid the rose behind his back and walked around the tree to greet her. He stopped short as he admired the beautiful woman approaching him in the moonlight. She gracefully walked up the path in a flowing summer dress, and the world seemed to grow quieter with each step she took towards him. The sound of crickets and bullfrogs in the distance ceased to be, and it was as if the moonlight was like a spotlight on her. He had spent many days with Annabelle and gone on many adventures, but tonight he was astonished by her beauty and maturity. For a moment he was unable to do anything but stand there and watch her, until he realized she was finally standing there before him under the tree. Smiling. Waiting.

"Annabelle I..." He began.

"Shhh..." She put a finger to his lips "Show me..."

He looked down at her, putting an arm around her waist and drawing her in closer. There they stood. Two shadowy figures together beneath the old willow tree that only months ago had been just a tree in a cemetery with no special meaning or memories. A tree that remembers the first time they met, the first time they learned each other's names, their first kiss, and now...

"...I love you" he finished after they broke the kiss. He gently put the rose in her hair, making sure he didn't hurt her with any of the thorns.

"I love you too, Bobby" she said smiling at him, her wit and sarcasm disappearing for what she knew to be a very important moment in their lives. He grinned back, picking up a rock off the dirt path which looked remarkably similar to the rock Annabelle once tripped over. Together they carved their initials into the old willow tree with the rock, both of them glowing brighter than the moon ever could.

"Annabelle your note, what's going on... are we...?" Bobby asked

"We're eloping." She stated without hesitation.

"What about your parents, your life, your wealth... you're leaving it all behind to be with me?" he asked incredulously.

"Bobby they'll never let us be together, no matter how old we are... we'll be turning 18 soon but it won't stop there. My parents don't understand how much I care about you, and we've never been on good terms anyway. They can't keep pushing me like this, and now I'm pushing back. I'm making the rules now and taking charge of my life and I want you in it." She said, stamping her foot and wiping a tear from her eyes.

Bobby looked into her sparking eyes and made up his mind right there that he would leave with her, though he had no idea where they would go he knew he'd be happy. There was really nothing in this little town holding him back anyway, and he wanted to see more of the world than he ever would in this little town.

Hand in hand, they walked back down the dirt path together, leaving their memories and their summer love beneath the old willow tree. Not so gracefully, Annabelle tripped but before she could hit the ground, Bobby caught her.

"Damn these clogs!" She shouted, and they chuckled as they left the cemetery and the old willow tree together for the last time.