Young Writers Society

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Juliana could hardly contain her excitement as she sprinted from the west hall and into the chapel. She stopped and caught her breath while looking for Dyne. He said he would be waiting in here. I must tell him! Where is he?

An entire class of school children ran past her and joined a disorganized queue of older students near the door. The students laughed and played among themselves as they anxiously waited out the last few moments of the day.

"There he is!" Juliana spotted Dyne on the same bench from earlier. "Oh, excuse me." She gently made her way through the crowd of students waiting at the door. "Grandpa!" Juliana exclaimed as she jogged to the bench. "Father Halvard put me in class 'B'! I'm starting next week!"

But Dyne did not move or react to Juliana's announcement. He sat motionless, hunched over and staring at the floor.

"Grandpa?" Juliana leaned forward and looked at him. The wrinkled skin around his eyes appeared reddened, and he breathed slowly through his mouth. "Grandpa? Are you alright?"

"Oh, Julie," he said as he turned away and wiped his eyes with his sleeve. "You're back."

"What's wrong, Grandpa? Are you... Are you crying?"

The church bells began to ring above them, and the school children let out a collective cheer as they pushed open the doors of the chapel and ran outside.

Dyne turned to Juliana. "Looks like it," he said forcing a weak smile. A tear rolled down his cheek as he let out a nervous laugh. "I haven't done this in a long, long time."

Her grandfather's emotional state caught Juliana by surprise, but she did not hesitate to sit and embrace him. "It's alright, Grandpa. You've had to keep many things to yourself. Don't be ashamed of anything."

Dyne raised his head and took a deep breath. "Thank you, Julie. It's just, coming back to Melliark. It reminds me of Kaycia.

Juliana bit her lower lip as she tried to recall the few childhood memories of her grandmother. That's right; it’s been nearly eight years since Grandma... She tried to speak, but the words would not come.

"I promised her I would show her Melliark one day," Dyne mumbled, "but whenever I even mentioned the possibility she said it wasn't worth it. And now that I've come back I can only think of her. Everywhere we’ve been has just reminded me of all the promises I made. I wonder what she would say if she could see me now. If I could talk to her..." His voice trailed off as he looked down once again.

"I miss Grandma too," Juliana stammered. “I, I don't remember much of when she looked after Radi and I, but I…” Oh dear, what should I say?

Silence came over them as they sat alone in the chapel.

Oh, of course! The letter! Juliana reached into the legging of her boot and felt for the folded peice of paper she wrote the day before. She found the page and quickly unfolded it in front of Dyne.

"What's this?" he asked.

"I wrote this yesterday, Grandpa. It's for Father and Mother, but I want you to read it too. Skip to the middle." She handed the letter to him and pointed to where she wanted him to begin.

Dyne wiped his eyes and held the letter close, mouthing the words as he read to himself. "Oh, Julie--" his voiced cracked as he covered his mouth.

"I love you, Grandpa," Juliana said as she embraced Dyne from his side. "Nothing can change that. I don't care what Radi or even Father says."

Dyne placed his arm around Juliana's shoulders as he finished reading. He folded the page and smiled as he handed it back to her. "Thank you, Julie. I love you too."

They embraced each other as they stood.

"Well then, we better be on our way," Dyne said as he took a deep breath and regained his composure. "Your brother is going to have my head."

Juliana paused and looked around the chapel. "Um, Grandpa?"

"Yes?"

"There's no one here now. Could we, um, do you think we could linger just a little longer? Just the two of us?"

Dyne smiled and stared at her. "Of course, Julie,” he said as they sat once again, "I think I would like that."

Juliana rested her head against Dyne's shoulder. "Thank you, Grandpa. For everything."

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Lucian lay on his back and stared at the canvas ceiling of the wagon, hoping that Radi's brief silence was a sign that he was finally finished ranting. I really should have gone with her, he thought. But at least Radi is no longer--

“You know, Lucian," Radi said, "Melliark has been somewhat disappointing to be honest."

“How so?” Lucian mumbled, apathetic to the answer.

“Well, once you’re accustomed to the size of the city, it begins to feel just like any other town. And the women here aren’t nearly as attractive as the old man described. I mean, I've seen only four or five this entire time that have made me want to take a second look. And that's being generous.”

“You’re lucky Juliana isn’t here,” Lucian said as he sat up.

Radi laughed at Lucian's response. "It’s the truth my friend. I'd say it whether she was here or not. And she would just-- wait! Finally!" Radi ran to the front of the wagon and began to untie the horses from the fencepost. "It’s them, they're finally back!”

Lucian looked across the street to see Juliana and Dyne walking quickly down the church’s stone steps. I've got to apologize, he thought. He sprang to his feet, leapt out of the wagon, and ran towards her.

"Tell them to hurry!" Radi shouted after him.

"We've plenty of time, Child!" Dyne yelled from across the street. "The barracks is less than an hour from here!"

"Don't even start, Old Man!" Radi retorted. "We should have been there hours ago! What took you so damn long?"

Lucian sprinted to Juliana and stopped just short of her path, causing them to both stop in the middle of the empty street. "Um, Juliana, I..." He waited for Dyne to pass her.

"What is it, Lucian?" she said as she looked up at him, raising her eyebrow.

"I, uh, I wanted to say I'm sorry for not going in with you. I, I don't know why I--"

"Oh, that's alright," she said with a smile.

Lucian shook his head. "N-No it's not alright," he replied. "You we're disappointed when I didn't go. I shouldn't have refused. Especially after all that you've done for me. I mean, I wouldn't have even made it this far if--"

"Really, Lucian," Juliana interrupted as she stepped closer to him. "It's fine. I was sad when you didn't come with us, but I forgive you. It wasn't fair of me to expect that of you as a new believer." She smiled and stepped closer. "But I hope you'll come in next time."

Lucian nodded and smiled back at her. "I will. I promise. I won’t disappoint you like that again."

"Hey!" Radi shouted from the wagon. "What part of hurry did you two not understand?"