Prologue
I’d never been happier in my life.
As the people around me wondered over to the baggage terminal, I sprinted to the front of the line. My shoes making squeaking noises on the shiny floor, and my eyes darting back and forth the conveyer belt searching for my metal case. My smile grew when I found it, heaving it from the platform and quickly extending the handle, I ran to the other side of the airport.
My eyes widened at the sign above me; Loakan Airport; I had never been abroad before and the tropical climate of the Philippines was already making my hair unbearably curly and itching at my face. Sweat was running down my face and I was too embarrassed to look for sweat marks on my t-shirt that I had meticulously picked out. My shoes were rubbing at my sore feet from fidgeting in the same airplane seat for fourteen hours.
You would have thought I could barely keep my eyes open, but they were peeled in anticipation. I had never known until the moment standing in a busy airport, surrounded by people speaking a different language, as uncomfortable as I have ever been, that my eyes could be excited. If a photographer was here now I would have been an amazing image for Loakan, an 18 year old stood, ignoring everything surrounding her with eyes the size of golf balls and as happy as they’ve ever been.
But it wasn’t my eyes that saw her first. Over the drowning sound of the people, the tannoy and announcements I heard the sweetest sound to ever grace my ears.
“Mum, hurry up! No you’re too slow. Okay that’s it I’m going ahead!”
Okay, well maybe it wasn’t the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard but it was the most amazing voice and I knew exactly who it was coming from. I just couldn’t see her. WRONG DOOR! Flipping my head around I almost gave myself whiplash, and I think I almost blinded someone with my hair.
“Sorry!” I yelled behind me as I ran towards the rotating door at the other corner of the wide room. Instantly I could see what I had waited almost three years for.
Her.
Her jet black hair was as smooth as the models in the hair commercials, and leading down to just below her shoulders in one graceful curtain wrapping all the way around her back. Her olive skin was red and flustered in the most perfect and adorable way, and even from a distance I could see her long eyelashes and plump glossy lips. Her face turned from one of panic to pure joy when our eyes met each others for the first time. Her pupils were so dark, yet had so much colour. The florescent lights were reflecting from them beautifully, and the different shades of brown complemented themselves in the most perfect way.
“Ayce!”
There is was again, that perfect voice. It sent a shiver through my entire body which lingered at my fingertips when my name came out of her lips, I was never going to get used to that. With the sensation in my fingers I dropped the handle of my case and it fell to the floor behind me, but that was a problem for later. My legs were already carrying me towards her as fast as they could as she did the same. However, by now we were almost in front of each other and neither of us had even attempted to slow down. Yep, we were definitely going to collide in some wa-
It happened so quickly yet so slow, I could still feel where our arms touched for the first time a minute after our skin had left each other, her beautiful smooth soft skin send electricity through my body again, what was she doing to me! That moment, the shock and happiness of being in each others arms lasted a lifetime. Well, until we fell to the floor in a heap of arms and legs. We didn’t attempt to get up, we laughed, we cried, we hugged, smiled and eventually looked up to see everyone looking at us. But we didn’t care.
When I eventually had the time to take a breath in I was intoxicated by her scent. It was a mix of the familiar homely smell of an indoor market and a soft, almost child like smell that was so sweet and fruity. It was probably the longest breath I had ever taken, and the best. That smell, I’ll never forget it.
Yes, I’ll remember that for the rest of my life.
