The sun was rising slowly over the horizon. Jack had been sitting there for at least an hour, just waiting. His friend, Jane, had told him to meet her there a few days ago over the phone, without specifying a date or time. For some reason she thought he'd know when. "The place where we used to go." was what she said. He had just returned to his hometown, and it seemed like nothing was the same. The small farm community had started turning into a city. Supermarkets had invaded the town's center, followed quickly by smaller chain stores. It had been a few years, admittedly, but home was still home, and it still had some remnants of what it used to be. He had been missing his family, and his welcoming reception for him coming back was nothing short of crazy. Everyone in the town was there, well, every former resident. With the influx of citizens, it was hard to keep up, or so he had been told. Everyone except one. Jane. People hadn't seen her, and Jack was starting to think that he was really the last person to have any real contact with her.
The sun burst over the flat horizon beautifully. The "meeting tree" was on a small bump near their high school that they called a hill, for lack of a better description. The grass was overgrown, and there was just a meadow of grass and wildflowers as far as the eye could see. As much as the town had been built up, there was still a place where you could see nothing but uninterrupted nature in one direction. It was about 6:30 AM, and after the summer sun had made its way up past the horizon, Jack could tell a beautiful day was in the making. He looked across the fields of yellow, red, and white, a beautiful collection of vivid color. Behind him, the town was slowly starting to awaken. He was still close to the main road, and could hear cars starting up and traveling to and fro and he knew that his peaceful morning would still start up, and he would soon leave and go to his job, then return the next morning, waiting for Jane.
He looked at his watch, it was six forty-two now. He stood slowly, looking down the horizon one last time before turning his back to it and heading towards his car which was parked in the high-school's parking lot. He got in his car and started it up, staring ahead of him at the field of flowers, then back to the tree one last time. Nothing had changed, and it was still as peaceful as ever. He longed for Jane to be on the hill and for her to just lean up and pull her hair back behind her ears. He remembered back in high school, her gorgeous hair. It seemed like every week it was a different color and style, but it always seemed to shine like polished gold, and even when it wasn't blonde, you could still sometimes see the glimmer of her natural hair color bursting though. He and Jane had never officially dated, but he had always wanted to. They had grown up in such a small town, and everyone had always expected them to go together. The two junebugs, born in the same hospital on the same day, June 7th. "Heh... That's tomorrow." Jack thought to himself as he shifted the car out of park and started to pull out of the parking lot as teachers and students started making their way in.
Jack's day went by uneventfully. He didn't really have much to do, since he was just visiting, so he helped his father at his tool shop, but business hadn't been going as well since the big Sears moved into the neighborhood. No one cared much for custom made tools. Even if they were more reliable, they took time to make and it was much easier and cheaper to buy three brand name tools than to wait for one to be made. This was just the way his father was though. He didn't care for new things, and he was getting older. He had settled into this way of life, and he didn't expect anything more. Halfway through the day, Jack left the store and started heading back home. It was slow today, like every day, and he didn't feel like sticking around. Besides, it's not like anyone came in, and his father was just busy at work filling an order someone had placed.
On his way home, Jack saw the old flower shop and decided to stop in. Inside was a wrinkled old man, someone Jack was very familiar with. "Hey John." Jack said, with a smile and a halfhearted wave.
"Eh? Who's there." John responded, fumbling for his glasses.
"It's just me. Jack!" Jack said, smiling warmly. "I was wondering if you could hook me up with some flowers. I want to plant one down tomorrow."
"Ah, Jack, of course. Anything for my favorite worker." He said, with a wink. As John started deciding for Jack which flowers he was going to purchase (an old tradition of John's, who always told Jack he must be colorblind), he tried to strike up a conversation.
"Have you seen Jane around lately? I remember when you two were attatched at the hip," John said with a chuckle, "why I remember when I used to get my two workers for the price of one."
Jack frowned, and John knew not to ask. "Well, if you see Jane, tell her I said hi." John said, giving the flowers he selected to Jack.
"Will do." Jack said, putting a five on the counter and walking out of the store.
Jack sat in his car for a few minutes, looking at the flowers that John had selected for him. They hadn't finished blooming yet, but he could tell that they were going to burst soon into a beautiful purple. They were perfect for what he wanted them for. Tomorrow was the last day that Jack would be waiting by that tree. He couldn't wait forever, and he wanted Jane to know that he had tried. He hoped she would see the flowers and know that he had been there waiting for her. Jack returned home at about two o' clock, and shut himself in his room so he would not be disturbed. He took out a pen and paper and started writing letters. Love letters. Love letters for Jane.
The next morning came quickly, and Jack woke up with a start. In front of him was his final draft, his final love letter to his Jane. Piles of papers were stacked up in the garbage cans and on the floor. This wasn't a new project, he had been writing these for days. The night before, he had wrapped it up perfectly. He got everything he wanted to say down on paper, finally. He folded it up, put it into an envelope and sealed it with a wax seal. Here it was... everything he wanted to say in his hands. He took the flowers he purchased the day before off of the kitchen table and headed out the door. It was 4:22 AM, and the stars were still twinkling. The morning sun hadn't started fading them away yet, but before long, the sun would be up, and it would be another Jane-less day.
