Rescued

One morning as Jon was sleeping on the warm sand on the island, he discovered himself being wakened up by Julia, "Come on, wake up!"

He didn't need much sleep ever since he had integrated with the fragments, but he could fall asleep pretty quickly if he wanted to.

He sits up a little bit, using his elbow to support himself, as he sees an exciting individual jumping and down on the beach as she waves frantically towards a boat that is driving itself this way.

He smiles to himself happily as he sees her like a little kid, seeing hope coming their way, and he gets up from the sand and pats down the sand on his shirt to look more presentable.

He could see the ship coming their way; it was a giant ship that was white and built grandly.

And he could see from the logo on the side of the ship that this was one of the ships that must belong to the company that Julia's parent's owned.

He could see on the deck a captain wearing a dark blue coat and a white hat looking at them from afar with a handheld telescope.

When they arrived on the island, the captain came down from the ship excitedly to greet them, "Miss Julia! We can't believe we finally were able to find you."

Next to him, one of the crew members added, "There were not many survivors alive after the cruise ship sunk."

"Not many people survived," her eyes looked downcasted after hearing that news.

Seeing how sad her eyes seem could not help but guess what was upon her mind as the captain sighed, "And we also didn't manage to find your parents, Miss Julia, the ship sunk along with all the people on board."

"But mainly, we had found their bodies amongst the corpses floating on the icy water where the ship sunk," the sailor next to the captain added.

Jon holds onto her as she cries inside. She was hoping that her parents would still be alive; she was hoping that thought when she saw the ship coming toward them, perhaps her parents were the ones who called the ship's captain to continue searching for them.

When they got back to the states, Jon accompanied her to the cemetery as she wanted to visit the tombstones prepared for them.

The black tombstones erect on the green grass reflect their faces, those sad eyes reading the names of the loved ones from before.

Jon holds an umbrella as he shields her from the rain pouring around them.

She was wearing a black dress suitable for this occasion and asked Jon to help her comb her golden hair before they departed over here.

As she was sobbing tears from her eyes, Jon took a handkerchief from his pocket and gently wiped those teardrops from her eyes.

He couldn't bear seeing those beautiful blue eyes being shattered by tears welling from the pain inside; it was a great pain for him to watch her being so in grief over this experience.

She silently takes hold of his hand as she looks at the names on the dark tombstones once more before hugging him tightly around the waist.

Seeing her like this, he gently puts his hand around her while holding the umbrella still with his other hand; he didn't say anything when he didn't need to say anything else but be with her and stay with her during the darkest hours of her life.

He feels how silky her golden hair is as he looks away at the darkening grey sky around them that's pouring heavy rain.

Being an emotional person, he knows that if he continues watching her sob and seeing her in so much pain, he will also be crying.

But he doesn't want to let her see that, at this moment, he needed to be strong for her and help her shoulder her pain and loneliness.

He embraces her warmly in that silence and waits for her to feel better without saying anything more.

Later in the night, he drove her to a party that family and friends of her parents had set up to celebrate her coming back from the sunken ship.

He parked the black private car by the side of the road and came forth from the side to open the door for her; her eyes looked at the large manor of a family friend with worries and anxieties contained in them.

Those white stone pillars supporting in front of the sizeable grand manor and a fountain in the middle of the yard flow with the water into the air.

She could see all those unfamiliar faces coming from her surroundings, their eyes observing her, all those watchful eyes looking at her.

Those high society individuals and wealthy business people dressed in fancy tailored suits and expensive dresses, but they were like foxes to her.

They arrive at the grand home with their servants and drivers as they come out of the car parked by the side.

She hesitated for a moment as she stood there with the large entrance with those wooden doors swung open; she could see all those people inside with smiles and laughter.

"I don't want to be here," she told him from her red lips in a whisper.

Her large eyes seem like they would burst into tears at any moment from this unbearable tension that she feels in the air; all of this doesn't feel happy for her, and it is nothing like a celebration.

Seeing her hesitation as she held onto the end of his suit sleeve, Jon's eyes turned with warmth for her, whispering, "Let me park the car, and I'll meet you inside."

When he walked through the grand door of the manor, he immediately saw that she was stuck listening to some old fogies talking to her, more like it was talking at her.

He came up to them professionally, excusing himself, "May I borrow Miss Julia from you gentlemen."

Taking her by the hand as he led her away from them, Jon didn't like seeing how she seemed so isolated despite having all these people besides her.

He could see that the people in the room didn't see her as a person but tried to use this opportunity to get close to her and take advantage of her loss to achieve their financial interests.

He was very familiar with those eyes they had, that hard feeling you would get, those eyes of pity for your loss.

She looked at him with a slight grin, thanking him for taking her away from these horrible people boring her.

Julia looked at him as he led her away, wanting to hold onto him closely, but she didn't because people were watching her.

"You seem down," he commented, then bringing her a smile, "how about we go for a dance? Isn't that what young people like us should do instead of chatting like those old geezers and foxes?"

She smiled warmly, seeing how he always manages to make her smile again, "Yes, maybe young people like us should be doing that," she joked back.

He extends his hand out to her in a polite manner, acting as though he was from those times in the past, then looking up at her with a mischievous grin, "Well, this lovely lady, may I have the pleasure of asking you for a dance?"

"Of course, you can, kind gentleman," she said back, smiling happily as he put her soft hand into his to lead her away.

And on the dance floor, they looked into each other's eyes with deep love, spinning through the floor gracefully, as though they had done it many times before.

Truthfully, they had done it many times before; when they were young, they used to dance together secretly at night when they would sneak out into the forest in the middle of those warm summer days.

When the song stopped, he told her in a hushed whisper, "Wait for me; I'll be back in a moment."

She looked at him with curiosity as he saw his figure escaping into the crowd and disappearing from her sight.

And for a moment, she feels her heart growing lonely again without finding his presence next to her.

That emptiness inside, like the world, had gone silent all around you, and no matter how colorful it was or how many happy laughter sounds around you, you would still not be able to hear anything at all because that emptiness inside muffles all the beautiful colors of happiness that would be possible.

He was hoping he could find a way to bring her out of the darkness, but he finds it challenging to do with her residing in the bubble of her depression.

Suddenly, a piano sound resounded loudly through the room; mainly because of how ample the space was inside, the song from the piano only became more expanded.

The light in the room turned dark as it centered singly on someone sitting there playing a song.

The song had a relaxing tone, as the man's voice which is so familiar to Julia, resounded as though speaking to her heart, as though the song was specifically written for her, to cheer her up.

There's a certain warmth in his voice, a beautiful charm to that deep, resonant voice.

And as she listened to the song, she continued to walk closer and closer to the sound from the piano.

Until she saw that it was Jon that was in the limelight, that beautiful face singing that song:

I see trees so green, red roses too

I see them bloom for me and you.

And I think to myself what a wonderful world.

I see skies so blue and clouds so white.

The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night.

And I think to myself what a wonderful world.

The colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky

Are also on the faces of people going by.

I see friends shaking hands saying how do you do.

They're really saying I love you.

I hear babies crying, I watch them grow.

They'll learn much more than I'll ever know.

And I think to myself what a wonderful world.

Yes I think to myself what a wonderful world

Yes I think to myself what a wonderful world.

Finishing the last beat on the piano, the light in the room turned back on again, and she saw Jon stand up again from the piano as the people in the chamber applauded loudly after hearing the song.

This song was so beautiful that these people could not help to become entranced as the music still resounds inside their minds and whispers into their hearts.

And especially when these high society individuals were more used to listening to opera or classical music, this song bewitched them, 20 years ahead of how music was like in their time.

He looked her in the eyes as though telling her subtly that this song was played for her and her only in this world.

Seeing that confident smile on his face as she finds her heart washed away from the grief before, "I didn't know you could play the piano and sing so well."

He gives her a cryptic look and says to her, "There are many things you don't know; life needs some surprises sometimes, doesn't it?"

Ever since he had rescued her from the ship, she found him to be a different man than before, a man full of charm, fun, and power that made her deeply attracted to him.

But underneath all of that, in his heart, she knows that she is still in love with that person she had learned from childhood, with a kind smile that never changed with the vicissitudes of time.

When the day finished, he brought her back to the large manor, and seeing the grand view of this place made her feel like all of that space crept her out.

But she finds herself comforted upon holding hands with him as he leads her inside and opens the lights in the house.

He helps her put on a coat to cover herself from the cold as he walks her up to her room through the stairs.

As they were inside her enormous room, which overlooked the courtyard outside the window, he could see that she had some complicated emotions seeing this home and all its memories.

Home has many memories to it, memories of the happy times with friends in childhood; at the same time, it is a source of pain.

She wrapped her body around his waist and said to him, "Jon, I don't know how those pieces in my heart can be rebuilt again or be filled in when it is so big."

She sighed, and he knew that she was trying to say, this mansion is huge for just two people, "You know, you have to let go of the past. It might feel like you can't ever create anything as amazing as before. And you would be right because you can't walk over the same road and expect something different. You got to start looking elsewhere."

She turns to him, feeling his hands on her tiny waist as his eyes calmly watch over her, and she wraps her arms around his neck as she smiles knowingly, "I think you're right."

"Well, you got to have something to look forward to," he told her, "and once you do, you won't feel so empty anymore."

"Jon, let's sell this house," she told him, "let's move to somewhere where nobody knows us and live a new life again."

Her inherited enterprise didn't need her to manage it since capable executives worked it quite well before their death.

"You want to be going back to the island again," he joked with her, "I thought we just came back."

"No, of course not," she said back with a smile, "I mean, start a new chapter. Go to a new city or something."