Chapter 51
Chapter Fifty-One
In the light of day, Aria’s idea seemed even more crazy than it had the night before, but something about it felt so right. Before she could change her mind, she got ready for work with one stop in mind before heading to Libri Stellari.
Pulling up to the house, Aria was shocked to see a garden filled with herbs and flowers that wasn’t there the last time she saw Alex. She touched them gently, watching them bend, the motion releasing their fragrance.
Rosemary, oregano and basil dotted the garden in between flowers of every color. But what stood out more than anything was the dozens of jasmine vines that were growing on a tall white trellis in the garden.
Smelling a familiar floral aroma, Aria spun around to see eight small orange trees nearby in various stages of growth, some of them covered in fragrant blossoms.
Alex has to have done this. It has to mean something. But what? And when?
Corinna said he left the same day she did.
Walking down the path that led to the house, her memory brought her back to that night when candles lined it. She pushed down her sadness and walked out to the water's edge.
Have I lost him for good?
Reaching into her purse, she pulled out a small, blue glass bottle. Turning it over in her hands, the etched edges caught the sunlight, causing prisms in the sand.
Aria pulled out the parchment paper she’d written on, her words rolling around in her mind like the gentle waves coming ashore on the beach. She placed the paper in the bottle and pushed the cork stopper in as hard as she could to protect it.
Looking up at the morning sky, she whispered a prayer before throwing the bottle into the blue water.
“If this is meant to be, come home to me, Alex.”