Prologue

A middle aged woman named Carla returns to the town that she had lived in as a teenager, and as she settles in her old home, she is reminded of the time she spet there, and the girl who she had met.

Carla's van rumbled and clanked as she drove along the bumpy side street, which was riddled with cracks and weeds growing through them. Despite the large, towering trees that flanked the street, the bright summer sun still managed to shine through, and Carla hummed peacefully as a warm breeze blew through her open window. It had been years since she had last visited Sunflower Shores; if she remembered correctly, she had last visited with her wife Jesse and the newly adopted Tanya three years ago to visit with her father and some old friends. But now, with Tanya in school and Jesse busy with her work, Carla was making the drive by herself. She didn't mind it very much, though she knew her father would be upset not to see little Tanya once again.



She was hit with a wave of nostalgia as the trees suddenly started to thin out, revealing the vast Pacific Ocean that crashed at the rocks that separated it from the road. On the other side of the street, she passed by many old-looking houses with gardens of colorful flowers, and mailboxes with surnames painted brightly on them. Sticking out of the rocks at the oceanside was a worn-down sign that was painted a pale yellow.



"WELCOME TO SUNFLOWER SHORES" the sign read,
"THE OCEANSIDE HIDEAWAY"



A charming illustration of a sunflower was painted beside the bold words, bright and beautiful. It didn't matter how many times she visited the town; she couldn't stop the nostalgia that overcame her. She had first moved to Sunflower Shores when she was twelve years old, and had spent her teenage years there. Upon graduating, she had gone travelling with Jesse and some other close friends, and eventually had settled down with Jesse in a town that laid many miles away from the oceanside town. The town held many memories, some fond, some that she wanted to forget. She didn't want to admit it, but it was the reason why she was usually so reluctant to visit the town. But she had no excuse to avoid the visit this time.



After all, it was June 16th, and the twentieth anniversary of a very important day for many of the residents of Sunflower Shores who knew the relevance. And out of all of them, it was Carla who kept the date closest to her heart.



She shook herself out of her thoughts as she turned onto a side street that led into the scattered suburbs. It had been a while since she had last visited her friends, so she tried to stay focused as she turned her attention from the houses that she passed by, occasionally double-checking a sticky note that had the address scribbled on it.



"One five two, Spirea road…One five two, Spirea road…" She mumbled, squinting at the addresses of the old-looking houses that she drove by.



"One five tw- ah!" She let out a delighted noise as her gaze fell on the house. It was fairly large, painted a light sky blue. After pulling into the gravel driveway, she carefully stepped out of the car, stretching her sore limbs that had been sitting for over five hours. Then, not bothering with grabbing her luggage right away, she slowly approached the door and lightly pressed the doorbell, which immediately resulted in the sound of a dog barking on the inside of the house. The door swung open, revealing in a woman her age with long, curly black hair.



"Millie, down-" The woman muttered as she tried to keep a well-fed golden retriever from escaping through the open door, but it was no use as the dog as it gleefully slipped out of her grasp, running circles around Carla, sniffing her curiously.



Carla laughed. "Hello, Millie!" She cooed to the dog, squatting down and cupping the dogs face in her hands. "Do you remember me? I remember you! You're so big now!" The dog simply panted heavily, with its tail wagging back and forth with an impressive speed.



"It's so good to see you, Carla!" The woman laughed as Millie plopped down on the ground, rolling over for a belly rub, which Carla gladly gave. "You came early, we're not even done cleaning yet!"



"Sorry about that," Carla responded as she finished giving the dog attention, and proceeded to get to her feet once again. She couldn't help the big grin on her face as she gave her old friend a tight hug. "It's great to see you again too, Olivia! You look well!"



Olivia returned the bright smile. "Same to you. It's just a shame that Tanya and Jesse couldn't come either; Angie was so excited to see little Tanya again!"



Carla sighed. "Yes, but she's quite the busy girl! She had a girl guide camp this weekend that she just didn't want to miss, not to mention she's still got another week left of school." She explained as she started heading back to her car to retrieve her luggage. "Anyways, where is Angie? And Jake?"



"Oh, Angie's at school right now, silly! It's Thursday, remember?" Olivia laughed as she grabbed Carla's suitcase. "And Jake got called in to work; he promised me he'd be back by four, though."



Carla nodded in understand as she gathered her bedding and slung her backpack over her shoulder, managing to lock the door with her free hand before following Olivia back inside, continuing on with their friendly chat. But not even once did either of them bring up the reason why Carla had come to visit in the first place. The words sat on Carla's lips, but she just couldn't seem to form them.



'Can you believe it?' She thought silently. 'It's been twenty years since then.'



'It's been twenty years since that day.'



'It's been twenty years since she left, it's been so long.'



She was still reeling that so much time had passed. She had been sixteen years old at the time, and even after two decades had passed, she could still remember that girl so clearly. A voice echoed in her mind, a distant memory, faded and worn.



"Just please don't forget about me."



As Carla placed her bags down on her bed in the guest room, her gaze lingered on the ocean that sat in the distance outside the window. A group of gulls flew by, carried by the wind, as she felt a pang of melancholy.



"I could never forget you. I promise."



And she had kept that promise.



After all, how would she be able to forget?

Author's Note

Well, this is all I've got so far! Please let me know what you think, and if you'd like to see more!