Chapter 18: Erinnerungen. [Recollections.]

The sun had risen when Anneke opened her deep brown eyes and looked around for a moment. Flowers everywhere, just as the night before. Dew had sparkled the empty park with a sense of sweetness. To the side were four purple ribbons and a coat. At another point near her was a camera. The park looked even more beautiful in the morning glow than during the night previous. Finally, she looked to her right, where still asleep was someone she had at first thought of as a dear friend before realizing that, there was something so much more than just their friendship.

Quietly she lied back down beside him, her eyes fixed to the sky. How the hell did she luck out to be with someone who could find a joke in almost anything, let alone have a serious side to him with a quiet, snarky attitude that was overrun by his kindness? How the hell did even her best friends luck out, given the circumstances they grew up in, the dilemmas they suffered through together? Somehow, either there had to be a mistake, or it was about time they had enough of relying solely on each other. She blinked away the tears that welled up her eyes, and turned on her side to look at her sleeping companion.

She glanced for a moment to the four purple ribbons that were once, all her life, a part of her past she could never erase. Ever since she was a little girl, her light brown hair was mostly loose, all but two braids in four purple ribbons that got replaced every couple of months. Father always tied two sections of her hair, equally separated and divided, into ponytails, and braided them. She'd hold the braid together while Father tied the bottom ribbons to seal the braids tight. The ribbons would hold--she swore that she'd rather die than have anyone see her without the braids that set her apart from anyone else.

But that night, beneath the stars, in a lonely park in the near-outskirts of Venice, she faced her own fears, her own vulnerability. And for the first time since the days of childhood when her Father would braid her hair every morning until she was able to fix her hair herself, someone else saw her in a new light, a unique standpoint.

Someone had the courage to undo a part of her existence.

Das Mädchen mit purpurroten Bändern für Flechten, boys in school would call her. The girl with purple ribbons for braids. But she never let the namecalling get to her, at least in their presence, and would reply with a snarky comment to counteract to their insults. But watching her friend Rebekah suffer in silence over the haunting chaos of the boys, she swore off even the nicest guy asking her out for coffee. She couldn't run the risk, as people knew she was one of the three girls who protected what people at times called das Kind von Blindheit. The child of blindness.

But he who undid the braids... he saw in her what no one else could. Whatever he saw in her, he loved dearly. He told her so the night before, when she ended up in a situation that she never realized could've existed. She was a strange goofball, her sense of humor could've kept her friends laughing for hours. But she was also always prepared for anything.

Or so, she thought she was. But she was nowhere near prepared for what happened to her that night, when the braids at last came undone and she was willingly unable to stop whatever was going on.

Finally her gaze fell to her still-slumbering companion, still dressed except his shirt was no longer tucked in. She still wore his tie, wondering if she should tie it back on him, but the thought perished as she turned on her back to face the morning sky again.

Why'd I let him love me this way?

The thought crossed her mind as she closed her eyes, crossing her arms behind her head as a pillow. Why did she allow him to be with her, when she'd shunned at the thought of love nearly all of her life? What was it about him that brought her to lowering just about all of her defenses? Was it the way they connected in a way they couldn't connect with anyone else? Did they see something in each other past the silly reputations, the humorous laughter in front of and behind the cameras? She couldn't really think much more on the matter, until she felt someone's head rest against her heart, arms wrapped around her tightly. But she didn't open her eyes right away--she knew whose mind was well set against the love of his angel, whose arms wouldn't let go of her for even all the world.

Her beloved meanwhile kept his eyes on her, and finally moved to rest on top of her, holding her face in his hands. Finally, unable to think straight anymore, she opened her eyes to meet his, unsure of what was going on, yet liking whatever was going on.

"Karl" she whispered quietly, her mind still numbed from the daze of the night previous, "how long... have you been in love with me?"

He smiled. "For a while. Problem was, I wasn't sure of myself, let alone how you felt, so I kept to myself and still admired you--

...no, admire no longer does justice for how I feel about you anymore."

She blinked for a moment. "What do you mean... by that?"

"What I mean is, admiration has turned into love" he explained. "I'd hoped you felt the same."

"I do feel the same. I did then. I wasn't sure though, because I was afraid."

"No, angel, no" he whispered, "I can't see any reason why your past should attempt to take over what brighter future waits.

"That and, I'm afraid I love you too much to ever want to leave you."

His hands found hers, and clasped them tightly. He touched his nose to hers and smiled.

"You know, I bet that if I were to kiss you you'd end up with your fingers gone numb... just like last night" he said coyly.

Anneke, now slightly amused, raised a brow. "Oh really?" she asked.

"Mmhmm" Karl answered in reply.

A giggle finally escaped her lips, but it was a soft one, not the usual fit-happy laugh she usually had. Her hands still in his, the mensch-maschinr kissed along her left ear, near the scar she had suffered. Meanwhile her giggled softly quieted down, and she smiled contentedly, basking in his affection. This wasn't what she had grown to know as a child or teenager, but it was definitely something she could get used to.

After a while longer she took his face in her hands and smiled. "By the way, you're the first person since my Father who's ever seen me without my braids and ribbons" she said softly. Karl blinked, slightly stunned, but she still smiled.

"You should realize that, it's an honor. I don't even let Elibeth see me without 'em!" she noted.

His shock died down, and he smiled back, hugging her tightly. Then his eyes met hers again.

"My dearest Anya" he whispered. "My angel, my princess."

Words were finally rendered useless as his lips met hers, and she wasn't sure if either her lips smiled into the kiss or if her heart did. But whatever her heart was feeling, however strong or sweet it felt, whatever it was, she felt it was very, very nice...