»
Main Forums
»
Passions in Prose
»
The West Virginia Hills
| Passions in Prose |
|
The West Virginia Hills |
|
LoveBug
Moderator
Member Elite
since 2000-01-08
Posts 4697
|
Madeline started up the hillside. It was a climb she had made every day for 3 years, and she knew she would make it every other day for the rest of her life. Nobody knew where she went at the wee hours of the morning, and no one asked questions. After three years, it just became a part of everyone’s life, including Madeline’s. She still struggled a little bit, but it had gotten easier from the first time she climbed. But, of course, she had had help that first time… Finally, she reached the top of the hill. There was a clearing there, and you could look down and see their small mountain town, the river, and the surrounding hills that seemed to go on forever. The sun began to turn the sky a light pink, and Madeline’s mind thought back to the first time she saw the sky turn pink over the West Virginia hills… Madeline, in her opinion, was the ugliest person on earth. She wasn’t ugly at all, actually, but she thought she was, and that thought made her miserable. She was 15, and she had only had one boyfriend. This fact only convinced her that she was uglier than she had first thought. She stopped talking to people, she became shy and withdrawn, and she also became depressed and suicidal. The one friend that stuck by her through all this, Rose, made her go to a party she gave on New Years Eve, 1999. “You HAVE to come, Maddie! You’re my best friend, and you have to do something great for 2000! You don’t want to tell your grandchildren that you sat at home when the new millennium came, do you?” So Madeline came, although she knew that she wasn’t going to have any grandchildren. She was going to end it all, as soon as she came home from the party… At about 8pm, Madeline walked next door to Rose’s house. It was already packed, for Rose was very popular. Rose welcomed her, and introduced her to some people, but Madeline soon found herself alone. She took a place near the wall, and waited for midnight to come, and the chance to go home. Every time she glanced at the clock, she saw a young man glancing at her. She grew uncomfortable, because he was very good-looking, and she assumed she must be so ugly that all he can do is stare, although his expression suggested anything but that. Finally, she found Rose and asked her who he was. “He’s David Timmons. He’s a senior at Belfry High. He’s a hottie, ain’t he?” “Yeah, and he’s staring at me!” Madeline said. Rose winked at her and said, “You go girl!” and walked away. As soon as Rose walked away, Madeline saw David walking towards her! Before she could run anywhere, he was speaking to her. “Hey, why is a pretty girl like you standing by herself?” Madeline smiled, in spite of herself. “Oh, and you’re so much prettier with that smile…” Madeline didn’t know what to think. This guy wasn’t kidding, that was sure. “Do you REALLY think I’m pretty?” she asked. “Why would I say something I didn’t mean?” was his reply. And, so the night went on. Madeline told him everything, about her depression, about her self-image… everything. She couldn’t believe that she was opening her soul to someone she had never met before. Yes, he was a stranger, but Madeline felt as if she had known him all of her life. David opened up to her, also. He told her about how he felt pressure to be like his older brother, who was very intelligent and attended NYU. They understood each other perfectly. As midnight approached, David said “I don’t want to share the dawn of a new millennium with anyone but you. Can we go somewhere else?” “Sure”, Madeline said “Rose talks about the top of the hill behind her house all the time, let’s go there”. So they began the climb. It was cold and wet, but Madeline didn’t notice anything but the warmth of David’s hand and the sound of his voice. Then they reached the top. They could see everything, the town, the river, and all the hills. “God, I don’t want to leave. Life goes by so quickly, and before you know it, everything you’ve ever known is gone. I wish that I could take time and look at everything like I am now.” Madeline listened in awe. Most people his age were ready and more than willing to leave West Virginia behind, but he was different. “Take a picture in your mind, David.” She said. He thought about that for a moment and said “Yes, you’re right. I’ll always remember tonight, this place, and you…” and then he kissed her. Her first kiss. All the years of frustration and loneliness all lead up to this. This perfect love. After they kissed, David looked at her and said “And to think you were going to kill yourself… if you would have done that, you would never have this. I would never have this… You see, everything that happens leads to something else.” He seemed to read her mind. He held her close and began to hum “Oh, the West Virginia Hills”. At the end, they both sang the last verse together: “Oh, the West Virginia hills! I must bid you now adieu. In my home beyond the mountains I shall ever dream of you; In the evening time of life, If my Father only wills, I shall still behold the vision Of those West Virginia hills.” “From now on, I’ll always behold this vision of this moment” David said. Then they kissed again, and they didn’t stop until the year 2000. Madeline and David stayed on the hilltop all night, until the sun rose. They watched the first dawn of the new millennium together. “Our first morning together, and it won’t be our last” David said. When they came down from the hill, Rose met them. “I covered for you both when your parents called. I said you stayed here last night, Maddie, and I told your parents that you went home with a friend, David.” Then Rose winked at them. Madeline blushed a crimson red while David just laughed. When the time came that they had to go home, David gave Madeline a goodbye kiss and said “That moment will always be on my mind”. He said that he would call her that night. Madeline came home, happier than she had been in years. Her parents noticed a change in her, but they said nothing. She slept until 7pm, and then waited by the phone. One hour went by, then two. Soon it was 11pm and he still hadn’t called. She knew that he couldn’t forget her that easily, and a feeling of dread came over her. She looked up his number and called. A tearful lady answered, and Madeline’s dread worsened as she asked for David. The lady asked her name, and she gave it. “Oh, dear, we’ve been trying to get a hold of you! David came home and talked and talked about you, but then he went for a drive… and then… and then he hit a patch of ice and…” Madeline didn’t hear anymore, because the lady’s voice was drowned out by the sound of her own sobbing. She went to the funeral in shock, but the shock turned to grief when she saw David’s body lying in the casket. Madeline couldn’t believe that he was just sleeping until she touched him. He was so cold… all her live, Madeline would remember how cold David’s body was that day. After she got home, she went to her room and cried for hours. While she was crying, she thought. “Why was he taken away from me so soon? He was the only one who really understood me! He was the only one who really loved me… I just had him for a few hours, and then he was gone…” But then, Madeline thought about those few hours. They were the most wonderful few hours in her life. Then she seemed to hear David’s voice saying, “I’ll always remember tonight, this place, and you” Madeline thought back to that moment. How sweet it was! Then the got down on her knees and thanked God for that moment, that moment that she knew that she was worth loving, that moment everything fell into place. Madeline thought about all of this while she watched the sun rise over the West Virginia hills. She thought back to when David said “Our first morning together, and it won’t be our last”. No, that morning wasn’t their last together. Every morning since, they were together. They were together every moment of the day. Sometimes, Madeline felt a touch on her shoulder, or heard a loving whisper in her ear, and she knew that he was there. But this morning was different, she was going away to college later that day, and she was leaving everything she had known behind, like David talked about so long ago. Then she heard David whisper in her ear: “Oh, the West Virginia hills! I must bid you now adieu. In my home beyond the mountains I shall ever dream of you; In the evening time of life, If my Father only wills, I shall still behold the vision Of those West Virginia hills.” As long as she remembered, as long as she had that vision, that moment would live forever. She felt someone touch her shoulder. She was leaving many things behind, family, friends, and her whole life. But, any time she thought back to the past, to the pictures in her mind, none of these things could fade, not even what was already gone. She felt someone touch her shoulder again. Maybe she wasn’t leaving that much behind after all... as long as she always had that moment in her mind. Her love, his touch, the town, the river, and the West Virginia hills. "To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world" |
||
| © Copyright 2000 Erica N. - All Rights Reserved | |||
|
Dusk Treader
Moderator
Senior Member
since 1999-06-18
Posts 1187St. Paul, MN |
What a sweet story you have here, and the ending thoughts are oh so true. I thought the characters of Madeline and David were a little hollow, and fleshing them out a bit would give the story more feeling. I enjoyed this piece though, and I thought the ending was especially well done. A writer's soul is on paper etched. In flames I shall not be consumed, but reborn. -- Abrahm Simons |
||
Tamma
since 2000-01-17
Posts 794In His Arms, Harpers Ferry, WV |
ok, now im about to cry  I live in West Virginia, and i love top just sit on the hill u=in my back yard  "In a secret, I lIve, InvIsIble to all" -Me :) |
||
|
Martie
Moderator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-09-21
Posts 28049California |
This is a very touching story. I enjoyed it. |
||
|
Bright Melody Junior Member
since 1999-11-06
Posts 37O'Fallon Illinois |
This was great! I'm new to this forum and I loved it. I'm 16 and lived in Beckley West Virginia untill August of 1998. I really miss it, this brought it all home. Thanks If you love something let it go... if it comes back it's yours... if it doesn't it never was. |
||
|
Elizabeth Santos Member Rara Avis
since 1999-11-08
Posts 9269Pennsylvania |
lovebug, This is wonderful I'm astonished at the extent of your talents. I didn't know you were posting in prose. You have become my mentor! Liz |
||
|
LoveBug
Moderator
Member Elite
since 2000-01-08
Posts 4697 |
Thanks for the nice comments, everyone! Liz, every once in awhile I'll try my hand at prose, but it is never as good as my poetry, I think. And I could never be your mentor! "To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world" |
||
|
|
⇧ top of page ⇧ |
|
| All times are ET (US). All dates are in Year-Month-Day format. | ||
