Every year, true to his words, Stefan sent Camelia a birthday card.
To her delight, he never missed a year.
It began as a tradition to stand in the foyer and wait on the eve of her birthday. When her father would come back from work holding a hefty pile of mail. In that stack held the card she anticipated.
It was a secret pleasure. Similar to the feeling a child had when finding presents left behind by Santa Claus on Christmas Day. In her eyes, his actions were better than any gift she could ever receive.
....Camelia would never open it until she rushed to the safe confines of her room, plopped on her bed and carefully, like she was handling one of her most precious dolls, opens the envelope to find a card placed inside. Her heart burst in happiness and pure raw joy when she read the sweet words he wished her.
And like every year it was signed,
Your Knight, Stefan.
...Once Camelia finished reading the contents of the card the warmest smile would appear on her lips. It stretched so wide her face would ache. Without even thinking of what she was doing, she placed it over her heart, welcoming the thoughtfulness while relishing in the simple happiness he gave her life.
Even after she heard he went into the military, it never stopped him from wishing her a very happy birthday. And happy it was, his thoughtfulness made it all the more special.
...All the cards she accumulated over the years lay enclosed in a shoe box kept in her closet. Tucked away like hidden treasure.
Camelia couldn't help but wonder, as she re-read every card he'd sent her over the years, if he too was thinking of her like she was thinking of him.
...As Camelia got older, Stefan grew in her heart. For he wedged himself deep into her DNA, to an extent, she thought of him every passing day. The image of his face stayed tattooed in her mind. The memory of him stayed penetrated in her brain, like a stain on a shirt.
...It was a personal tradition, when each night after celebrating her birthday, she would sit next to her window and look up. The sky would be dark and illuminated with stars, twinkling white like diamonds. Camelia closes her eyes, clasps her hands as if in prayer, and wished upon a star that someday her knight in shinning armor would truly come back and sweep her off her feet...
10 years later...
Camelia puts the last touches of of pale lipstick on her lips, views herself in the mirror one last time, grabs her black clutch and darts out her bedroom. She slips in the awaiting Range Rover finding her father in the passenger seat while she and her mother occupied the back. The chauffeur driver closes the door swiftly and smoothly maneuvers them towards their destination.
Switching the vibrate button on her phone, she noticed her battery was running low and rolls her eyes in irritation. The 20% battery life left wouldn't even get her through two hours.
She sighs, frustrated with herself yet again.
It wasn't texting or talking that made the battery run out so fast, it was from all the reading she did on it. She was in love with reading. May it be romance, adventure, vampire, werewolf...she was always engrossed in a great plot.
It was her only sanctuary. A nerd at heart. Preferring a good read over television was her life. She didn't even know what was going on in the world if it wasn't for the radio talk show she listened to when driving to school.
However fascinating it was to imagine the impossible, the unordinary, the rarity of it all, it would be nice sometimes if the world had a little magic in it.
Perhaps a fairy godmother...or a genie who grants three wishes? To have a superpower like Elsa and turn anything to frozen ice...Her thoughts made the side of her face lift up in half a smile.  It would be nice if there were a few Prince Charmings sprinkled around the world, charging in on white horses carrying maidens towards the sunset.
Camelia shook her head at the nonsense her mind conjured up. She was a whimsical dreamer. However foolish it sounded, it couldn't prevent the image from flooding her brain of Stefan as her Prince Charming.
It made a blush form on her pale cheeks while a content sigh escapes her lips.
To have someone to love and be loved in return was every girl's dream. And deep down she yearned for her very own fairytale. A man to share her first kiss with. A man that shared her dreams. A man to share a future with. Camelia wished with her whole heart she would someday have a romance story of her very own that she would one day live out.
As always she was doubtful.
Someone like her didn't get those kind of things. She was too closed off to the world. Being shy did not help. It always put her on edge when it came to the opposite sex. It was difficult to trust and it wasn't easy to form relationships with males or females when all she does is stand in the shadows and act invisible.
And for that reason nobody ever bothered with her. She barely had any friends. But because she shut people out she was labeled by many as selfish, arrogant, cold, standoffish, reserved, serious, unapproachable.
When one doesn't ask, one only assumes and most times it was misplaced. Their assumptions were based on how they wanted to view her. Nobody ever approached and asked.
It was true she was quiet but it came to her naturally to be an observer then a talker. There was a whole different world inside her head only a handful of people knew about.
She found joy in the smallest things. Loved life. Believed in true love. Listening to music gave peace to her soul. Sitting in a corner quietly and watching others interact was enough most times. But being in seclusion had a price, and that, like everything else in this world ends.
Deep down she was lonely.
****
They finally arrive.
The reality finally sinking in.
Starring wide eyed, passed the tinted windows of their moving vehicle, they approach the cemetery, catching an unobstructed view of line after line of tombstones.
Some large, some small, others lay flat in the grass. The flowers surrounding and atop some of the graves was the only indication of life. It made her feel hollow and incredibly sad for the people who lost their family members.
The muscles in Camelia's chest tightened. It suddenly felt as if a heavy and burdening feeling weighted her down much like a pile of bricks.
She switches her gaze back towards the clear blue sky.
It was a bright, temperate day in January. The sky was clear and sunny instead of downcast like the day represented. The weather should be stormy and rainingâwhere angels up in heaven were crying and showering them with their sadness.
Camelia's gaze travels over the tall green trees and grassy manicured landscape as she stepped out of the car and glanced down at her black, mourning attire. However elegant it was for a formal setting, she hated the color and the depressing reminder of the event it was customarily worn for. It was a negative tone. A notorious color that expressed a passing of the deceased.
A color that reflected sadness, grief, loss....
Death.
It was a sadder day knowing somebody that they all loved was to be placed to rest.
Stefan Steel senior.
Camelia shudders, moving to where the mourners stood waiting for the service to begin feeling selfish for thinking about her own hopes and dreams earlier. It was a day to mourn a man who left a legacy, a stamp, forever engraved in the hearts he touched.
The man, her father considered a very close friend. The man, who always had a lollipop waiting in his pocket for her when he happened to visit her parents. The man, who would sit her on his lap and tell her stories about his grandson.
He died of a failing heart at the age of eighty-six. It was all of a sudden, without any warnings.
One day, he was smoking a cigar in his living room before a cozy fire with a cup of tea. The next moment his staff find him collapsed on the floor, a hand laying over his heart. It happened soon after Christmas and right before the New Year.
It's difficult to comprehend the injustice of the taking of a loved one as Camelia scanned over the countless men and women dressed in black listening to the priest recite his words. She was standing next to her father and mother. Their heads bowed in silence.
To the other side stood her grandparents Patrick and Charlotte Taverron, her mother's parents. Standing close by were Victor and Kate, her father's parents. Witnessing their old age with new eyes, the years that passed showed on their faces.
It forced her to realize that nothing lasts forever like in the stories she's read.
The tales of action, adventure, loveâwas only fantasy. No one ever really had a happily ever after. If it did exist and not just in books, that too comes to an end eventually.
It makes you realize the importance of those that still surround you. That they too one day will exit this earth like they never existed. It's the circle of life. Everybody will have a end and others will be born to start anew.
Death knows no boundaries, it knows no age, has no limits. When it was time to exit this life, it was time. It never waited. Sometimes what is meant to be is inevitable. We were just guests in this world.
Unfortunately that was the thin line between life and death.
Life in itself was like a movie, the only difference is we couldn't pick out our own genre.
Camelia clenched her jaw to keep her tears at bay. It was beyond sad, it was back breaking. We all take what we have and who surrounds us for granted. It was ignorant and selfish yet the truth as human beings.
Behind her black sunglasses a lone tear escapes the side of her eye and she quickly brushes it away before it ran down her cheek. She sniffles and takes a tissue out of her pocket to wipe her nose.
Camelia's gaze kept wandering and searching across the crowd until they stopped. Something inside her awakened, kindled like a spark once she finally saw him.
Stefan.
Her secret crushâthe only secret she ever had. The man she loved with her whole heart since childhood.
The butterflies erupted in her stomach and her starving eyes kept watching him greedily. She still worshipped him. She thought the day would never come where she would see him again. Despite the saddening circumstances a part of her awakened.
It was a long time, too long, she thinks whimsically feeling a blush coat her cheeks.
Although she had never seen him again passed that day ten years ago, there he was in the flesh. Standing before the casket with hands clasped before him saying goodbye to the only true family he had left.
Despite the sorrowful day he looked strong and powerful, confidentâhis aura screaming masculinity like nobody she had come across. His presence was dominating, attracting attention where you would want to walk up and touch him like he was a rare specimen just to make sure he was real.
Camelia noticed by scanning his full figure, he changed. A lot. Gone was the boy in her mind, instead a man took his place. If it were possible he was taller and very broad shouldered, much broader than she remembered long ago. His dark hair was longer and wavy, swept to the back of his head. The muscles in his back were faintly outlined by his jacket, but underneath his suit it was obvious he had packed on pounds of muscle all over his body.
Stefan shifts and rolls his shoulders slightly, Camelia watching his every move. The discomfort radiating off of him was not hard to miss. The dark navy suit he wore looked uncomfortably claustrophobic. It appeared as if he wanted to crawl out of his own skin.
Camelia never made it obvious to anyone of her infatuation, even his grandfather. She never asked, never showed interest but whenever her ears caught her father and late Uncle Stefan speaking about him they perked up. The yearning within her never dissipated and greedily soaked any information about him.
Camelia learned he was not just in the military as an ordinary solider. Stefan was a navy S.E.A.L, appointed the rank as captain in the nations strongest sector. In the last ten years he hadn't been released from his overseas duties much, barely visiting his grandfather once a year for two weeks.
Camelia wished she could see his face, wondering if his features changed. But even if he turned and faced her, his face was partially covered by dark sunglasses. She was sure he was masking his pain. It was said the eyes were the mirrors to the soul. They expressed ones feelings, may it be hurt, hate, kindness, compassion, pain. And she was sure he was hiding the pain and grief behind the dark lenses like a shield.
Towers of flowers surrounded the closed casket and Stefan, placing an ethereal halo of brightness over him. The trance she was under shattered when the priest said the last of the prayers and made a cross against his chest murmuring, "May he rest in peace."
Stefan's motionless body became alert once the service ended. He shifts slightly and plucks a large single yellow rose, placing it gently atop the casket. Releasing a deep sigh he relaxes his shoulders and adjusts his posture. He turns and begins shaking hands as people approach with their condolences.
Camelia continues to observe, catching a glimpse of the side of his face. It was devoid of any emotion. He was pale and from what she could see and a strong jaw with at least a few days worth of growth as a stubble began to take form. She caught the tension in his stance as he robotically shook hands and nods numbly.
Her gaze shifts to his mouth, lips slightly pursed. It was difficult to read what he was saying. He was barely speaking while a deep frown marred his eyebrows.
Camelia jumps in place when she felt a feather like caress to her arm. Her mother smiles softly and motions for her to walk. "Come my love, let us give him some time to say goodbye..." She says shifting her head in Stefan's direction.
Camelia glances back witnessing her father speaking to him in a low voice. He places a comforting hand on his shoulder. Stefan's posture changed from being ridged to slouching like her father's hand weighed him down and deflated his body.
The pain surfaced. His head was bowed signifying his suffering. The struggle he was trying to hide internally showed when most of the attendees were leaving to come together for the brunch that was expected to take place after the service.
"Ok, but shouldn't we at least say our condolences?" Camelia asked, glancing around. The many men and woman already started to make their descent from the high mountain. Camelia was desperate to show Stefan how all grown up she was. She died everyday waiting for him, she wasn't eager to leave quiet yet.
"It's all right, let your father speak to him privately. You can pay your respects during brunch." Her mother murmurs and tucks a stray strand of strawberry blonde hair behind her ears as a cool breeze brushes past them shifting and ruffling their hair slightly.
Although the temperature was slightly warm that day, a shiver runs through Camelia's body. It tore her insides to be separated and deprived of Stefan again after such a long absence.  It made her heart ache, rubbing her chest to ease the discomfort. A part of her was left incomplete. She finally found him again, like a missing piece of an unsolved puzzle.
With no choice left but to leave, Camelia nods numbly and begins walking beside her mother as they approached the awaiting vehicle.
Looking back longingly, one last time, she was surprised to find a beautiful blonde woman embracing Stefan tenderly. The woman was intimately stroking the hair at the nape of his neck.  Stefan's arms were wrapped around her as if his life depended on her comfortâlike two lovers giving one another strength.
Camelia froze like a garden statue.
The goosebumps rose on her arms as the pit of her stomach felt like it dropped. The butterflies fluttering inside her stomach died. Camelia bit her lip, struggling against the silly urge to cry.
No, Camelia mourned inwardly.
Their unspoken stances indicated a close bond between the two of them. She couldn't avoid the conclusion the woman was important to Stefan.
She stood there, knees trembling.
She should have known better.
Camelia wanted to weep at the discovery, even though she knew the news should not have surprised her. It was perfectly natural for a handsome man like Stefan to have women in his life. Someone as fascinating and magnificent as him wheeled woman in like a fish on a hook.
She was so absorbed in the made up impression of him in her mind that she forgot about the reality. A child who conjured a fantasy in her mind and believed it. They were two different people.
She was a woman now and he was a man. Two different peopleâTwo different lives. A span of a decade changed not just people but the entire universe.
The little ten year old girl inside her watched on devastated. The image of her former self tearing up into a thousand little pieces was much like her soul being ripped out of her body.
Camelia swallows and retreats a step. The defeat anchors down her shoulders and she becomes numb from the shock to her system.
The biggest regret was believing her fantasies. The internal hope, the belief, that one day he would come back and sweep her off her feet. How naïve and childish, reprimanding herself. The more she remembered the angrier she felt. A surge of betrayal spreads throughout her entire body while the humiliation flares hotly in her overly flush cheeks.
She had known that her love for him was unrequited. But deep down she believed he deeply cared maybe, possibly even loved her in his own way. A love she hoped would have blossomed into something with more meaning, on a more deeper level once he had seen her again.
How pathetic. All that time she had waited, hoped...dreamed.  She couldn't help but feel like she was taken advantage of as the pain spreads in her veins.
A flash of wounded fury appeared in her eyes. Clenching her hands into fists, her nails dig painfully into her palms.
It was all her fault and his, for providing false hope to a child he won over with his charm, warm smile and generous heart. He never should have led her to believe he cared. The cards, his promises, his kindness....he ended up destroying her briefs as a piece of her innocence tears down the middle.
The hope vanished.
The dreams doused like a candle.
Taking a deep breath, she straightens her posture, learning a lesson she would never forget. Life truly goes on.  She would never be the same after that day.
From that day forward, she was going to find a way to make it without him. She would find a way to sleep in her bed tonight with a broken heart, wondering how she would go on, knowing what might have been.
She lingers for a moment longer, memorizing his face, accepting defeat, terribly afraid that this one brief glimpse was all she would ever have of him.
The love she felt for him was burning down to a crisp, slowly, much like a fire burning acres of forest little by little.
Mustering all the strength within her, forcing a cry of agony down her throat she swallowed the lump and turned away with a heavy broken heart. Camelia would not cry, she could not cry. For if she did, she knew she would never stop.
She couldn't look him in the face now. Not anymore. What was the point?
"Mom do you think it would be rude of me to skip out on it all and just go home? I need to prepare for classes and I would like to change." She asked tightly, trying to keep the hurt and pain out of her voice.
"Of course you can. I can pass on your condolences to Stefan. Make sure you have your phone charged if I need to get a hold of you and make sure you text me when you make it on campus." Her mother reminded her.
Camelia nods numbly. She didn't care anymore. Nothing mattered. She felt like a empty shellâa prisoner in her body. She wished for many things, but was aware none of them were going to come true, not now. Not ever.
Until a few minutes ago she had a life, a future, to look forward to. But now everything looked so bleak.
Camelia could not lie to herself even if she wanted to for there was one thing she was sure ofâshe would miss him in ways she didn't know existed. He would forever be apart of her mentally and physically. Stefan was formed from the very threads of her being.
Some legends were told and remembered for centuries. And just like them, Camelia will always remember the old Stefan she knew and loved so well.
He will go down in her history books for eternity.
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Thanks for reading everybody! As always, more to come...
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-Shaz