Love of a Lifetime

Shuddering, she resolved to force the image from her mind and concentrate on the store and she began to straighten the multitude of books, making sure each spine was perfectly aligned.

Whenever a customer came in to either peruse or purchase and she had to stand behind the counter, the box seemed to reach out to her, calling to her. She jumped in alarm as her leg brushed the corner of the box and then laughed at herself for her "girlie-ness".

Her will becoming stronger, she managed to actually forget about the box for the rest of the day. Well, she couldn't figure out if it was her will or the steady stream of customers that had her forgetting about the box; although, as long as it was forgotten and not calling to her, she didn't care the cause.

As her last customers filed out, she went about the business of closing shop for the day. She waved a hand over the digital radio, calling out the news station as she liked to keep up on the day's events. " ... suffered a massive heart attack and is currently in intensive care at Johns Hopkins University Hospital. No word yet on the prognosis for Mr. Dorough; although a healthcare spokesperson is expected to ..."

'Mr. Dorough?' she thought to herself. 'Why does that last name sound so familiar?' Like a dog with a bone, she was determined to figure out the connection and she began to pace, her concentration only on her own thoughts. Just then, the reporter mentioned the two words that broke her reverie and her mind was flooded with recognition " ... Backstreet Boys ..."

'That's it!' she declared triumphantly. 'I knew I knew that name from somewhere!'

It was then that the box called to her again; and, this time, it would not be ignored.

She took the key from her pocket and slid the box off the shelf behind the counter onto the countertop itself, her hands trembling fiercely as the key slid in with purpose and almost seemed to turn by itself. She looked at the lock quizzically, as she couldn't remember physically turning the key.

'Get a grip Stupid.' she muttered aloud to herself, then shaking her head, realizing that she MUST'VE turned the key as the box was now open and how else could that have happened because she surely locked it, she had the only key, and the box was just as surely now unlocked. Groaning at her temporary lapse of reason, she threw back the lid to examine the contents of the box.

She removed the book again, placing it on the counter next to the box, turning her attention to what else was inside. 'Hmmmm? Nothing.' she thought, as she ran her hands against the deep purple velvet casing inside, checking for holes and secret compartments. The box was absolutely empty, save for the book.

The book.

Her heart racing, she took the volume in her hands and investigated the outside, turning it over in her grasp. The book was of a medium thickness and it emanated that glorious "old-book" smell. The pages, from what she could see of them, were gilded with gold and wrapped in smooth, worn brown leather. She held the book up to her nose and inhaled the mixture of scents, her eyes rolling into the back of her head in pleasure. If Destina was anything, she was a lover of books -- the older the better.

She grasped the book in her hand and ran her thumb to the last page and began to flip the pages from the end to the beginning. 'That's odd' she stated, as she noticed that the pages were blank. She slowed her perusal, turning each page by hand, looking for one word, one page number, something; yet, there was nothing. As she made her way backwards to the first page, something caught her eye: a single unused ticket to a Backstreet Boys' concert ... dated August 24, 2001.

Smiling as she pulled the rectangular momento from its place between the first two pages, she relished the feel of the ticket, heady and excited at being able to add it to her collection. Her Backstreet Boys collection. She had plenty of used tickets to their old shows; but, she hadn't been able to find an unused ticket ... and here one was.

She almost smacked herself in the head then as she realized how long it took her to remember Howie D's last name. 'Well, I guess I got MY blonde moment out of the way for today!' she laughed at herself.

Still smiling, she closed the store and put the book back in the box, locking it, and taking it with her, the ticket still in her hand.

Destina made her way again to her car, smiling the entire way home, her thoughts filled with how she would preserve the ticket, (which looked brand-new) where she would keep it, etc. Her thoughts then again turned to what it would be like to have had the chance to attend a concert and those thoughts carried her into her home, through her shower, and; after placing the ticket beneath her pillow, off to sleep.

She began to dream of screaming teenagers emitting blood-curdling squeals of delight and she subconsciously put her hands over her ears. She squinted her eyes as the arena lights momentarily blinded her and she could smell the anticipation -- and sweat mixed with perfume -- hanging heavy in the air.

She woke the next morning, exhausted, the night's dream still vivid in her mind. As she threw back the covers, she gasped to realize that she was dressed in the same outfit as her dream: tight black jeans and a snug violet halter top that exactly matched her eyes.

'What the hell?' she thought to herself, looking quite confused. Deciding that she must've risen in the night and dressed, she shook off the eerie feeling creeping up the back of her neck and went to shower and change.

Returning to her bedroom, she remembered the ticket left beneath her pillow and she went to retrieve it to just throw it back in the box for now as she was running late for work. She couldn't recall the last time she slept through the alarm because Symbient would always get quite insistent -- and loud -- if she slept too long. It was then that she remembered disabling the alarm; although, she couldn't figure out with Symbient didn't reset itself for the new day.

"Symbient, run a systems check." she declared as she wanted to be sure everything was in perfect order.

"Systems check complete. No malfunctions discovered."

"That is so ... ODD." she stated aloud. "Symbient, make an appointment for yourself to have a diagnostic check." she suggested, reaching under her pillow for the ticket. She removed the ticket and groaned as she saw that she only held the stub in her hand.

"Damn it!" she flipped the pillow up, to grab the other half and she stopped short when she realized it wasn't under the pillow.

The store be damned, she was going to find the other half of that ticket and she moved sheets and took the pillows out of their cases, even going so far as to move the bed and search all around it.

'Nothing.' she thought to herself 'How can that be?'

Symbient's announcement that it was 8:45 grabbed her attention and she went to the box, pulling out the book, to place the ticket back between the pages, when she saw something that made every hair on her body stand on end: there were now words on some of the beginning pages. Typed words.

Her breath caught in her throat, she began to read ...

It was a humid night, the night we met, charged with electricity and anticipation. It was Alex's first concert back and we were all anxious and nervous, pacing the room with a mix of countless emotions. I decided to check the crowd on the monitors and that's when I saw you in those black jeans and violet top and when I saw that the violet of your shirt was the same violet of your eyes, I fell in love with you in that one moment. A calm came over me then and my heart knew that you were my destiny, the woman I would spend the rest of my life loving. I didn't know your name -- and Oh! the surprise at finding at your name -- didn't know anything about you. I just knew that I loved you...

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