She was standing in the middle of a field of yellow mustard. A picture of perfection, her brown hair fell all the way to the small of her back. The same wind that turned the massive windmills behind her was flowing through the long strands, her floral orange and yellow dress made her seem like a concentration of flowers in the sea of yellow plants. The damsel's eyes were closed and her arms stretched out slightly at her sides. With her chin tilted upward, she was smiling as if she were enjoying the warmth of the spring sun.
Kylian pulled over. He turned off the engine of his beat up '94 four-gear Toyota Tercel. Kylian's camera sat in the passenger's seat. He picked up his old Nikon friend and attached a different lens. Kylian stepped outside. He had to take her picture. Everything about the scene was perfect. The young man progressed through the mustard, closer to the mystery woman. He stopped, and after finding a good angle, raised the camera to his eye. Focus. Click. Click.
She'd heard him. The beauty opened her eyes and looked straight at Kylian. Her large eyes were a bright green-blue and they were outlined by thick dark brown lashes. Startled, Kylian gasped and jumped slightly. Like a burglar caught in the act, he felt guilt and fear. The girl's eyes to his surprise were not angry, but gentle and curious.
"Hello there," the girl said. Her voice was sweet and melodic. It reminded Kylian of the soft tune of a jewelry box.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to intrude of disturb your privacy," Kylian said quickly, blurring the words together. "I was driving on that road right there and saw you standing here."
She was silent for a moment, just looking at Kylian. He had black hair and tanned skin. His build was thin but muscular and he was tall. "Are you a photographer?" she asked, breaking the silence.
"Uh… yeah I am," Kylian confessed. "I'm sorry that I didn't ask your permission before. I'll just leave now. Don't worry; I'll delete those pictures that I took." He turned around and began to walk back to his pathetic blue car.
"Wait!" she called after Kylian and ran up to him. "Um, I'm Jess. And you are…?"
"I'm Kylian," he replied.
"Nice to meet you, Kylian." Jess stuck her hand out in front of her with a big smile. Kylian responded by shaking her hand.
Jess went on, "Can I ask a favor of you, if you're not busy that is?"
"I guess," Kylian said. He was extremely nervous at this point. His heart was beating irregularly and the heat was making him perspire.
"Well, I was wondering if you would stay," she said. "Stay and take more pictures of me?"
Kylian was shocked. He'd never had a stranger volunteer to model for him so quickly. Jess was perfect. She was beautiful with her small features. Their location and lighting was too good to pass up. How could he refuse such an offer? "Okay, Jess. I'll stay."
And he began to take her picture. They played in the field of mustard until the burning sunset filled the sky and that orange sphere called the sun hid behind the green hills. When it was dark and cold outside, Kylian realized that they had to leave. The photo shoot was over. "How are you getting home?" he asked Jess.
She replied, "Well, you're taking me of course. I live on the outskirts of town."
"Oh, right. Of course I will," Kylian said. He thought Jess was a bit demanding, but he was curious about her strange ways. "Well let's go then," he said, and they walked to the Tercel.
"I'm hungry, Kylian," Jessed said, whining as they drove into town. "Can we go get something to eat?"
"Um, sure," Kylian replied. "What would you like to eat?"
"Hmm…" Jess started. A giant smile swept across her face revealing her perfectly straight, white teeth. "I want pancakes!" she exclaimed. "YUM!"
"Alright," Kylian said. "Let's go to IHOP."
"Yum!" Jess said again. She was like a child. She got excited over the thought of something as simple as pancakes. Jess knew how to enjoy the simple pleasures of life: the sun, the wind, pancakes.
At IHOP, Jess ordered pancakes with strawberries and whipped cream to top it all off. Kylian had the standard two pancakes, eggs and sausages. During this breakfast-dinner, they talked about their photography session, the movies they liked and the food they enjoyed. Kylian and Jess had a lot of similarities, and also some differences in taste. The more time they spent together that night, the more Kylian became interested in her. After they were done eating, they got back into the little blue car that could to take Jess home.
Jess lived on a ranch on the outskirts of town. Her small, one story house had one porch light on. The light blue paint was chipping off the panels. As the pair sat in silence in the dark, the roof of Kylian's mouth itched. "Today was really nice, Jess," he said. "I'm glad I saw you out there. I'd love for you to model for me aga—"
Jess pressed her soft pink lips to his, cutting him off. Kylian felt his eyes close and was completely absorbed into his kiss. All of a sudden, Jess pulled apart and gasped. Kylian turned his head to look toward the house. And the lights in the front room were on with the curtain raised. The outline of a person was peering through the window. Kylian and Jess were both startled to say the least.
"I have to go," Jess said, embarrassed with her cheeks flushed.
"Okay, can I have your phone number?"
"I don't have one." Jess unbuckled her lap-belt.
"Well can I see you again?" Kylian asked desperately.
"I don't know Kylian," Jess said. "I'll find you."
Jess opened the car door, got out and slammed it shut. "Goodbye, Kylian," she said and walked towards her house. She disappeared through the front door.
Dumbfounded, Kylian drove to his house in a newer part of town. The houses there were large and uniform all made by the same contractors. In the calm dark of his bedroom, Kylian laid down puzzled. He was so intrigued by the mystery of Jess. He wanted more than anything to see her again and photograph her. Soon, Kylian fell asleep and dreamed of fields of mustard.
When he woke up the next day, Kylian opened his camera. He took out the roll of film and stepped into his dark room. He was excited to start developing the shots from the previous day. The shot was blank. The second shot was also blank. Frustrated and confused, Kylian examined all the film he used and each shot was blank. He couldn't understand what was going on.
Kylian ran downstairs and got into his car. He drove to Jess's house, determined to figure out what was going on. He definitely had taken pictures of her. He parked his car in front of her house, but it was different. The house was blacked, and park of the roof had fallen to the ground. It was as if the house had burned to the ground overnight. Kylian spotted a fruit stand down the road. He needed some answers so he walked down to it.
"Hey, how long ago did that house burn down? Kylian asked the attendant.
"I think it was five years ago around this time," she said.
"I used to know a girl who lived there; do you know where she moved to? Her name is Jess."
"Jess… that's too bad. Jessica was a beautiful young girl. She and her father were inside when the house went up in flames. She used to buy fruit from me every week. Such a sweet thing," the woman reminisced.
Kylian was shocked. He felt her the day before; there was no way that she could have been a ghost. He stumbled back towards the burnt house and his car. Kylian walked around the property, kicking stones and debris.
Under a piece of burnt wood, Kylian noticed something shiny. He went over and lifted the wood to discover a photo album. The book was also blacked, but with ash. The corners of the album were coated in metal. He opened the photo album. The first picture was a picture of Jess smiling. All of the photos were of Jess. Kylian recognized every photo in the album because he ad taken them all. In a field of golden mustard, on a sunny Sunday, Kylian really had taken Jess's picture.
The New Busy is not the too busy. Combine all your e-mail accounts with Hotmail. Get busy.
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