Trapped in Her Heart

Ellie smiled and nodded her head before wrapping her arms around his waist. "I know, we are going to do great and I have a feeling that people are actually going to be jealous of us."     

Kissing her forehead, he proudly said, "Of course there is going to be a lot of jealousy and love."     

As the couple were busy enjoying the lantern moment, Charlotte and Brandon couldn't stop arguing.     

"Are you still blaming me for what had happened?"      

Confidently nodding his head, Charlotte scoffed, "Of course, who else am I supposed to blame? The twig or the imaginary snake?"     

Gritting his teeth, he snapped, "Hey, that was very scary and considering the fear I have for snakes, I think my reaction was very normal."     

"Just stop talking and pissing me off even more than I already am." Without waiting for his reply, she took out the lantern and started setting it up.     

"Do you actually believe in this?"      

"There are many things I believe in, which one are you talking about?" she inquired.     

Pointing towards the lantern, he explained, "This whole making a wish to the lantern thingy, do you really believe in this?"      

Shrugging her shoulders, she answered, "I can't give you any kind of assurity but no harm making one right? What if it's really true and you wish ight be true."     

"Okay so let's give it a shot, I'll make a wish and if it turns out to be true, I'll light a lantern every year," Brandon exclaimed before helping her light it.     

...     

"Can I sit here?" Ellie asked.     

Shifting to the side, Charlotte smiled, "Of course you can, I was just spending some quality time with myself."     

"Ahh I can come back later if you—"     

Cutting her off, she said, "It's alright, I am almost done."     

Keeping quiet for quite some time, Ellie remarked, "Seb told me how you helped him alot with all the planning, I had really not expected this to happen—I mean, I knew this would happen eventually but not this soon or during the trip."     

Looking at her, Charlotte smiled, "If you are here to thank me then it's alright El, you don't have to. I mean, if I don't help my friends when they are in need then who will?"     

Hesitating for a while, Ellie sighed, "You know when I heard that Sebastian had gone out on a date with you, I was very bumped and I didnt even want to see your face. I was so mad at him that I didn't even talk to him for hours. I thought you were some double standard bitchy woman who wanted to take him away from me."     

Pausing for a while, she chuckled and added, "But I was wrong and I understood that you weren't anything like I had thought you were when we met for the first time. I even told Seb that I was very happy to be around you and be friends with you."     

"Honestly, even I wasn't hoping that any of you would like me but well, unexpected things happen all the time in my life so I am not at all shocked." Looking at the lake, Charlotte nervously chuckled, "When I was young, my parents used to bring me out for a family outing every weekend. We used to go to amusement parks, picnics and sometimes camping too. My mom and dad showered me with all the love and affection that every child deserves to get when they are young and I was very happy. But things changed after I lost my parents in a car accident."     

Placing her hand on hers, Ellie sighed, "i am so sorry, I didn't know that—"     

"It's okay, I don't usually talk about this to anyone so it's fine." Pausing for a while, she continued, "Though I was only five when this happened and I just have a very vivid image of my parents and the time I had spent with them, I have always felt very empty from within and I still feel the same. Though my uncle loves me alot and takes care of me like his own, I always feel like something is missing. Maybe it's just me being selfish or paranoid but I feel that way."     

Helplessly shaking her head, she added, "So to not feel that way, I diverted my focus to different things. I tried cooking, baking, dancing and not to forget, I even tried falling in love but nothing worked, I just kept feeling that way. In fact, I am still trying very hard but the emptiness is still there."     

Keeping quiet for quite some time, Ellie explained, "My grandpa used to tell me that there is always an emptiness in everyone's life and we can't do anything about it except for waiting for the right time. So all you have to do is wait and have faith, I am sure that one day you feel complete too."     

Looking at Sebastian who was playing with Boji, Ellie added, "Until today, I always thought that I was happy and nothing else could make me feel more complete but I was wrong. When Sebastian told me about his feelings, I -I can't even express how immensely happy I felt and it felt so differently right."     

Placing her hand on Charlotte's, she added, "You think that you are feeling this emptiness because you lost your parents but may be you are wrong, maybe it's not because of them and something beautiful is waiting for you in the future.I just want to say don't lose hope Char because you never know how life might surprise you."      

…..     

Past midnight     

Camping space.     

Sebastian and Ellie's tent.     

Waking up in the middle of the night, Ellie frowned when she did not see Sebastian beside her. Picking up her phone, she tried calling him only to realize that he had left his cell phone behind.     

Thinking for a while, she slowly got out of the tent and started looking for him.      

Making sure not to wake up anyone, she pondered for a while before rushing towards the lakeside.     

.....