The lake water lapped against the edge of the pier, creating the perfect soundtrack. The temperature had dropped, the air now a crisp companion. Tristan slid off his jacket and wrapped it around Helena’s shoulders.

She grinned at him, pressing her arm against his side and nestling her head on his shoulder.

“Thank you for this evening,” she whispered. “It has been perfect.”

He smiled and skimmed his lips against her cool forehead.

“I want to give you more.” He kicked his feet in the air, crossing his ankles and letting them swing out over the water.

Helena’s only response was a soft sigh.

Tristan didn’t know how to reply. Instead he silently sat on the pier, fighting the urge to rant at her mother’s narrow-minded unfairness.

As if reading his mind, Helena murmured, “She was such a different person before my father died.” She adjusted her head on his shoulder.

“What was she like?”

“Music. She was like a cheerful polka on a sunny day, and then when it rained she was a melancholy concerto. When she was angry, she was a symphony.”

Tristan smiled, resisting the urge to mutter, I know.

“Everything about her was glorious and whimsical. Her laughter was so melodic and carefree. Papa brought out the beauty in her. He’d watch her like she was the most unique, stunning creature on the earth. The love they had for each other was like nothing I’ve ever seen…and the day he died, it all ended. She died with him and someone else possessed her body, a fear-filled woman who was lost.” Helena’s voice dropped to a whisper. “I didn’t know what to do. I was fighting my own despair and it just seemed easier to let her be what she needed to be. I ran away and hid inside my imagination, in books and stories that always had a triumphant ending, and the ones that didn’t, I’d rewrite them. It got me through.”

“But is it enough?” He lifted his shoulder, forcing her to sit up and look at him. “Can it get you through the rest of your life?”

“I’m not sure anymore.” Her voice caught, the wind catching her hair and playfully teasing it.

Tristan reached for her hand, pressing it against his chest. “Are you afraid your mother will never get better? That you’ll be trapped looking after her for the rest of your life?”

“Yes and no, I suppose.” She sighed. “Caring for someone who needs me is a good thing. If I die tomorrow, I know I’ll have done what was right. Papa would be proud of me and I could never regret that. I just—” Her breath caught, cutting off her words.

“You just what?” Tristan searched her face.

She sniffed. “Sometimes I fear that I’m going to disappear. That life will pass by and I’ll have nothing to show for it. I’ll leave no footprint behind me. I’ve spent so much of my life shut away. Some days it feels like I don’t exist.”

“You’ll always exist.” Tristan squeezed her hand, tapping it against his chest. “No matter what happens to you…or me. You will always exist in my life.” He lifted her fingers and pressed them against his lips. “We have to find a way to be together.”

“I don’t want to burden your life with my choice. You must go and live it.” A tear trickled down the edge of her nose and Tristan wiped it away before it could reach her trembling lips.

“How can I ever live it when I know you’re trapped? I want you to be happy.”

“I am.”

“Not completely.” Tristan shook his head, the water surging near his feet as if feeling his emotion. “You deserve everything, Helena. You deserve the world.”

“She’s so afraid, Tristan. How can I leave her?” Her face crumpled and she looked out across the water, the dark expanse making her shrink back against him.

“You need to get her help. There are professionals who can walk her through this. It doesn’t have to stay this way.”

“You can’t help someone who doesn’t want to know. She won’t listen.”

Tristan huffed and turned away to stare at the dark lake.

She reached for his face, her fingers feather-light as they caressed his rigid jaw. “Let’s not ruin this magical moment.”

Softened by her words, Tristan curled his fingers around the back of her neck and kissed her forehead. He closed his eyes and breathed in her jasmine scent. “No matter what happens or how long it takes, I promise…we’ll always be together.”

She closed her eyes and smiled, one final tear rolling down the edge of her face. She brushed it away with a small chuckle and opened her eyes. Her green gaze hit him in the chest, making his heart beat hard and fast.

“You’ve given me a thousand hanging cranes tonight, but that is the best one of all.”

He grinned, leaning forward and lightly placing his lips on hers. She sighed against him, a sweet sound that had him pulling her onto his lap. Her dress draped over his knees, her slender body pressing against him. Running his hands around her waist, he trailed them beneath his jacket and up her back.

Her lips parted, her teasing tongue darting into his mouth. He responded with a sigh of his own, pressing his fingers into her back and drawing her close.

The night air kissed their skin, the faint breeze rustling Helena’s hair as the world around them disappeared. All that existed were lips, dancing tongues, and the racing hearts of two young lovers.

Lightly sucking her bottom lip, Tristan pulled back enough to gaze into her eyes.

“I—I love you, Helena.”

Her eyes sparkled, her lips rising into a magical grin. “You’ve owned my heart since the day you climbed in my window, Tristan Alex Parker. I shall love you for all eternity.”

Their lips met again for an exquisite kiss. Heat and light swirled into an intoxicating dance that Tristan would feel for the rest of his life.