It was a warm, Autumn evening.

The setting sun left a shade of gold anywhere its rays managed to get reflected off of.

Clouds sailed across the yellowy atmosphere, heading from one side of the sky to the other. All while the last of the singing of the birds were heard as the sound was echoed and carried through the air.

Everything was getting ready for the arrival of night.

A large, family house stood, surrounded by fields and patches of grass, by a dirt road. The countryside.

Such sites and such styles of life were seen quite often outside of the big cities.

A rush of wind ran past the house. It caused a wave of rustling to be heard. The leaves. They all rang, danced against each other.

Below a big tree that was right by the house was a young woman who read her book. On one of the bigger trunks she was sat. She had eyes as blue as the deep ocean sea. Her hair was as dark as the tree trunk she was sat on.

Lifting her leg up, she used it to lay her book on as she let the other swing. She used it for sort of like a rhythm. Something that helped her relax, that helped her calm down.

Adjacent to her, a man, slightly older, was sat on the steps right in front of the house. Eyes as dark as the soil which he had his feet on and hair a little lighter. He was one of the more handsome men in this little town of theirs. Or at least, that's what he was told.

He had a few flowers in his hands. Fidgeting with them, it was more than obvious that he was crafting something.

Both steering their gazes off what they did to each other, their gazes never managed to synchronize. With that, neither wanted to be a nuisance to the other, instead, they smiled before looking back at what they were doing.

Inside the house, through the kitchen and into the living-room, there laid the youngest of them all. Another youthful woman, aged 20.

Claire Emerson, that was her name.

With a deep inhale, she slowly opened her eyes. Just like her brother, her eyes too were a dark. Her hair also contained darkness, it was a deeper colour than his.

Her eyes moved to the wall that was a golden shade, it was painted by the sun itself.

The house was quite, not the usual sound that radiated through her home. Something she definitely wasn't used to.

But she knew that her parents were at home. Today their family bar was to be closed, that's what they told her yesterday. Took a day off right before the holidays arrived. She was due to go back, with her parents, to work after the holidays have passed.

'So where were they?' she thought, stretching before she sat up. Moments later, the smell of her father's stew, cooking outside, was to have given her the answer that she was looking for.

A small smile grew on her face, with her stomach radiating slight pain, slowly beginning to demand food.

With another stretch, she stood up, slipped on her slippers and began her way to one of the two ways out of her house.

She walked through her kitchen.

The door was open, but the only thing that restricted her exit was the door net. With a gentle push, she managed to open it before exiting out onto a wooden platform, the patio.

Right in front of her, sitting on one of the three steps, was her brother, Garrett.

A small smile grew on his lips. "Look who decided to finally wake up!". Turning around, he looked his sister in the eyes. She didn't realise, but the woman who was sat on the tree too rose her gaze to Claire, smiling at her before returning to reading her book.

Claire replied to his comment with a smirk before joining him by sitting down beside him. Immediately, she looked at his hands, spectated what he was doing.

A second of silence passed before Garrett took in a deep breath. Turning his attention back to Claire, he stated, "Hey... remember when you showed me how to make bracelets and crowns out of daises?".

A small smile grew on Claire's lips. "You didn't forget how to make those...".

To which, at first, Garrett replied by furrowing his brows. "How can I?" he began. "The moment you gave me my first bracelet and told me you made it, I wanted to learn how to make them too. They really were just that beautiful...".

Claire couldn't help but let out a giggle at his words. "So even when you were away, you kept on making them?".

"So that I wouldn't forget," Garrett responded, another small smile found its way to his lips. "And it was all worth it...". A pause. He lifted his gaze to the young woman who was sat on the trunk of the tree, reading her book.

"Because... that's how I met Meghan.".

From where Claire and Garrett were seated, the descending sun only magnified her already gorgeous beauty.

What was left of the sun and its rays, they both were reflected off the two golden rings, both of which laid on Garrett's and Meghan's ring fingers.

Gazing at the ring on her brother's finger, she smiled at it. Claire was happy for him, he was happily in love.

Garrett became Megan's spouse and Meghan Garrett's a few years ago. But their love dated back to a time before that.

They were in love with each other since they were children. Childhood sweethearts, as Garrett's and Claire's mother called them.

Then, out of nowhere, a thought entered her mind. It caused a shot of pain hit her heart, with sadness and heaviness radiating from her heart, out. Her smile ceased.

From her hands, she gazed up at her brother. "Do you really have to go back?" she asked him. The lump that formed in her throat was the only culprit, the cause of her voice, that held her words, to be so soft.

From looking in the distance, her words caused him to lower his gaze and look down into the dirt. Not too long passed when he glanced at Meghan, who had her eyes on them both, she too was looking for the answer to Claire's question.

Finally, Garrett looked at his sister, a small smile of reassurance appeared on his lips. "But I will be back..." A pause. "I will be back before you know it!".

Claire tried to react to his words, she attempted to smile, but failed in doing so. She wasn't in the mood to give him a fake smile, to fake her contentment.

Garrett took in another breath. "I-I have to go. I have to go, Claire. They need me there. But I think it'll be everything like it was thus far, it'll be nothing serious. Remember when dad, too, was a soldier? He spent less than a year in the army and then came back.".

"Y-yeah, but this is different, Garrett...". A very brief pause followed Claire's words. "Didn't you hear about another war brewing up? It was all in the papers, Garrett.".

Gently, Garrett shook his head in disapproval. "They are just rumours, Claire. You cannot believe something like that. What more, you cannot those kind of people. Those kind who earn money from scaring others.".

Claire was about to say something, she was about to retort, but she chocked up on her own words. In the end, she said nothing.

"You don't have to worry about me. I'll be back, Claire.". A pause. "Just like father... I'll be back before you know it.".

Garrett's words carried something, something that triggered a wave of pain. Agony, aching. His words caused an accumulation of heaviness to occur within Claire, right in her chest. Her eyes filled with tears. 'He'll be going... and who knows when he'll come back.'.

With that thought, Claire couldn't help herself. The sadness was getting all too overwhelming. So, she tightly wrap her arms around Garrett.

She hated herself for when she hitched a breath. She didn't want Garrett to see that slowly she was getting more and more upset.

She could tell that Garrett was trying to reassure her, so she didn't want him to note that his actions counteracted his intentions.