Nothing Gold Can Stay.

“Lookit! The birds finally came back!” Nine-year-old Liberty Wilson Screamed, scaring the birds as they flew off a tree branch. “Well, they were back.” She muttered, kicking a rock that lay on the ground. 

“I was so tired of winter. Long, cold, wet…” Liberty’s best friend, Ben, Shivered at the thought. 

“Yeah, Well I like all seasons. They make me feel… Nice.” Liberty Mused on the thought. 

“Spring is better than fall.”

“Is not.”

“Is too.” 

“Is not!”

“Is TOO!” 

“No, It’s not! All seasons have the same awesomeness!” Liberty shouted, Her voice echoing through the rolling hills that surrounded her and Ben. 

“Well, I don’t care. I HATE WINTER!” Ben yelled the last part of his sentence, turning to Liberty. 

“Can we just not fight?” Liberty said in a quiet voice. She had always played Peacekeeper, Even though there were just the two of them. When they fought, It was always her who took control. Without her, Ben would keep fighting, even if he knew he was wrong. Maybe that was why Ben left when he was of age. Eager to fight, eager to serve his country. While they were young, Liberty could still play peacekeeper, But after a while, it was like holding a heavy weight: You had to put it down at some point. And Liberty did. But not before love. Ben was her first. Her first kiss, her first lover, her first everything. There was an invisible bubble when they were together, shielding them from the rest of the world and embracing its own, little one. Then, there was Willow. Willow was unexpected. She was there the whole time, without Ben or Liberty or anyone else noticing. But still, Willow was loved. Loved by her father, loved by her mother. Loved by the world, Willow was. Sweet and quick and bubbly. 

The world was perfect, grass and flowers and mist that tickled your feet, and Ben and Willow and Liberty. Liberty finally felt as though this was truly her fullest life, Truly her first and most happy life. But nothing gold can stay, and Liberty had that thought in the back of her mind. 

“Nothing gold can stay.” Ben had said when Liberty left her books outside and the rain had turned them into nothing more than a papery pulp.  

“Nothing gold can stay” Liberty had said when Willow had pulled out all of the garden flowers. 

“Nothing gold can stay,” They all had said when Ben decided to go to war. “Nothing gold can stay.”

And It was true. The bubble did pop, and then there wasn’t Liberty and Willow and Ben. There was only Liberty and Willow and a broken world. 

. . . . .

Five years, Ben had said. Five years, and He’d be back with Liberty and Willow. Five, and five only, he promised. But five turned into six. And six turned into seven. Willow was almost five when Ben came home. Ben Had kept one promise- The spring. He came home in the springtime, mist and starry nights and vibrant clouds. 

In the clearing, He’d said. In the spring, wait at the clearing. The clearing where the Maple tree was. The place of the first kiss, simple and sweet. Where they'd fought about the seasons countless years ago. And Liberty did. She waited each spring, hour after hour with Willow in the clearing. Willow, her curly brown hair bouncing in the wind. Her little blue eyes awaited the arrival of her Father. 

He came in the early morning. The world was still asleep, The nearby village not yet bustling with merchants and townsfolk. Liberty was outside, Thinking the same thought: Ben. 

What happened to the promise? What happened to Willow’s father, who used to hold her up in the sky? What happened when I needed you here the most? 

Willow was almost ready for kindergarten. Liberty was almost ready to search half the world for Ben herself. But she didn’t need to, because that very day, he appeared out of the blue. It was the footsteps that liberty heard fist. A strong march, not ever falling a beat behind. She shot up, holding her breath. Willow’s fingers wove themselves through her mother's. One second, there was just Willow and liberty. And then Ben appeared, and the world fell. It fell for Liberty, the sky and the ground and everything in between. There was only Ben standing there and Willow clutching her Liberty’s hand. He was so different. There was no more playful smile grazing his lips. No Softened features, no more lively spirit. Instead, there was a stranger.  Ben had a stone-hard expression, his features sharp and stiff. 

“Ben?” Liberty whispered, wind whipping her hair in a small frenzy. “Is that you?” Liberty hushed, taking a step forward. 

“Liberty,” Ben said, emotionless. The tone was sharp, a needle piercing your skin. A tone Liberty had never heard Ben use. 

Willow’s fingers slipped out of Liberty’s hand, leaving them cold and empty. Willow ran to Ben, coming to a stop at his feet. 

“Daddy, Why weren’t you here with me?” She asked innocently, Ben towering above her. 

“Willow.” He breathed, looking down at her. 

Willow simply hugged Ben for a few seconds and returned to Liberty’s side. 

There were silent tears trailing down Liberty’s cheeks, her eyes staring straight at Ben. She quickly wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and closed them for a few seconds, taking in the moment. Taking in Ben. 

When she opened her eyes, The words started to come out, shaky and quiet. 

“Ben, I… We’ve missed you.” That was all Liberty could manage to say before a big tear rolled down her cheek and she had to close her eyes again. 

“Liberty. Things have changed.” Ben said sharply, Looking behind him. “War was different than anything I had thought. It broke me more than anything ever had before.” 

With that, Liberty looked down, tears slipping to the ground before her. 

“I thought coming back would be easy, that I would be back and we would stay like that forever. But it can’t work like that anymore.” 

It was then that she appeared. The girl. She looked about Liberty’s age, with white-blonde hair and mellow chocolate brown eyes. The girl silently stepped to where Ben stood. Quickly, unnoticed, they laced fingers. Ben and the girl and the girl and Ben. No. It had to be a mistake. They were only friends, never more than that. Ben was Liberty’s and Liberty's only. A stranger would never take Ben away from Liberty. 

“I’ve moved on. From the clearing and the village and everything else here. I’ve moved on from you, Liberty. There isn’t ‘Us’ anymore.” Those words hurt. They cut Liberty like a million knives stabbing her. Her eyes bubbled over, brimming to the top with tears. Liberty and Willow needed Ben. They needed his smile and laugh and his love. 

After a few minutes of silence, Liberty finally spoke.

“We were supposed to be forever. Me and Willow and You and you and Willow and me.” Liberty rasped, her voice cracking. Ben was tearing away from her every second. 

“We were. But things don’t always last, Liberty. I’ve fallen in love with someone else. The war changed me. And now that it has, I can’t unwind things.” Ben Said, his jaw stiffening. 

“We need you. Willow-” Liberty started to cry, but Ben cut her off. 

“Nothing gold can stay, Liberty. Nothing gold can stay.” Ben Said quietly, walking over To where Liberty and Willow stand. He kisses Willow on the top of her head and kisses Liberty on the cheek. 

Without hesitation, he walks over to the other girl, takes her hand, and fades into the distance. Gone forever and ever. 

Nothing gold can stay.