night she spent there with Christian.
Turning the page, she began to write a new entry.
"Dear Journal," she wrote.
"Christian and I awoke this morning to the sound of..."
She stopped writing. Autumn heard voices coming from somewhere.
She quietly crept down the steps.
There were two strange men in the shop below.
The first man seemed surprised.
"We didn't know there was anyone here."
The second man tipped his hat and introduced himself.
"I am Roy Clemens and this is my partner, Carl Whitcomb. We're here to clear the premise. We have to evacuate all the properties."
Autumn was confused and didn't understand.
"I'm sorry, but this building is condemned." the first man spoke.
Autumn shook her head.
"No, you don't understand. I have nowhere else to go."
The two men looked at each other.
"We have a warrant to begin tearing down this Strip Mall by sunset this evening."
"But you can't, my friend Christian is still here... somewhere."
"Do you have any idea where he might be right now?"
Autumn shook her head.
"Then we will need to find him. Is he the only other person here?"
"Well as far as I know." Autumn replied.
"Can you help us find him? What does he look like?"
Autumn disappeared upstairs, and after a moment she returned with the photograph.
"Here" she said, handing them the framed picture of Christian.
The men looked at each other and then back at the photograph.
"This is your friend Christian?" he asked her. There was consternation in his voice.
Autumn nodded her head.
He handed the photograph back to her, then went to the front door and leaned outside. He seemed to be motioning for another person to come in.
Autumn looked up surprised to see Christian. She ran to him and threw her arms around him.
"Where have you been, Christian?" she cried.
But he did not answer her and looked confused. For he did not recognize her or the name she had given him.
Autumn stepped back inspecting him carefully. Looking at the photograph she held and then back at the man. They looked exactly the same, but there were some subtle differences. The person before her was somewhat older and his hair was shorter in length.
"I'm sorry", he said abruptly, “I don't know who Christian is, but my name is Joshua."
He looked at the photograph in her hand.
"I see you have my old picture. That must be ten years old. Or rather I am the one who is ten years older."
She noticed he was continuing to stare at her hand.
"Where did you find that ring?" he asked.
Autumn looked up at him, feeling her world of dreams merge with reality.
Joshua pointed to her hand.
"That's my engagement ring." he said, "We lost it when we had left the town."
"We," Autumn repeated.
"Yes, that would be my wife Grace, and daughter Mary. I owned this store and we lived upstairs. There was a flood seven years ago in Dawn Haven. Everyone here had to evacuate immediately."
This reminded Autumn of the body she had discovered on the beach. That poor person must have drowned in that flood.
"Everything was ruined from the water," Joshua continued. "The tenants were not able to return. And time passed and people eventually moved on, building new lives in other towns."
He paused to look around. "I came today to open the door for the inspectors, but apparently the door was already unlocked."
"That would be my fault, I'm afraid." Autumn answered sheepishly. "So then, you must be Joshua Morton."
"Yes that would be me." he said, "But could you tell me what led you here?"
Autumn introduced herself, and told Joshua her story. She explained how she left Mill Valley after her mother's passing. And since she had nowhere else to go, she purchased a bus ticket to the end of the line.
Joshua's eyes brimmed with compassion and were deeply moved.
"I'm so sorry for your loss, Autumn. I recently lost my mother too."
He reached out and took her hand.
"And thank you for finding my ring."
Joshua eyes peered deep into her soul. He could see that she was honest and felt deeply moved to do something. He placed a hand on her shoulder.
"You know, we have a guest room at our house, and my wife is looking for someone to sit for our daughter."
"Where is your house?" Autumn inquired.
"We live in Winfield. It's a short ride up the coast.
"That's really very kind of you, to welcome a stranger."
Joshua smiled.
"And you are most welcome, Autumn. I think we will be good friends, you and me."
And then he winked.
Autumn experienced a feeling of déjà vu.
"There's just one last thing I need to do before I leave." she said.
"We have some time, be my guest."
Then he made a sweeping gesture with his hand.
Autumn ran up the stairs to the apartment, and uncovered her journal from beneath the pillow.
She wanted to finish writing today's entry.
"Dear Christian,
Thank you, for being my friend the past couple weeks and keeping me company. If it were not for you, I wouldn’t have been able to go on. You gave me a reason to live each day. And for that I am grateful."
Autumn removed the photograph from the frame.
She remembered the first time she saw the young man in the picture and fell in love with his image. Autumn instinctively knew he would look after her. Christian was an imaginary product of every childhood hero combined together. Though he only lived inside the pages of her journal, reality now had come to Dawn Haven, and it was time for her to wake up. For the tides of life had rushed in to destroy her sandcastle dreams, the delicate world she had carefully sculpted. And all that was left now was this journal, a two week testament of isolation. It had served its purpose: To survive a time of incredible loneliness.
"Goodbye Christian, my good friend." she finished. Then placing the photograph between the pages, she closed the journal and returned it back to the dwelling of dreams under the pillow.
Downstairs, when she looked at Joshua, the imaginary memory of Christian still lingered. Though only a resident of her mind, her real savior stood before her at last. Though he was older and with a family.
Autumn removed the ring from her finger and placed it in Joshua's hand.
"Are you ready to go?" he asked.
"Yes, I'm ready."
They walked outside into the warm fragrant springtime. A breeze came and stirred a small whirlpool of leaves. Autumn whispered goodbye to the lane that had once been her home. And soon would be no more, in her world or this one.
Then turning to the open door of the old Studebaker, she climbed into the seat beside Joshua.
He waved at the two men and started the engine. The car rumbled down the small lane. And Autumn turned her head around to take one last look back at the empty town. And like her own emptiness, it grew smaller and smaller, until it completely faded away into the distance.
THE END
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