Official Description: “If I only got one day a year, I would make it count.” One secret tree, one magic sunset, one chance to make a wish. Childhood sweethearts turned penpals, they grow up together and apart, falling in like, lust and love. E B, OOC, AH, A/J
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A few months ago Isa came to me and said, “Hey, FM. I have an idea…”
She then proceeded to sneak chapters to me while I was supposed to be working, and as each showed up in my email I’d drop everything, open them in a tiny window on my desktop and get lost in the situation, the emotions, the feel, the flavor of the thoughts she managed to translate to the written word.
And when all the chapters were finished she asked me if folks would like it. It took an empty bank account to keep me from buying a plane ticket, showing up at her door, handing her a bottle of champagne and after emptying the bottle, use it to beat some sense into her for asking such a dumb question.
Because this story is enthralling.
Remember Me is a tale of children and loyalty and what might happen if you find your soul mate at 6 years old only to have them whisked away to another state. One single meeting between two children and the connection is made – it’s up to the children to forge their friendship through thousands of miles of separation – while only allowed to see each other one day per year.
Remember Me is a story of how children view the world around them, how within those childish thoughts can be a fierce loyalty and astute comprehension of how they fit into a world created by their parents.
This story isn’t angst, it’s real life. It’s children taking joy in their limited communication – because it’s better than nothing. Best friends even though they’re forced to exist as pen pals, there is nothing they don’t tell the other as each, and while remaining true to their ages, support the other.
Isa has the ability to see into the minds of children and remain true to their voices. Although the story is told from inside Edward’s head, you feel Bella’s thoughts so well you’d swear she were telling them herself. Yet their voices remain those of children – their dreams, their aspirations, their perception of the world around them is that of children in the normal, day to day struggle of life. Although they’re separated by thousands of miles they truly succeed at remaining best friends – neither of them ever questioning how unlikely this is. One meeting, one conversation, and they’re unquestionably attached for life, as only children can be.
A story like this could have remained primarily focused on the pain of their separation, but instead it’s an undercurrent, but not always the point. They maintain interests and hobbies, sharing them with each through no more than the written word. They make other, and local friends as they can, yet still lose nothing of their connection. Their once a year day together is as natural as if they saw each other every day, and it almost feels as if it serves simply as a refueling of their bond.
The story loosely follows canon themes – rebellion, pain, worry, parental behavior – but nothing is forced. It all comfortably fits into the worlds of Edward and Bella and what two extraordinary people they might turn out to be if they grew up together while still apart.
I’m tempted to call this a wonderful example of fluff, but it’s not. Remember Me has mature themes that two children struggle to resolve. It’s a lesson in making the best of what you’ve been given, and how their perception of that gift matures along with their years.
And oh yes, the two of them grow up. Most definitely.
I will end with one note. Don’t decide not to read this because you don’t care for children in fic. Think back and remember how you felt in first grade, when life inside your mind wasn’t childish at all – when your thoughts and desires were real and your dreams ran deep and the only thing holding you back was the knowledge the world was run by the grown-ups around you.
This is what Isa has captured – she validates the mind of the child and is perceptive enough to follow that mind as it grows, matures, rebels, tries to fit in, finds passion in hobbies, finds friends – all while these two lives are bound by a tether. Go… read. I promise you’ll love this as much as I do.
This story is so heartwarming and happy and fluffy. Though ti’s not all fluff, there is a teensie bit of angst here and there, but it only makes the story that much more realistic and the fluffy moments feel that much more intense.
The friendship between Edward and Bella forms when they’re only seven years old, and for years, these two can only see one another for one day a year. They keep in touch via letters at first. Eventually they graduate to e-mails and phone calls and IM’s, but still, Bella lives in Phoenix and when she visits Charlie during the summer, she’s only given one day in which to spend time with Edward.
Gradually though, their relationship shifts from friendship to something more, and it’s so very adorable.
And then she sent me those stupid pictures from her summer vacation with her mom. Gone were her usual t-shirts and jeans. Now she was on the beach. In her bathing suit.
Bella did not used to look like that. I was positive I would have noticed.
We’d decided to try emailing that year, since I had received my very own laptop for my birthday. I mailed her my email address as soon as it was set up and she sent me a message as soon as she made her own account on her home computer. With the attachment pictures from her vacation.
Again, she was on the beach. In her bathing suit. I had been really wrong when I tried to make Jazz calm down.
Bella was most definitely a girl.
You’ll find yourself rooting for these two characters and looking forward to how they spend their one day a year. Until one day turns into… well, this:
I heard the door to my bathroom open and I grabbed the first thing my hands touched and walked back out of my closet, only to screech to a halt. She was standing in the doorway in only a towel, using one hand to hold it to her body and the other to hold her dripping clothes. Oh God, I’m pretty sure I just saw some kind of lace.
“Berjigimafa.”
Her eyebrows furrowed and she cocked her head. “What?”
I shook my head, trying to remember how to speak basic English. Walking over to her, I took the wet clothes from her hands and shoved the dry ones into them.
“You’re shaking,” she whispered, her eyes glittering in the dim light coming from my closet.
“I am?” I gulped. I hadn’t noticed.
She nodded, focusing very hard on my very interesting desk behind me. “You need to get warm.”
“I do?” I blinked. Her hair was dripping water down her chest, disappearing into the towel. Lucky fucking towel.
Go check out Remember Me, you won’t be disappointed!
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