Jerome was still zipping up every last thing in the bag, making sure nothing was left, and nothing would fall out. What was inside the bag wasn’t of much importance. Being a necklace he got me from a jewelry store in the midst of downtown, a bottle of wine, (a brand, I’m not sure of) a map of the park we were in, and two tickets to some museum that I had no interest in going to. After having eaten our lunch that Jerome had made for the both of us, (which consisted of obscure meats and cheeses that I had never tasted before) we were now in a hurry to catch the train to some town that I forget the name of. It was Jerome’s idea to sightsee there. Jerome being himself, always planning everything down to the very last minute it ended, so the next activity could begin. “Everything has a time, and a place” he always says.

The train was a sort of shiny gray with blue and red stripes adjacent to each other. Just like Jerome described it. He pulled out his wallet and withdrew two tickets that matched the colors on the train. After we boarded, he started describing to me the place we were sightseeing. The town was called “Neuf Brisach”. No wonder I couldn’t remember it. “It’s a citadel surrounded by a red sandstone wall, carved into 8 stars, and in stunning detail”. Jerome pulled out a map, and explained to me what he had planned for this afternoon, which was that once we exited the train, we have to take one more train. Then that train would take us to the heart of the town, which we were spending most of the afternoon in.

Jerome opened the bag, and was making sure that something was in there. The object he was looking for, I’m not sure. I opened my phone and saw that I got a text from my mom, which read “Hope you’re having fun, and enjoying your time with Jerome. I’m sure he is planning something very special for the both of you. It’s France. Anything can happen! Love you Lexi! - Mom.” My mom always loved Jerome. After she found out we were dating, my junior year in highschool, she was more ecstatic about the whole thing then I was! She knew him from some class she taught at the school, I forget the subject.

We arrived at the second train station. I believe that this was our last stop. We sat down at some bar, waiting for are Purple and Green train to appear, so we can board. I noticed a bottle of wine in the backpack earlier, but Jerome insisted that we just get a drink here. He had plans for the other bottle, which I wasn’t aware of. What did Jerome have plans of doing? What was mom talking about? Before I could even think about the possible outcomes of those questions, our train appears and I take my last sip of some drink Jerome got me. It wasn’t very good. I don’t like alcohol that much.

After we boarded our last train, I check my phone and it reads 4:25 pm. “Jerome, when should we be there?” “By 5 at the latest”. At the moment I got that response, I sunk back in my chair. I wanted to get the day over with. I was having fun, but as crazy as it sounds, I just wanted to go back to the hotel. Since Jerome mapped out the entire day, down the the very minute it began and ended, I didn’t really want to screw up his schedule he spent so much time on. “Attention Everyone, We are expecting some very bad weather up ahead. We are slowing the train down due to safety regulations. Sorry for any inconvenience that this may cause you. We should be at Le Fraiche Train Station in about 45 minutes. Thank you”. “Ugh, that will ruin my entire schedule! We were supposed to be there in 10 minutes, and then spend 2 hours there. Now we will only be able to spend 45 minutes there on this schedule…” Thank god. I felt bad that the weather didn’t agree with Jerome’s plans, but it did work in my favor. I got to sleep for another 45 minutes. Plus, it was raining. Who want’s to go sightseeing in the rain? Jerome had already planned that out. He bought us umbrellas, and raincoats from this store out in Paris. The only thing I was responsible for was making sure I got on the train. Jerome stood up and he walked over to the lavatory. I very slowly sat up in my chair, and grabbed the tan leather colored bag and brought it up to my lap. I opened up the big zipper, and started searching through the objects. There was the raincoats, umbrellas, bracelet, unwanted tickets, park map, and the bottle of wine. I picked up the bottle of wine and turned it around to read the label. It read Bordeaux Red Wine. I’ve never heard of the brand. It looked expensive. I remember him getting it at this shop out in Paris. I forget the name of the shop. I think it started with an R. The door of the lavatory opened and at that moment Jerome started walking over here. Staring at his feet while he walked. I looked over at him, and I never really paid attention to what he was wearing. He had on a tannish coat that went from his neck down to his waist. Coach sunglasses, and blue jeans. It wasn’t really a tourist outfit, but then again Jerome was never really the outdoorsy type. “Nous approchons maintenant de la gare. Assurez-vous que vous ne laissez pas les biens sur le train. Merci pour rouler avec nous. Attention à la marche”. Which means “We are now approaching the train station. Make sure that you don’t leave any possessions on the train. Thanks for riding with us. Watch your step.” As I heard that, I put on my raincoat and grabbed my umbrella.

As I stepped out of the train, a light breeze waffed the front of my face, and I felt little sprinkles of water tap my face in all directions. My raincoat was bright yellow. I felt like a sunflower in a dark garden. Jerome’s raincoat was a dark shade of blue. I put my long brown hair in a bun, in an attempt to keep my hair as dry in this weather as I could. “Ready?” “As i’ll ever be”. “I’m sort of hungry, wanna go get food before we get there?” “Sure, that sound’s wonderful” He replied fairly quickly. A few minutes of walking and we came across a little restaurant called “Le Bistro”. It had a little sign out front, inside of a garden with many flowers I’ve never seen before. It looked like a cottage. “Hi, Welcome to Le Bistro, follow me”. We got a table outside. It wasn’t cold, yet it was lightly sprinkling. The black table had designs that looked like lace patterns.The umbrellas atop the tables were white and had a light on the inside. The menu’s had cursive writing, and sort of hard to read. It was perfect. “Hold on, lemme take a picture!” As he said that, he pulled the camera off from around his neck, and pressed the power button. I positioned myself to take the photo, and put my arms around my raincoat and acted like I was hugging myself. Click Click Click. “So, what can I get you to drink?” “I’ll take a Caramel Macchiato, extra caramel, extra shot, with whipped cream, and 2 sugars.” “ Alrighty, and you miss?” “Water’s fine” “Okay, I’ll be right back. Did you want to order your food right now as well?” “Yeah, sure” “Okay, I’ll take 2 brioches and two ham & cheese biscuits.” “Okay and you?” “I’ll take a turkey and cheese club” “Okay, perfect, I’ll be right back”. As she walked away, I felt my pocket vibrating. It was mom. “Hey mom, what’s up?” “Hey dear, how’s everything going?” “Great. We just got off a delayed train, and now at a restaurant called Le Bistro”. “Aw, why was the train cancelled?” “Because of weather, although it got better after we got off the train of course. We are going to some town called Nerf Brisack or something like that in a few, to go sightseeing. Jerome planned this entire vacation!” “I wonder what else he has planned!” “Jerome is always full of surprises” I said sarcastically. “Alright, well glad to know everythings going well. Keep me posted!” “Sounds great. Love you!” “Love you too!” As I hung up the phone, I noticed Jerome wasn’t sitting next to me anymore. He must have walked inside. My phone read 5:56 pm.

“Hi there, here’s your drinks. Sorry it took so long. We’re super busy today.” “Oh, it’s no problem!” After the waitress exited from the outside I turned my gaze at Jerome. He gave me a faint grin and started laughing. “Are you okay Jerome?” “As long as I have you, yes” As he said that, he pulled out the wine that he had in the bag and another object that was tied to the cork of the bottle. “Lexi, we have known each other for 4 years, and you are my bestfriend, and of course my Girlfriend, but I want to make us more than that. My big reason for coming out to France with you is because I want to ask you… Will you, Marry me?” “Oh my god..” The waitress appearance in an instant. “Ah!” “Jerome, of course I will!” I jumped into his arms. I just got proposed to in France? “That is so precious!” “You’ve made me the happiness man alive, Lexi” I was so happy now. “Hey, you know. It’s almost 6:30. You still want to go to that Nerf place?” “You mean Neuf Brisach?” “Yes, that’s it!” “Well, we didn’t go to this restaurant, take two trains, including the delayed one for nothing!” “We’ll take our food to go please” “Okay, give me one minute!” I glanced down at the ring. It was beautiful. It had 3 crystal clear diamonds, the size of baseballs. Jerome had came from a very wealthy family. He’s always had money. When his mother passed a few years back. He got a huge inheritance. I forget the amount, but it did pay for this trip. “Here you go, and there’s the check. Thanks so much for coming!” “Oh, no problem”. “There, just give her that” He handed me a 100 euro bill. I left it on the table in pleasure. I heard the Waitress shriek as we walked away. I forgot what she said.

I had so many thoughts going through my head. I am in France, and just got proposed to, my fiance want’s to go sightseeing in some town at 7 at night. He must have something else planned. “So, what are we gonna do here?” “You didn’t hear me just explain it? Well, when we get there, we are going on this boat ride to look at the stars. It’s a 5 mile trip, that goes around the Trioche Water Falls and back around. Then after that we were supposed to go to dinner but we already got that out of the way. After the boat ride, we are staying in one of their nicest suites onboard the ship. It’s really nice. I read some reviews on it, and seems like we’re gonna love it.” “And what are we going to be doing at 7:23 pm exactly?” Jokingly. “Ha. Ha. Very funny.” “You always have everything planned out so perfectly. What if something happens to your schedule?” “That’s what my backup schedule is for. It’s scheduled around most possible outcomes. Not including delayed train rides -which I didn’t know were a thing until now”. “How far away is this boat trip?” “It’s about 15 minutes away by walking. It should just be a few blocks up”. “Perfect”.

“Attention. Finale voyage en bateau à Trioche chutes de monter maintenant” Which means: Attention. Final Trip to Trioche Falls boarding now. As he was speaking, Jerome was in a lane to buy tickets. The tickets matched the boat like the train and it’s tickets. The boat was a large white yacht, with a green and blue label. The label was in cursive and I couldn’t tell what it said. It looked wonderful. It was our last night out in Europe, and wouldn’t want it any other way. “Hey I gotta go to the bathroom” “Alright. I’ll be here”. As I said that, I turned to look at the bright moon shining on the calm waters.The water looked amazing. Being untouched by anything except the creatures it caressed. The body of water we were in, I forget the name, was surrounded by these huge cliffs. I was in search for a waterfall. No luck. I glanced at my phone to check the time. It read 7:43. I opened my bag and pulled out a book called “The Fault in our Stars”. Might as well read while I wait. “My thoughts are stars I cannot fathom into constellations.” -John Green. My thoughts.. no matter how strong I felt about them, I couldn’t fathom them into constellations. That made so much sense to me. “And there to the Right is the Trioche Waterfalls. Take a good look folks.” All the sudden I came to. I glanced at my phone and it read 8:28. Jerome had been gone for almost 45 minutes? Maybe he got lost. I should call him. Riinggg Riinggg. No answer. Where could Jerome had gone? It’s not like he could have left. He’s probably in the room. As I thought of the brilliant idea, I headed up the long white staircase that lead to my room. I rushed all the way to my room. In a sort of frantic / scared way. As I noticed that I am looking like a lunatic, I saw the door to my room. It was already opened… What… the… It looks like someone kicked the door in. Oh my god. There’s blood all over the carpet. Where is Jerome? What is happening. “Jerome?!” As I said that, I quickly opened my bag to pull out anything I could use to defend myself. Of course, all I had was my cell phone, my keys, and wait. My cell phone! I reached for my phone and quickly withdrew my phone from my bag and dialled 911. Still no sign of Jerome. “Hello!? I am on the Trioche Water Fall Expedition Cruiseliner, and my friend has gone missing, so I went to my room and there’s blood everywhere. Still no sign of him “Okay Ma’am, I am contacting your cruise liners security. What room number are you in?” “I’m in room 41, hurry.” “Okay, stay on the line. How long was he gone fo--...” “Hello?!” I looked at my screen. CONNECTION LOST . What am I going to do now? “Jerome..?” I ran into the bathroom, nothing. I ran into the kitchen, closets, and balcony. No sign of anyone. I heard people running down the hall. “Cruise Security. What happened?!” As I explained to him what happened, and that I couldn’t find him, they took me and brought me to the head office. In many tears than I’ve ever created in my entire life, I managed to wipe them away to read my phone. The time was 11:15 pm and my mom had texted me. “Hey hun, how’s your last night in Europe going?” She had no idea what had happened. In a way, neither did I. “Mom. I have horrible news. I can’t summon the strength to talk right now. Jerome is missing. My room was trashed and covered in blood. I’m with the police right now, and gonna stay to see if they can try and find him. There checking everyone for anything that might be linked to the disappearance of Jerome. There’s people taking blood samples of all the passengers left back on the yacht. I’ll call you as soon as I can.”

“Hey, honey. Are you okay?” “Uh, yeah. I am just writing” “Okay, Breakfast’s ready when you are.” “Okay, thanks mom” As I heard the door slowly shut. I opened my journal: It’s been 8 days and 2 hours since the incident. Life hasn’t been the same. The police called yesterday to give us information on the case. They found Jerome washed up on the shore - a tear fell on the paper- and don’t have any suspects. Jerome shouldn’t have passed. He was so caring and sweet to everybody, to me especially. He understood everyones point of view even if he didn’t agree with it. I started to cry. It should have been me. He didn’t deserve to die. As I wrote that down, I looked at the floor and saw Jeromes bag. I still have Jeromes bag, which consisted of the necklace he bought my in Le Histoax in Paris, the Louvre museum tickets, Red Bordeaux Wine, and the map of the park we were in. The sandwiches he made, consisted of this cheese he got from this store called Le ristorante and paid 25 euros for it. Never will I forget jerome, or the things he carried.