Short story entitled "A Promise Kept"

People could not help but take a second look as Heather Byrnes stepped down from the train onto the platform of her sleepy little hometown – Kyota Springs. Though simple, her attire was of an expensive cut and her shoes and suitcase were unmistakably Gucci and Prada. In short, she was an embodiment of wealth and class. She smiled as she spotted Danielle who had come to meet her at the station. The two friends then made their way to Danielle’s flat on the far side of town.

On the streets of Kyota, tongues were wagging. The townsfolk reacted to Heather’s arrival with mixed feelings. “I wish that we had known about her visit in advance. Then we could have arranged a grand homecoming for her,” said Mayor Simms.

“Oh, it’s so typical of you to waste the limited resources of this town on grand functions which we can least afford. Did it ever occur to you that maybe our Heather plans to make a financial contribution towards the welfare of the town? The community centre is badly in need of repair and Heather has such a generous nature,” said Mrs Watson.

“Nonsense! I’ll bet she is searching for a location to shoot a film. Can you imagine our town teeming with film stars and tourists? Kyota will finally be famous –just like Cannes!” exclaimed Jojo, the over imaginative movie buff.

There was no end to the gossip or the rumours that spread like wildfire. However, the most vital question remained unanswered. Why had Heather Byrnes returned to Kyota Springs?

The truth was that Heather had asked herself that very same question on the journey to Kyota and even she had been unable to provide a definite answer. It was a very long time since she had last visited her hometown. Her family had moved away to the city and most of her friends had done the same when beckoned by greener pastures. There was nothing left for her here. Was she was crazy for abandoning her affluent life in the city?

Heather’s thoughts flew back to the previous week when Danielle had visited her in the city. They had been the best of friends since their childhood days at Kyota. Though different as chalk from cheese, their differences always seemed to complement each other. When Heather’s family had moved to the city, they had maintained their friendship through constant correspondence. Heather was delighted to meet Danielle whom she had not seen for a long time. They had spent a pleasant day shopping, eating, talking, and laughing. In her usual genial manner, the adventurous Danielle had not missed an opportunity to scoff at her prim and proper friend, “Honestly Heather, you remind me of the character on that television show –‘Desperate Housewives’. I think her name was Brie or something like that. When was the last time that you did something wild, something fun?” Heather had then teased Danielle about her quirks and eccentricities. “Well,” quipped Danielle, “As long as one is truly happy, why should one bother about what people think?” Danielle had then invited Heather to visit her in Kyota before the two parted on friendly terms.

Heather returned home that evening but was unusually restless. It was a feeling that she could not get rid of and it increased as time passed. Danielle’s parting words echoed in her mind, “As long as one is happy.” Over the next couple of days, she became extremely irritable towards her family and was inattentive at work.


Initially she had resented and blamed Danielle whose words had turned her world upside down. However, her anger gradually subsided. She realized that it was easier to blame Danielle for her frustration than to face the fact that her life was in dire need of change and re-examination.

Heather finally plucked up the courage be true to herself and answer the question which had plagued her for the past week. “Am I truly happy?” she asked herself. In the view of the world, she lived the life that most people wished for in their dreams. She hobnobbed with the social elite, had a high profile job with a large salary, a rich and handsome husband, two beautiful children who had grown up and were successful in their own fields, a spacious house in a fashionable neighbourhood, expensive cars, and all the designer clothing and jewellery one could imagine.

However, something was missing from her life. She looked at herself in the mirror. In spite of her age, the woman who stared back at her was unusually attractive. Her hair was swept back into a neat chignon and her pleasant olive complexioned face was smooth without blemishes or wrinkles. Yet her eyes had lost that beautiful sparkle of vitality which had had always set her apart as an individual. It was as if her fun loving and passionate self had faded away behind a façade of respectable conventionality.

She desperately needed to escape from life and to break free from all convention. There would be consequences but for the first time Heather did something completely spontaneous and unthinkable. She decided to accept Danielle’s invitation to visit Kyota. Within an hour she had phoned her friend, packed her bags, scribbled a note to her husband on a post-it which she stuck on the refrigerator door and caught the nearest train to Kyota Springs.

After a short walk, they finally reached Danielle’s flat. Strangely, Heather felt more at home in this cosy eccentric interior furnished with a variety of drapes, pot-pourri and bric- a- brac than she had ever done in her tastefully decorated house in the city. Danielle made some tea and sandwiches while Heather unpacked her bags. Conversation between the two friends was genial and easy. At times, silence fell between them but it was a comfortable silence, which both appreciated. After they had finished eating, Heather helped Danielle to wash up the dishes.
The shrill ring of the telephone rudely shattered the peace in the room. Danielle picked up the phone and handed it to Heather, “Its Robert. He wants to speak to you.” Heather slowly reached for the phone.
Her husband’s voice was warm with concern, “How are you, Heather.”
“Ok, I guess. Just a bit tired,” replied Heather.
“Why the sudden trip to Kyota?” asked Robert.
“I wanted a break,” said Heather.
Robert was puzzled. “So when are you coming back?”
A tear ran down Heather’s cheek. “I don’t know,” she whispered.
Robert now sensed that there was something not quite right with his wife, “Heather, What’s going on? Is something wrong?”
“No, I just need to sort out a few things, that’s all. I’m going to have to call you later. Heather and I are going out,” lied Heather as she hung up the phone.

Danielle stared at her friend in surprise. However, she respected her friend’s need for privacy so she refrained from asking questions or passing judgements. This was something that Heather needed to work out on her own. Sensing Heather’s growing restlessness, she suggested that her friend take a walk, “It will do you good to clear your head. Get that foul city air out of your lungs.”

Ten minutes later, Heather had exchanged her Gucci shoes for a pair of Danielle’s worn hiking boots and followed the rough hewn road as it wound and twisted its way this way and that. Her body protested against the exercise but Heather ignored the pain. After a while, she found herself heading toward a wooded tract of countryside. Hearing the gurgling of water, she realized that she was thirsty and followed the sound until she arrived at the Kyota Springs, which gave the town its name. The spring was shallow, hardly eight inches in depth but its water was cool and sweet to the taste. Heather drank greedily realizing for the first time in her life that the simplest things in life are often the most exquisite.

She glanced up as she heard the overhanging leaves rustle in the cool breeze. Memories of childhood flooded her mind. It was in these very same woods that Danielle and she had spent some of the happiest days of their lives playing games, chasing butterflies, hunting for tadpoles in the muddy puddles, listening to birdsongs and watching squirrels scamper on the trees. A wave of nostalgia made her wish that she could travel back in time to those golden hued moments when life was simple and the worries of the world were left far behind.

It was strange to think that somehow the dreams of wealth, fame and status that had seemed important fifteen years ago were quite meaningless now. Yes, her world was perfect – so perfect in fact that her face had grown to fit the masks of her own making. It was no surprise then that everyone had taken her for granted. She had let other people dictate the decisions she made to such an extent that she had lost track of what truly mattered to her in life as an individual.
Heather sat down on the soft green carpet of grass and dipped her hand in the spring as she had always done when she was troubled as a child. Overcome by the weight of her thoughts, she closed her eyes and relaxed as she let the cool water flow through her fingers. Slowly, she began to empty her mind of all thoughts and anxieties until she was completely unaware of the passage of time. When she finally opened her eyes, it was twilight. Heather felt strangely light-headed as if an enormous weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

Rising slowly she plodded back to town. A line from a poem by Robert Frost played on her mind:
“The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.”

“How ironic,” thought Heather, “I always hated poetry in school. I wish I knew back then how applicable it is to real life.” She did have promises to keep – but promises to herself instead of to other people. She was not the same person anymore. She would have to phone Robert when she reached back. She would inform him of her decision then. She had walked those difficult miles. It was finally time to sleep.