A Thousand Boy Kisses

A Thousand Boy Kisses Plot Summary

Introduction

# A Thousand Kisses: Love Beyond the Boundaries of Time The first time Rune Kristiansen saw Poppy Litchfield, she was climbing through her bedroom window in a mud-stained blue dress, a white bow tangled in her hair. He was five years old, freshly arrived from Norway, shouting angry Norwegian words at his mother from their new porch in Blossom Grove, Georgia. She was the girl next door who would change everything with a handshake and a promise of forever. Their love story began in childhood adventures through cherry blossom groves, with stolen kisses counted in a mason jar and whispered dreams of New York together. They became two halves of one heart until Rune's father's job tore them apart at fifteen, sending him back to Oslo while Poppy faced the unthinkable alone. When silence replaced their daily calls, Rune's heart turned to stone, and darkness consumed the boy who once saw magic in every moment. Now, two years later, he's returned to find the girl he loves dying, and time running out for their thousand kisses.

Chapter 1: The Promise of Forever: Childhood Love Takes Root

The moving truck had barely disappeared when five-year-old Rune decided he hated everything about Georgia. The humid air clung to his skin like unwelcome hands, and the bright colors of neighboring houses mocked his sullen mood. He stood on the porch shouting Norwegian curses at his mother, demanding they return to Oslo immediately. That's when he saw her. A girl in a blue dress covered in mud, climbing through a bedroom window like some tiny burglar. When she spotted him watching, she flashed the biggest smile he'd ever seen and ran straight over, her yellow rain boots squelching in the grass. "Hi, my name is Poppy Litchfield, I'm five years old and I live right next door," she announced, thrusting out a dirty hand. When Rune just stared, she grabbed his hand and shook it twice. "That's a handshake. My mamaw says it's polite." Everything about her was strange and wonderful. She had a funny accent that made English sound like music, green eyes that sparkled with mischief, and energy that seemed to vibrate through her small frame. When he told her his name in Norwegian, she scrunched up her face. "Norwegian? Like the Vikings?" She stepped closer, practically bouncing. "Are you a real Viking?" Something in her wonder melted his anger. He puffed out his chest. "Ja. We are real Vikings, from Norway." Poppy's delighted giggle filled the air. She studied his long blond hair and crystal-blue eyes with the intensity of a scientist making a discovery. "You're just like Thor! You're a real-life Viking!" Then she leaned in conspiratorially, her voice dropping to a whisper. "I go on adventures. I don't normally bring people with me, but you're a Viking, and Vikings are really good at adventures." She held out her hand again, this time with ceremony. "I think we should be best friends." As their small hands joined in that second handshake, something clicked into place. The angry Norwegian boy and the muddy Georgia girl had found exactly what they didn't know they needed. Three years later, death came for Poppy's mamaw like a thief in broad daylight. Eight-year-old Poppy was pulled from school early, her father's face grave as he drove her home to say goodbye. The house was full of relatives with red eyes and hushed voices, but Poppy only had eyes for the frail woman in the bed who had been her greatest adventure companion. Mamaw's hands were cold when she took Poppy's, her breathing labored, but her smile was as warm as ever. "I'm going home, girlie. This life is just a great big adventure, but now I'm going on the greatest adventure of all." That's when her mother appeared with the mason jar, filled to the brim with blank pink paper hearts. A thousand of them. Mamaw's eyes lit up as she explained the gift, her voice growing stronger with purpose. "This jar is for you to record your boy-kisses, Poppy. All the kisses that make your heart almost burst, the ones that are the most special. When you find the boy that will be your forever always, every time you get an extra-special kiss from him, take out a heart and write down where you were when you were kissed." After Mamaw passed that evening, Poppy ran to the cherry blossom grove, clutching her jar of empty hearts. Rune found her there, crying under their favorite tree, and when she explained her new adventure through her tears, his face darkened with an emotion she'd never seen before. "NO!" he roared, his voice echoing through the grove. "I don't want you kissing boys for your jar!" But as Poppy tried to explain that it wouldn't change their friendship, something shifted in Rune's crystal-blue eyes. Without warning, he leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers. The kiss was soft and warm and tasted like cinnamon, and when he pulled back, Poppy's heart was beating so fast she pressed her hand to her chest in wonder. "I'll give you a thousand kisses, Poppymin," he declared, using the Norwegian endearment that meant 'my Poppy.' "All of them. No one will kiss you ever, but me."

Chapter 2: Across Oceans Apart: When Distance Destroys Everything

By fifteen, their love had deepened into something that made adults nervous and other teenagers jealous. Rune had grown tall and broad-shouldered, his long blond hair and crystal-blue eyes making every girl in school swoon, but he only had eyes for Poppy. She played cello like an angel and dreamed of Carnegie Hall, while he captured moments through his camera lens, planning to study photography at NYU. Their future was mapped out together: New York, dreams fulfilled side by side, forever always. The night before Rune's family was torn away to Oslo, they gave each other everything. In Poppy's bedroom, with moonlight streaming through the window and cherry blossoms dancing in the wind outside, they made love with the desperate tenderness of two souls who knew they were about to be ripped apart. Afterward, as they lay entwined, Poppy whispered the details of kiss number three hundred and fifty-five into the darkness. "In my bedroom, after I made love to my Rune. My heart almost burst." When morning came too soon, Rune's father stood in the doorway with tears in his eyes, but his decision was final. The company needed him in Oslo. They were leaving in an hour. At the car, with their families watching and Poppy's sisters crying, Rune lifted his camera one last time. Through the lens, he captured the exact moment when someone's heart breaks, freezing Poppy's devastated face in silver and shadow. "I'll see you in your dreams," Poppy whispered as the car pulled away, her hand slipping from his through the open window. For two months, they talked every day across the Atlantic. Rune fought against the darkness creeping into his soul, holding onto Poppy's voice like a lifeline. But then, one day, she didn't answer his call. Or the next day. Or the day after that. The Litchfield family had vanished without a trace, leaving Rune alone on the other side of the world, wondering what he'd done wrong. The boy who once saw magic in every moment began to die, replaced by someone harder, angrier, consumed by rage at a world that had stolen his light. His parents watched helplessly as their son disappeared behind walls of fury. When his father's company finally transferred them back to Georgia two years later, they hoped returning home might heal what Oslo had broken. They were wrong.

Chapter 3: Silent Battles: Two Years of Hidden Pain and Growing Darkness

Two years in Oslo transformed Rune into a stranger. The boy who once laughed at Poppy's adventures became someone who smoked cigarettes and picked fights, who spoke to his parents only in clipped, angry sentences. The camera that had once been permanently around his neck gathered dust in a drawer. Why capture moments when every moment felt like dying? Meanwhile, a thousand miles away, Poppy was fighting the battle of her life. The Hodgkin lymphoma had appeared like a thief, stealing her strength, her hair, her future. In sterile hospital rooms, she endured chemotherapy that left her retching and weak, her body a battlefield where medicine and cancer waged war. The hardest part wasn't the pain or the fear. It was the decision to cut Rune free. She couldn't bear the thought of him watching helplessly from Oslo as she suffered, couldn't imagine him dropping everything to rush to her side only to watch her die. Better to let him think she'd simply moved on, found someone new, forgotten their promises. So she changed her number, blocked his emails, and disappeared into the medical maze of treatments and hope and despair. Her family moved to be closer to the hospital, and Poppy learned to live with half a heart, telling herself that somewhere across the ocean, Rune was whole and happy and free. She was catastrophically wrong about the happy part. When Rune's family returned to Blossom Grove, the neighbors barely recognized the sullen seventeen-year-old who emerged from the moving truck. Gone was the quiet but gentle boy they remembered. This Rune wore all black, smoked cigarettes on the front porch, and radiated an anger so palpable it made people cross the street. His first night back, he stood in the yard between the houses, staring at Poppy's dark window and chain-smoking until his father came out to argue. The shouting match that followed woke half the neighborhood, conducted in rapid-fire Norwegian that sounded like breaking glass. At school, Rune moved through the hallways like a storm cloud. Girls whispered about how beautiful and dangerous he'd become, but he ignored them all. His old friends tried to reconnect, but conversation died against his monosyllabic responses and thousand-yard stare. Then, one morning in the hallway, he saw her.

Chapter 4: Collision of Broken Hearts: The Reunion That Changes Everything

Poppy stood at her locker, alive and real and impossibly beautiful despite being thinner than he remembered. Her long hair had been cut into a bob that framed her face, and when their eyes met across the crowded corridor, time stopped. The hatred that blazed in his crystal-blue eyes hit her like a physical blow. This wasn't her Rune, the boy who used to push his hair back and smile that crooked half-smile just for her. This was someone harder, colder, carved from ice and fury. They stared at each other for an eternity that lasted seconds, neither moving, neither breathing. Then the hall monitor appeared, breaking the spell, and Poppy fled through the far doors with Rune's burning gaze following her retreat. For a week, they circled each other like wounded animals. Rune glared whenever their paths crossed, his anger a living thing that filled every room he entered. Poppy kept her head down and her distance, knowing she deserved his hatred but unprepared for how much it would hurt to be on the receiving end of those arctic eyes. The confrontation came on a Friday night at a party. Poppy had gone reluctantly, assured that Rune would be elsewhere, but when she walked into the den and saw him with another girl's arms around him, her world tilted sideways. The sight of someone else touching him, the possibility of another girl kissing the lips that had promised to be hers forever, shattered something inside her chest. She fled to a laundry room to cry in private, but Rune followed like a predator tracking wounded prey. He cornered her against the wall, his tall frame blocking any escape, and demanded answers with a voice like broken glass. "Why?" he snarled, his hands braced on either side of her head. "Why did you do it? Why did you never call me back?" The boy she'd loved had been replaced by this beautiful, terrible stranger who looked at her like she was his greatest enemy. When she begged him to let the past stay buried, he laughed without humor, a sound that held no warmth. "Tell me," he repeated, his voice dropping to a menacing whisper. "Tell me why the hell you left me all alone." Poppy tried to run, but he caught her wrist and spun her back. The anger radiating from him was terrifying, but worse was the pain she could see underneath it, the wound she'd carved into his soul when she disappeared. "You want to know where that boy went?" he asked, his voice soft and deadly. "You want to know where your Rune went? That Rune died when you left him all alone." When she couldn't take anymore, when his accusations became too much to bear, the truth exploded from her throat like a scream: "I'M DYING!" The words hung in the air between them, terrible and final. Rune's face went white as bone, his hands freezing on her shoulders as the meaning sank in. "I have Hodgkin lymphoma," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "It's advanced. And it's terminal. I have a matter of months left to live, Rune. There's nothing anyone can do." For a moment that lasted forever, he simply stared. Then he turned and ran, leaving her alone in the darkness with the echo of her confession.

Chapter 5: Terminal Truth: When Love Faces Its Greatest Enemy

Rune ran until his legs gave out, falling to his knees in the empty park as the truth tore through him like shrapnel. The girl he loved was dying. Had been dying while he nursed his anger and self-pity across the ocean. Had been fighting for her life while he'd been learning to hate her. The pain was unlike anything he'd ever experienced, a physical agony that left him gasping and clawing at the earth. He'd thought losing her to silence was the worst thing that could happen. He'd been catastrophically wrong. Hours later, he found himself climbing through her bedroom window like they were children again. Poppy was awake, waiting, and when she saw the devastation on his face, she opened her arms without a word. He collapsed into her embrace, this broken boy who'd forgotten how to cry, and let her hold him as he fell apart. Her fingers stroked through his hair while he sobbed into her lap, grieving for the time they'd lost and the time they'd never have. "It's okay," she whispered, rocking him gently. "It's okay." But it wasn't okay, and they both knew it. When he finally lifted his head, his eyes were red-rimmed and haunted. "I can't lose you, Poppymin. I can't let you go." Poppy's smile was heartbreaking in its gentleness. "Then don't. Not yet. We still have time." She showed him the mason jar, dusty from disuse, still half-empty of the thousand kisses her mamaw had challenged her to collect. Most of the hearts were blank, waiting for a love that had been interrupted by an ocean and silence and the terrible arithmetic of a terminal diagnosis. "Our final adventure," she said, and something in Rune's chest that had been frozen for two years began to thaw. He took her face in his hands, studying every beloved detail as if memorizing her for eternity. "Our final adventure," he agreed, and kissed her with all the desperate tenderness of a boy who'd learned that forever was a luxury they couldn't afford. The next morning, he woke her before dawn and led her to the cherry blossom grove to watch the sunrise. The trees were bare, their branches reaching toward the sky like prayers, but Poppy danced among them anyway, spinning in the cold wind with her face turned toward the light. "Can you feel it, Rune?" she called, laughing as the sun painted the world gold. "Life!" And for the first time in two years, he could. Standing there watching the girl he loved embrace each precious moment, Rune felt something besides anger. He felt alive.

Chapter 6: Racing Against Time: Completing Their Thousand Kisses

The trip to New York was Poppy's secret wish, though she let Rune think he had planned it all. Her aunt, a flight attendant with connections, helped arrange everything from the penthouse suite to the private performance at Carnegie Hall. Poppy's parents were terrified to let her travel, but they understood that normal rules no longer applied. When your daughter is dying, you say yes to everything. Rune had never looked more beautiful than he did standing in the hotel doorway, dressed in a brown blazer with his hair combed back from his face. He had planned every detail of their New York adventure, determined to give her experiences that would last whatever lifetime she had left. They visited the Empire State Building, where he kissed her among the clouds. They walked through Central Park, where she made him promise to keep taking pictures even after she was gone. They stood in Times Square as the city pulsed around them, two small figures in a sea of humanity, holding onto each other like anchors in a storm. But the crown jewel of the trip was Carnegie Hall. Somehow, Rune had arranged for her to play her cello on the most famous stage in the world, alone except for him in the audience. As she drew her bow across the strings, playing "The Swan" with all the passion in her failing body, she felt complete for the first time since her diagnosis. "This is my goodbye to music," she told him afterward, tears streaming down her face. "I can't play anymore after this. It would never be as perfect." Rune held her as she cried, his own tears falling into her hair. They made love that night with a desperate tenderness, knowing it might be their last time. Every touch was a prayer, every kiss a promise that love could transcend even death. "Kiss number eight hundred and twenty," she whispered afterward. "When we became one again." The camera around Rune's neck had been his constant companion throughout the trip. Poppy had surprised him with it, the same vintage Canon he had thrown away in Norway, lovingly restored by his father who had never stopped believing his son would return to photography. At first, Rune had resisted, but the artist in him couldn't stay buried forever. He photographed her dancing in the shallow waves at the beach, her dress soaked and her face radiant with joy. He captured her sleeping in the hotel bed, peaceful as an angel. He documented every moment of their final adventure, creating a visual diary of love in the face of loss. "Promise me you'll keep taking pictures," she said on their last morning in the city. "Promise me you'll show the world all the beauty I won't get to see." "I promise," he said, and meant it. They returned to Georgia changed, both of them understanding that their time was measured in weeks now, not months. But instead of despair, Poppy felt a strange peace. She had gotten her wish. She had seen New York with the boy she loved, had played on the stage of her dreams, had collected hundreds more kisses for her jar.

Chapter 7: Beyond the Final Breath: Love That Transcends Mortality

The infection hit Poppy like a freight train on a Tuesday afternoon in March. One moment she was walking home from school with Rune, the next she was collapsing in his arms in the cherry blossom grove, her body finally surrendering to the cancer that had been eating away at her defenses for months. Rune carried her home, running faster than he had ever run in his life, her limp form cradled against his chest as he shouted for help. The ambulance ride was a blur of sirens and medical equipment, but through it all, Poppy held onto his hand with what little strength she had left. The medically induced coma lasted a week. Rune never left her side, sleeping in the hospital chair and talking to her unconscious form about everything and nothing. He told her about their childhood, about every kiss they had shared, about the future they would never have together. When she finally woke up, her first word was his name. The infection had taken its toll. Poppy's legs no longer worked, and her body was so weak she could barely lift her arms. But her spirit remained unbroken, her smile as bright as ever when she looked at him. "We're almost there," she said, looking at the jar of kisses that now sat beside her hospital bed. "Nine hundred and thirty-four." The wheelchair didn't slow her down. If anything, it seemed to give her a new sense of urgency. She wanted to see the cherry blossoms bloom one more time, wanted to go to prom with Rune in a tuxedo, wanted to watch one final sunrise from their favorite beach. Rune made it all happen. He convinced the school to move prom up by two weeks, worked with their friends to decorate the gym in cherry blossom themes, rented a tuxedo and learned to tie a bow tie with his father's help. The night of prom, Poppy looked like a princess in her white dress, her hair styled in perfect curls with her signature bow. They danced with her in his arms, swaying to music as their classmates watched with tears in their eyes. Everyone knew by then. The secret was out, and the entire town had rallied around the girl who had touched so many lives with her kindness and grace. "Kiss number nine hundred and ninety-five," she whispered against his lips as the song ended. "At prom with my Rune, when dreams came true." After prom, they drove to the beach where they had spent so many happy hours as children. Poppy was exhausted, but she insisted on watching one more sunrise. They sat on a blanket in the sand, her back against his chest, as the sky slowly lightened over the Atlantic. "I'm ready now," she said as the sun crested the horizon. "I'm ready to go home." The cherry blossoms were in full bloom when Poppy took her last breath. She died at home in her own bed, surrounded by family, with Rune's hand in hers and his lips pressed to her forehead. Her final kiss, number one thousand, was as gentle as a butterfly's wing. "Kiss number one thousand," Rune whispered against her still lips. "When my Poppy went home, and my heart completely burst." But Rune's real goodbye came later, in the cherry blossom grove where their love story had begun. One thousand Chinese lanterns, each one inscribed with one of their kisses, rose into the night sky like fallen stars returning home. The entire town had come to help, each person holding a lantern that represented a moment of love between two souls who had found each other against all odds. Rune held the final lantern, the one that bore their last kiss, and watched it disappear into the darkness. Somewhere above the clouds, he knew Poppy was watching, her face lit with that radiant smile that had been his guiding light for as long as he could remember. "Here are your kisses, Poppymin," he whispered to the night sky. "I promised they would come to you."

Summary

In the end, Poppy and Rune's story was never really about death at all. It was about the fierce, transformative power of love to transcend every boundary, even mortality itself. Their thousand kisses became a testament to the idea that some connections run so deep they reshape the very fabric of existence, creating ripples that extend far beyond a single lifetime. Rune went on to study photography at NYU as Poppy had secretly arranged, his images capturing the beauty she had taught him to see in a world that suddenly seemed both too bright and too dark. He never loved anyone else. The jar Poppy had given him for future kisses remained empty, a testament to a love that death could not diminish. He traveled the world as she had made him promise, documenting moments of joy and sorrow, always carrying her memory like a talisman. And every night, in his dreams, he returned to the cherry blossom grove where she waited for him, seventeen forever, with her white bow and her dimpled smile and her arms open wide. Some loves burn so bright they light the way for eternity, proving that forever always was never just a promise between children, but a truth that transcends time itself.

About Author

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Tillie Cole

Cole delves into the intricacies of human emotion and resilience through her dark and often intense romance novels. Her works frequently delve into themes such as love, loss, and healing, interwoven with her educational background in Religious Studies. This enables her to explore profound topics within her stories, offering readers a blend of spiritual and personal catharsis. Her debut book, written during her time abroad, marked the beginning of a successful writing career that has captivated audiences with its deep emotional resonance and complex character portrayals.\n\nBeyond her thematic exploration, Cole's method of storytelling involves a distinctive combination of humor and darkness, as well as a penchant for creating brooding, tattooed male protagonists. Her Sweet Home Series and Scarred Souls Series exemplify this style, while other titles such as "A Wish for Us" and "Eternal North" showcase her ability to weave serious issues into engaging narratives. Therefore, readers who appreciate richly layered emotional experiences and well-crafted romances will find significant value in her work. As a USA Today bestselling author, Cole has earned critical acclaim and a devoted following within the contemporary and dark romance genres.\n\nIn this short bio, Cole's journey from high school teacher to a prominent author illustrates her dedication to storytelling and her ability to translate personal experiences and academic insights into compelling narratives. Her impact on readers is marked by the emotional depth and healing aspects her books offer, allowing them to engage with complex themes in an accessible yet profound manner.

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