Hello?

When her voice filters through the static of the phone you forget everything you had rehearsed.

“It’s me. Amber.”

There’s a pregnant pause.

Hi. 

You can hear the shy smile in her voice and you can’t help but smile too.

“Thank you for sending me all that stuff, it’s really—it’s really a lot.”

You glance at the computer and flight vouchers on your desk. Earlier, you had decided to shelve your pride and keep her gifts.

You’re welcome.

You can feel her relief.

“So,” you clear your throat. “I’m free now if you are?”  

You hear her exhale.

Meet me in the woods where we ran away from Kai in fifteen.  

The line goes silent and you slowly put your phone down. You had been clenching it so tightly you left red lines in your palm. Across from you in your doorway mirror, a kid with rosy cheeks and excited eyes stares at you. You jump off the bed, pulling off the shorts you’re wearing, and tug on your newly mended lucky pants. Grabbing your longboard and ID card, you hustle out the door.

Ten minutes later, you’re sitting on the other side of the hedge, having crawled through the break in the brambles. It’s a miracle the hole hadn’t closed up already. The woods feel alive around you—a bluebird alights on the branches above your head, trilling a beautiful melody. You see two squirrels chatter as they scramble up another tree, and in the distance a brown hare bounds through the bushes.  

“Hey.”

You twist around and holy hell. Krystal’s looking at you with her head tilted to the side, her loose hair falling across her bare shoulders. A white slip of a dress hugs her curves, ending at mid-thigh. She hesitates and then takes a step closer to you.

“Sorry to keep you waiting,” she continues.

You can count the freckles on her nose, that’s how close she is. As you inhale, you breathe in the scent of lilac and honey, and you’re transported back to a time when you ran through a golden meadow under the sun. She’s looking at you and you don’t think anyone’s regarded you with this much gentle curiosity before.

“That’s all right,” you manage to say, your mouth very dry.

Her trademark eye smile lights up her face.

“Come with me.”

Suddenly she reaches down and threads her fingers between yours. You instinctively close your hand around hers and she starts leading you down a dirt trodden path to the right. The way she’s gripping your hand, as if she’s afraid you’re the one who will let go makes something flutter in your stomach but you swallow the butterflies. You two walk in amiable silence for half an hour. The music of nature surrounds you and you feel like you’re living in a fairytale.

Finally, the tree line thins and as you stride out of the fringe, Krystal pulls you to an abrupt halt. The ground below your feet drops away. You’re standing at the edge of an enormous cliff. The city sprawls underneath you and you can see for miles in the undiluted mountain air. It’s an awe inspiring type of grandeur, and you think if this is the type of landscape Krystal comes to visit then it makes sense why she dreams big.

“So?” she asks as if waiting for your approval.

“This is amazing. It must be even prettier at night, with the lights and all.”

She nods and awkwardly sits, patting the ground beside her. You notice she doesn’t let go of your hand as you also fold yourself cross legged on the g