“Hey, Eve? Eve, you awake in there?”
“Hmmm, one second, mother.”
Sitting up, I rubbed my eyes and proceeded to splash water in my face, slowly stirring my consciousness back into its rightful place.
“What happened, did you need something?” I responded after a short couple of moments.
“Gabriela was wondering if you wanted to spend some time together? I know you guys haven’t been able to hang out as much lately, so I told her I’d ask you. She’s waiting in the dining room.”
“Yeah, mom. I’d love to. Tell her I’ll be right down!”
“Ok, I’m leaving some clothes here for you just outside the door. Try not to keep her waiting too long.”
“I won’t, promise”.
I stepped out of the bath and wrapped myself in a towel as I made my way over to the door to grab the clothes my mother had left for me.
I finished drying my hair and got dressed, then made my way downstairs.
“Hey Gabi!” I said, excitement leaking from my voice.
She was sitting in the dining room wearing a nice, white shirt and skirt, with a brown coat draped over her shoulders, drinking some herbal concoction my mother likes making.
“Took you long enough, Ms. Hunter” She teased while nonchalantly taking a sip of her drink right after.
“Oh, whatever. Don’t lie, I know you’re a sucker for that stuff. How many cups have you had already?”
“Just one…” She said, almost seemingly trying to hide her face behind her drink.
I kept looking at her, dissecting her face with my eyes, waiting for her to spew out the truth.
“Okok, fine! Maybe I had a few more than 2…”
“You had four, didn’t you?”
“Yeah, I had four” Saying under her breath as she took another sip.
“That’s what I thought.” I said, shaking my head.
We looked at each other for a short moment and then began to laugh.
“It’s been so long since we’ve been able to talk like this. I’m so glad we have some time before the Solstice.” I said, giving her a hug.
“As am I. You can’t believe how much work training to be a nun actually is.”
“I can see that. The last time we actually hung out was probably about 2 months ago, when we went swimming in the lake down at Silvarus Creek. I haven’t had that much fun in a while.”
“Oh, right! And how I ended up scaring you on our way back.” She said, starting to laugh again.
“Owwww, hey!”
“Hey, you deserved that. You know I secretly hate the dark!” I said after punching her in the arm.
“Fine fineeee. Anyways, how about we go and get something to eat and maybe catch up a little bit? We have about another 7 hours until sundown. We could go to that bakery we used to run around as kids and pick up some fresh goods.”
“You mean, you want to go and get sweets for yourself?” Giving her a knowing look.
“I have no idea what you could possibly mean.” She said, as she stood up from her seat, taking one last sip of her drink.
We both began walking towards the door and out onto the paved road.
The trip to the bakery was only a short walk of about 7 minutes. Over that time, we talked about old memories and experiences we had. One of which was how we used to sneak out of our houses at night with some of our other friends and head over to the clearing and lay in the grass to look at the stars.
Another was the one time we threw a surprise birthday party for my other friend, Phelix.
Phelix is the outgoing type within our group. I mean, we’re all pretty outgoing, but he’s really outgoing, not to mention caring. He’s the type to stop and help a bird with a broken wing to try and fly again, even if his efforts are all for naught.
In light of this, we decided to throw him a huge birthday party. We even convinced my parents to borrow a couple of fireworks from the leftover New Year’s.
“Why Ms. Eve, or maybe I should say, Ms. Little Huntress. What a pleasant sight seeing you today. Same to you, Ms. Esther”
“Oh, c’mon, Ms. Myles! Is everyone gonna tease me about that now!”
Ms. Anivia Myles was the town’s best baker, proudly attested to by our resident nun-in-training.
“Quite the contrary, Ms. Solaris. That is a title someone your age should be proud to hold. We may call you that to tease you, sometimes, but your skills are truly something else.”
“She’s right, y’know. You truly are something else.”
“Yeah yeah, I know.” I replied, trying to hide my embarrassment.
“So, what would you girls want to eat? You guys came just in time; everything is still relatively fresh.”
“Do you have any of your famous, crème filled Krapfen?!?” Gabi said, her eyes practically glowing with an expecting light.
“Haha, yes darling. I have about five or six left there, all calling for you. I make sure to make some everyday, knowing how much you love them, in case you end up stopping by at some.”
“I’ll take them all!”
“Of course. And you, dear? What would you like?”
“Hmmmm, do you have any streuselkuchen left as well?”
“Why yes I do!”
“I’ll take two, please.”
“Of course, I’ll be right back with those. You two don’t go anywhere.”
As she began towards the back to get the sweets, we took a seat at a nearby table as we waited for her to return.
“Say, Eve. Your birthday’s coming up, isn’t it?”
“Well, yeah, why?”
“Well, it’s not really a secret saying as he sucks at hiding it, but I think Cenric is finally going to ask you out.”
“Pfft, hahaha. No way. He doesn’t have the guts to. No way. And, even if he did, I don’t see him like that. It would never work out.”
“Oh, c’mon, Eve. Be honest with yourself. I’ve known you for too long. I can tell you have feelings for him as well. I know you like to hide these things and I know you’ve shut everyone else down before anything has ever had the chance to happen, but you never did with him, not that he’d listen or stop, of course.”
“Exactly! I know that, even if I did try and stop him, he wouldn’t listen. That’s just how he is and that’s why I never did.”
“Eve, I know you better than you know yourself. Just give it a shot. What’s the worst that could possibly happen? It’s not like he’d ever hurt you; you’ve known him for almost as long as you’ve known me. If the worst comes to worst, you break up with him. I really do think you guys would be a good pair for each other, though.”
I sat there, stuck in my thoughts for what seemed like an eternity.
“What are you scared of, Eve? You can tell me; we tell each other everything, this is no different.”
“I ju-”
“Here you two go. Six krapfens for Ms. Esther and two streuselkuchen for Ms. Solaris.”
“Thank you, Anivia. How much do we owe you?”
“Oh, don’t worry about it. Consider it an early Solstice gift!”
“Are you sure? Thank you so much, Ms. Myles! We hope to see you again at the Solstice!”
“As do I, Eve, as do I.”
“Well, then. We’ll be off, it was nice seeing you again.”
“Likewise, see you guys later!”
With that, we left and made our way towards a bridge that went over the river that cut through our village.
We sat down on the cobblestone walls and ate our sweets.
“Say, Eve. What do you think the Gods are like?” Gabi pondered, stuffing her face with one of the krapfens she got.
“Hm? What brought this up all of a sudden?” I asked in return, doing the same with my sweets.
“Nothing in particular, really. I’ve just been thinking. We’ve been celebrating them for 2,000 years now and, yet, I’ve never even met a God before. Everyone says that they’re loving and caring and that they protect us from all the other warring Gods, but I feel like there’s more to it than just that.”
“How so?”
“Well, why else would they risk their lives to protect people they don’t even know? There has to be some other reason for it.”
“Yeah, I suppose that is true, but, at the same time, maybe they truly do just care for us. I, as well, have never met one in person, but the same could be said about our descendants to come. You always want what’s best for your kids and their kids and their grandkids as well, even if you’ll never be alive to see them.”
“I guess you do have a point.” She said as she finished another krapfen and began to stuff her face with another.
A few minutes passed as well just sat in silence, enjoying the subtle breeze and the sound of flowing water.
It was these types of moments that truly made me feel good about life. The feeling of tranquility- of being able to spend moments with the people I care about. That’s what meant the most to me.
Gabi was the first to break the silence. “Well, I have to head back to Elder Cayda. I have some more nun work to take care of before the Solstice, sadly.”
“Awwweee, are you sure? We haven’t spent time together in so long, do you really have to go?”
“I know I know, but I’m sorry. I really do have to finish these decorations before the Solstice begins and I’m only about seventy-five percent done with them. I promise to make time for you during and after the Solstice, no matter what. Promise.” She said, standing up and grabbing the rest of her sweets.
“Ok, fine, but you better mean it, Esther, or I’ll drag you away from your nun duties myself!”
“Yes yes, I know you will, I don’t doubt it. Anyways, It was good catching up with you, really. I miss these types of things.”
I stood up and gave her one last hug before she had to go.
“I’ll see you later, Eve!”
“As will I, Gabi. Take care- you better make good on your promise!”
“I will!” And, in a swift instant, she was gone.
I felt a tinge of sadness as I began walking home, but I knew I’d get to see her again in a couple of days. She has never made a promise she couldn’t keep.
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