"I mean, ofcourse!" she giggled, "We always talk at night anyways. Why? What's up?"

I hesitated, "Well... there's something I want to show you, it's nothing much, but I think you'll like it."

She teased, "ooh... okay Mr. Mysterious, so 'non-chalant' you are huh?" 

Even on days when she's down, she always finds a way to keep things light hearted. She makes everything sound like it will always be okay, and I admire her so much for that. 

My heart did it again. It skipped a beat the moment she teased me. I tried to act so cool about it, as if her tone didn't send millions of butterflies swarming from my stomach to my throat. I spammed my keyboard recklessly, just so that I wouldn't leave her message on read with how nervous I was. I texted, "HDFJKDSJFG." 

Teasefully, she asked, "Woah girl, are you having a seisure?" 

I mocked her tone, "No girl, I don't know what you're talking about, girl."

It's these little banters we have that always leaves me wondering how well we got along. From day one, even as weeks passed, everything just felt so right. Every second, I always enjoyed talking to her, more than anyone else.

A few hours later, the sun had finally set, but my thoughts of her never did.

I was completing my group project for my class at home. I just had to compile all the progress within a PowerPoint. Ria on the other hand, she still had after-school courses until 7 PM, so there was still so much time to kill before sending her the little gift. I kept overthinking, again. I questioned if doing this was even logically right. Like, do I even have the place in her life to do this? Am I taking it too far?

I revised the gift, over and over, and over again. I rewrote my dialogue, checking for any small mistakes that might give the wrong impresson, but everything seemed fine. I kept repeating to myself, "The purpose of this is to relax her heart, to remind her how loveable and valuable she is, and how proud her younger self would be." As the time ticked closer and closer to 10 pm, which is the usual time we talk, my heart beats faster and faster.

I quickly went to the gym, just to get my mind off of things. I had a moment of reflection, which was strange, because it doesn't usually happen when I work out. I looked back at the very first day I spoke to Ria. I realised how different I felt in a matter of weeks. The impact she had on my life in just a short period of time made me see how special she truly is. I felt like a completely different person, and it wasn't just because of the joyful memories I created with her, but to be able to meet someone as unique, and amazing as her makes me question what I did to deserve her, even just as a best friend.

Once she reached home, she still had so much to do, I didn't even mind because for some reason, she's someone I'd be patient for no matter what. 

My phone lit up and I recieved a message from her, "Hey, I'm so sorry, I still have so much homework, and chores, I haven't even eaten yet. I'll get back to you, I promise." My heart shattered, not because we can't talk yet, but it was the fact that she had so much responsibilities that she couldn't even find time to eat... There was a heaviness in my chest that I couldn't describe. I just wished I could be there to help carry some of that weight.

But I always believed in her. It only took me a few days, not even weeks to see how resilient and powerful she truly was. 

A few hours have passed, she finished everything, finally settling down. She sank down onto her soft bed, ready to talk to me. "Stop. do you know how curious you made me because of earlier? Now tell me your little secret Milo bear."

...She just called me Milo bear...

She caught me off guard, again. "Oh... I mean... well... okay so..." I stuttered. From the phone reflection on it's own, my face was warm, red, like cherry tomatoes. 

"Okay... I've been meaning to tell you this, but the moment you felt unwell, I felt annoyed, upset even, because you don't deserve that, you're the last person in this world who deserves to feel hurt by those around you, or to be drained by everything else."

"Upset, upset because sometimes, I hate how the world said we'd be best friends at a distance, and I can't physically be there for you, and lift you up when no one else would. So... I made the most of what I have, and I made you a little gift!"

"You can listen to this whenever the world feels too heavy for you, or whenever you want a voice to remind you how amazing you are, because you truly are, seriously."

The heavy feeling on my chest felt lighter as I said those very words to Ria. Then there was a minute of just pure silence. I started to feel even more nervous, worried that I might've said something wrong. She came back longer than I expected. Turns out, she looked at the gift not once, but twice.

"Milo I-... You don't understand how much this means to me like... I've needed to hear this for so long and I can't even stop crying," She said, then added playfully, "This is all your fault gosh... you're an idiot, you know that right?"

"But in all seriousness... thank you, Milo, for being here for me, even from a distance. This is so cute."