Eve

10

It felt like I had just won the lottery when my parents said yes when I asked if I could spend the night with Eve in a treehouse. I could hardly sleep knowing the next day Eve would show up at my doorstep. Her hair would be up in her usual messy ponytail and she'd have on this oversized shirt she always wore with jean shorts the poked just underneath it. She'd have a smile on her face, excited as ever like a golden retriever welcoming its owner. I didn't really understand why she was always so happy to see me. But I didn't question it, because when someone loves you this much, I don't really care for the reason. Even if it's not the type of love I wish she would return, I will always be thankful for her as my friend.

I wasn't surprised that I had predicted her perfectly the next day. When you spend the whole day making up expectations in your head, there's nothing better than meeting that expectation with the reality of it being the truth. And I was right, except it's always better to see her in person than in my mind. Even though I could make up so many false scenarios about being with her, seeing her be who she really was was the version of Eve I loved the most.

It was a bit like a dream. Being with her. It didn't seem real. Maybe it was just love clouding every part of my sensible brain. But she really was perfect.

I had a lot more stuff than Eve as we loaded onto the canoe. It could barely fit, but of course Eve somehow managed to make it work. I had helped grab more sleeping supplies for Eve since she didn't really have much, while in return she packed a lot of food for us. I also managed to slip in some decorations, just to surprise her and try to make it really beautiful and calming for just the two of us.

When we got there, I didn't realize how alone "just the two of us" would really feel. With the late sun down approaching and only the sound of slight ripples of the lagoon and rustles in the wind blown trees, it made everything around us feel a lot more empty. It all made me so much more anxious than I thought I would be.

"I brought some other stuff as well," I said, pulling out a few things from a paper bag, "Wanna play something?" I handed Eve a small speaker, so we didn't have to be filled with this incomplete silence.

"Oh, sure," Eve said busying herself with the music. As she did so, I pulled out a rolled up string of fairy lights. Something that I had brought with me when we moved, but never really decorated with as it was forgotten in a dusty old carboard box from Christmas. It was perfect for stringing around the walls of the treehouse. Illuminating the painted pink and green walls and sadly, probably attracting bugs. It was a good thing Eve had brought a large mosquito net.

"Are those fairy lights?" Eve asked after a soft melody had started to play from the speaker. I looked over at her, finishing up by clicking on the light. Turning to Eve, I just saw how ethereal she really looked, especially lit up by the soft glow of tiny lights. I'm sure if I looked into her eyes close enough, the fairy lights in the reflection of her irises would turn into small stars.

"I brought a pretty tarp to lay on the ground as well," I said, trying to hid my blush by turning and unraveling a flowery tarp.

"Ah! This is so cool!" Eve exclaimed, coming over to help stretch out the tarp across the floor.

"I wanted it to be really pretty, you know," I became flustered suddenly, trying not to meet her gaze.

"The boys would be so jealous knowing we made the treehouse turn into something as awesome as this," Eve stood with her hands on her hips, gazing out at the small room and confidently applauding the two of us for doing so well.

"Yeah. They would be."

We finished setting up our things. Making sure the two pads were fully blown up and our bed sets were put together nicely. Dinner was given out by Eve. She had brought tamales that were homemade by her mother. I couldn't eat enough of them they were so good. And even slightly cold from the ice chest I didn't really mind, it was the only way we could store food.