From The Ashes We Rise

Chp 39: Night Out With The Cat

Ebony's POV

"Why are we here?" I asked Ariff.

He didn't respond. He held on to my hand and tugged me gently as we walked further into the nature reserve. I started to get frustrated.

"Just tell me what's going on."

Then, he turned around and glared. "Can you shut up? I told you it's a secret," he hissed.

I rolled my eyes. Ariff brought me to this place late at night for no reason. Maybe it had something to do with what he planned after our mid-year exams. It's a wonder how we're not caught yet.

After a few minutes of pointless trekking, we found ourselves on a boardwalk near a large body of water. The sea. The moon was up high in the sky, shining brighter than the stars littered around it. It was a crescent, fortunately. I didn't have to worry about Ariff going feral on me that night. The stars themselves flickered repeatedly, struggling to make themselves known to this world, even though there weren't many of them. The twilight sky was a mix of various shades of purple, vastly different from the navy blue back in America.

"Woah," I breathed. I glanced at Ariff standing beside me looking down at the water. He looked up at me again.

He smiled. "Cool, right?"

I chuckled. This was his secret? Not every night do I get to see such a thing. I've never even stepped foot in Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve before. He really knew how to surprise me.

"How have you never told me about this?"

I looked Ariff straight in the eyes. They glimmered under the light of the moon. The striking brown colour glowed as he stared back at me. Something about them was mesmerising, more like hypnotic, and almost calming. Ariff's soft mocha eyes were so beautiful that they made me feel something about him.

"I wanted to surprise you." He grinned, then looked at the boardwalk. He was still gripping my hand, but a little tighter.

Around us, we could hear the sound of crickets chirping. A gentle sea breeze blew against our hair. The moonlight danced in the water, playing with the stars which appeared as dots on the surface. Silhouettes of bats flew around trying to snag insects.

"I know what will make this better," Ariff said, releasing my hand.

He proceeded to take off his shirt then his... pants. I stared at him as he did so. Way to ruin the moment for me.

"What are you doing?!" I exclaimed.

He stopped and looked at me. "I wanna swim."

"But it's open water. It's unpredictable. You'll drown."

"So?"

I yanked him back just before he could leap into the water. "Just because you're a cat doesn't mean you can swim there. I'm not gonna jump in there to save you if you struggle."

Ariff retrieved his clothes and put them on again. "You're no fun sometimes," he sighed.

Because we couldn't swim there, we decided to sit on the boardwalk and admire the scenery. From afar, I could see Johor Bahru, a town at the very edge of Malaysia closest to Singapore. Lights from the tall buildings appeared as tiny dots on the horizon.

Ariff decided to go for a walk without me. I heard him shift followed by the sound of his paw pads on the boardwalk, in place of the slippers he wore when coming here. The claws on his feet scratched the wood gently as he walked off. I sat at the edge of the boardwalk, my legs dangling above the water. I took off my slippers then sat further out so that my feet were in the water. It was cold to the touch. I shivered as I slowly submerged my feet deeper into the water.