Thousand Paper Cuts

Twelve : sad empty town

Skye :

She wasn't a scientist, but she knew this :
The more you dig for answers in science, the more you keep on just revealing other questions.
Maybe love is like that too, as it never gives you the answers. All it does is reveal more questions, making you feel like nothing in the universe matters more than love.

When she picked up the call, it was Mia, singing that ludicrous birthday song in her sweet voice.
Her heartbeat was still fast, and she said,
"Thank you, but isn't my birthday tomorrow?"
"Look at the clock, idiot", Mia giggled.
It was exactly twelve o' clock at night, and that made her smile because only best freinds can be this precise. And it also made her wonder how moment ceased while talking to Mark.
"Okay", Mia said, "now you should probably sleep, and tomorrow--I mean in the morning--I'll be there at your service to dress you up. Then we'll hit the Starbucks."
Skye inhaled deeply and said,
"What? We're closing the shop in the morning?"
She could feel Mia rolling her eyes, as she replied,
"It's your merry twentieth birthday. Jesus, now sleep, before I indulge you in the attractiveness of my attractive Korean dude."

                            ............

Later that afternoon, when sky was reminiscent to some painting, Mia and Skye forged towards the Starbucks, after Skye got dressed in a purple knee length dress under a coat, on Mia's appeal. "It's your Birthday!!", Mia said for the trillionth time.
Before leaving, Mia's eyes fell on that yellow bicycle and she asked,
"From where you got this?"
"Mark", Skye simply replied, as if it was no big deal.
While they were in the Blue Citrus, Mia said, in between drags of her cigarette,
"Dude, you're having your own secret adventures with your mysterious neighbour, which is a nice thing, but remember : don't get too involved. People these days are drenched in the idea of playing games."
Skye rolled her eyes, saying,
"He's a nice guy, Mia. Trust me, he's just a good friend I pass my time with."
And somehow Mia believed in her, even though Skye didn't believe in herself. Not anymore.

When they reached Starbucks' parking lot, she felt really special, as if she WAS special. When they got out, the incredible soft light of the sun somehow made the winter noon wonderful. Birthdays really make you feel special, as if you belong to this world and life, and that every year the universe makes you feel that problems pass, and happiness can be found within. You just have to dive deep inside.
"Hey", Mia almost whispered, as if they were on some secret ninja mission,
"First I'll go inside. You come after five minutes."

When she opened the door of Starbucks, she inhaled the scent of latte muffins, and saw nothing but utter darkness. When she was halfway down the hall, she witnessed a sudden spark of candle, and everyone emerged from literally nowhere, singing along, making her feel like somebody. They all yelled "surprise!", and all the lights were back, brightening the place filled with red balloons. Even the baristas sang along, and in the New York's best place with best people, she couldn't overwhelm the feeling, and tears sprung out like some Autumn spring.
Adam hugged her, and so did Mia, and others including Park,Ben, Simon and Violet all gathered around her, as if she were their morning sun.
"I love you, Skye. You know that, don't you?", Adam whispered softly in her ear, as if it was the revelation of the biggest secret. She nodded in his arms, and soon all of them sat on the purple chairs near the window, presenting their gifts. In the background of their laughter, played the songs from 80's, that reminded her of Mark's taste in music :

"In the moment, I'll be gone
But where do I leave?
Sometimes people fall in love
With wrong people I believe"

Mia gave her two new oversized sweaters she loved (one bought from the Gucci's sale !) , while Adam gave her his new recent album called,
"Honey syrup love". Even though Park wasn't even her close friend, yet he gave her a picture he took last year of an autumn tree :