Money Trees

11 ✮ Sacred and Secret

  Mai was lost.

  Both in a literal sense and a figurative sense. After leaving Oliver and Charlie's place, she wandered aimlessly until she reached a New York spot that was stranger to her. A small street with closed cafés and warm homes. She could see smoke puffing through chimneys and families laughing through windows. A hum of music and joy filled the air and yet an emptiness settled in her chest.

  Because she also felt lost. She was a cog that had fallen out of the grand machine of life. But nothing had changed in the machine. The world kept going. And she was the only one rolling away aimlessly. She was a side character in Oliver's story. A side character in her father's story. She was even probably a side character in her mother's story.

  It seemed selfish to think about herself after what happened with Oliver. Of course she was worried about her brother. Her heart ached for him. But she also felt useless because she couldn't help him. A lost cog that couldn't help with anything.

  She reached into her pocket to find her phone and check the time but her hand brushed against something else. She had almost forgotten about it. The small box wrapped in cerulean crepe paper given to her by a boy that meant so much to her.

She took out Apollo's gift to her and settled on a snow-covered bench, brushing away the thin coat of ice first. A small note she hadn't noticed before was tucked neatly into the wrapping paper.

  'Everything sucked until I met you. And ever since, the world seems a bit brighter. I can't understand how someone I only met a few days ago has become so important to me but you are the greatest gift I have ever received. I am so grateful for you and for Paris which feels like something sacred and secret between us.

Paris is ours now.

Apollo."

  Mai forgot how to breathe. She was almost afraid to open the box and see what was inside because her heart was close to exploding.

  Eventually she caught her breath and opened the box, revealing a sparkling gold pendant of the Eiffel Tower. It was so small and precious that she could wear it all the time and no one would see it. 'Sacred and secret'.

Her heart felt funny. But it didn't make her nervous at all. She welcomed the feeling. It was new to her and she wanted it to fill her.

She immediately called him

  "Hello?"

  "Hey."

  "Mai. Hey, how are you?"

  She exhaled, a puff of white steam forming around her. "You... you brought me Paris."

  "Did I?"

  She chuckled. "I mean... I don't know what I meant to be honest. I just opened your present."

  "Oh! I hope you liked it."

  Her fingers fiddled with precious necklace. It meant so much to her and she hated how un-eloquent she was. She wished she could communicate just how much it meant to her.

"I... I..."

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm just overwhelmed."

"Shit. I'm sorry. I hope the necklace wasn't me coming on too strong. I didn't want to spook you off-"

"No, no. This necklace is just... it's perfect. It's... it's Paris. Or at least it makes me feel like how I felt when we were in Paris. I had never been so open with someone but somehow I just knew I could trust you. There's something about you that I can't put my finger on but it makes me want to tell you everything. You mean so much to me Apollo. I'm so confused because you should be a stranger to me but... you're not. You've suddenly become one of the most important people in my life. And what we have is so sacred and intimate and it swells my heart with joy. You're... you're sacred."