"Hi! What are you guys doing outside?" My mother, who usually woke up before the dawn, appeared behind us, holding a warm cup of tea. The amiable smell of the herbs traveled my nostrils and I turned around to meet her jovial smile. She was wearing a red silk nightgown that coordinated her robe. Her dark amber hair was tied in a messy braid.
"Waiting for the sunrise. We've been here all night."
As I eclipsed myself for a brief time in David's arms, laid down in the swinging bed of the balcony, Sara let the pain she had kept for herself escape, through words. I could see the compassion of my mother through her cinnamon eyes. Perhaps, Sara just needed a caring adult by her side, one she never had. Perhaps she got emotionally swayed by the silence of the night.
Soon after, my mother brought breakfast for all of us. Tom, previously sleeping, opened his eyes, as the dusk turned into the dawn. First, he blinked, twice. Then, he looked at the sky above him, raising his eyebrows. It was no longer an abyss of black. The sky was a clearer shade of blue and a few clouds blushed with a tint of coral. The sun was still below the horizon.
"Morning guys!"
"Not morning yet. You're just in time." Sara answered.
The first ray of light kissed Tom freckles. Sara's honey hair turned gold, illuminated by the sunbeams. The outlines of the neighborhood houses became visible. I checked my phone and it was 6.27 a.m.
"We did it." I said. David placed his soft lips against my neck, as my lips were out of reach, and gently made me stand up from the hammock so he could get up and go lean against the fence of the balcony.
"This night made me appreciate the summertime." He said. David was born in Seattle, and moved to Valencia because of his dad's Spanish girlfriend. He had always been a pluviophile. He felt wistful as the rain fell against his window and took him to nirvana. He watched as the people hurried up, holding an umbrella, with a distaste look on their faces. David was different, he noticed the beauty in the chaos. He noticed the pureness of the rain, the red traffic lights reflecting on the cars, and the fresh after-rain smell. No, no, no. He wasn't a weirdo. He played soccer with his cool friends and went to the trendy parties. But most of the time, he felt like an outstanding.
"I've always been that guy," He said. "I won't complain though. That's the reason why you love me, right?" He winked at me. He was right, he was one of a kind.
"So, where are we going for lunch?" Tom asked, remembering the bet he had lost earlier.
After the sleepless night that connected us, I could see the fatigue of my friends through their looks. However, their eyes were full of life. We were tired and at the same time we were forceful, as we watched the sun rise above the city.
As the coral hued sky turned tangerine and we let the warmth of the nascent rays sink in our skin, I realized that as we grow up, we discover ourselves. We find out who we are and what we want in life. Things change, people leave but life won't wait for us to catch it. Life will run and we will carry on, in the name of the moments worth living for. The moments when you can feel the world around you rush during a late-night drive, the moments when you can sing your lungs out in a crowded, loud concert venue, or the moments when the only listenable beat is your heart, while you mesmerize with your eyes the morning auburn sky − the moments when you feel alive, free.
I was no longer afraid of losing my friends, because I understood that if I gave all my love to them, I wouldn't have some left for myself. Sara radiated strength, Nick didn't have to worry about his insomnia, Tom understood he was much more than his classmates made him think he was, and David shared his vision of the world with me. And yes, we knew that soon the struggles would come back and that we would welcome new mistakes, but we also knew that if we fell, it was our choice to rise or not. We were young and we wouldn't give up because we knew there were places we haven't seen yet, songs that didn't cross our ears, books we haven't read, concerts we haven't been to, people to be loved. Together or not, we were ready to dance in the rain while facing the upcoming storm.
A.N
This is it, the last chapter of this short book! I hope you guys enjoyed reading it. Please vote/comment if you did. I hope it opened your eyes in any sort of way. Feel free to answer the questions below. Thank you!
Should I publish a music playlist for this book?
Which character did you relate the most with?
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
