I was sprawled on the couch, lying on my stomach, legs swinging lazily in the air as I texted Hazel to come over. My phone buzzed softly in my hands, but my thoughts were already racing ahead of the screen.
What happened that day—
It was an achievement. A huge one.
For me, at least.
I still couldn't believe it myself. Talking to the new girl. Walking home together. Maybe dying a little from embarrassment on the spot. I needed to tell Hazel everything before my excitement exploded on its own.
After a while—
Ding-dong.
I shot up so fast off the couch.
"I'm coming—!" I yelled, opening the door running, almost halfway to the gate.
Before I even opened it, I heard that voice.
"Heyyy, I'm hereee~!" Hazel called out from the other side of the gate.
"Open up girliel..! You've been texting me to come over so much that your text notifs became my new alarm clock."
Yep. Definitely her. Loud. Obnoxious. Very Hazel.
I swung the gate open and immediately grabbed her hand, yanking her inside before she could say anything else.
"Woah—hey!" she laughed, nearly stumbling.
"Okay, okay! I guess this really might be good if you're this aggressive!"
"Shut up and get inside," I said, grinning so hard my cheeks hurt.
"I can't wait to tell you about it!"
Honestly—
I don't think I'd smiled this much in a long time.
We ended up sprawled on the couch together, and once I started talking… I didn't stop.
"No way… you're joking. There's just no way! Are you for real!" Hazel shouted giggling, eyes wide with disbelief.
"Yep… it's true!" I said, grinning. "I mean… c'mon, even you look like you don't believe it!"
I told Hazel everything.
From how I went up the mountain out of pure boredom, to how I somehow—somehow—ran into Elena on the Crescent Path. How she appeared out of nowhere like a horror movie jumpscare. How she wasn't scary, just… oddly calm.
"And then she just stood there, Hazel," I said, waving my hands.
"Not moving. Just staring. I thought I was about to pass out."
Hazel snorted. "You always think you're about to pass out."
"I was!" I protested.
I kept going. I told her about walking down the mountain together, about how awkward the silence was, how I didn't know what to say and was mentally screaming the whole time.
"And then," I said, groaning and covering my face, "we reached town. And everyone starts asking me who she is. Like I personally summoned her into existence."
Hazel laughed, already half-lying on the couch.
"Of course they did."
"I had to introduce her over and over again," I continued. "Aunties, uncles, shop owners—people I don't even remember the names of. They kept staring at her like she was some rare creature."
I dropped my hands and looked at Hazel seriously.
"They kept saying she was pretty. Over and over. Like—okay, I get it. I have eyes too."
Hazel hummed, clearly enjoying this way too much.
"So… everyone loved her?"
"…Yeah," I admitted. "And she just smiled politely the whole time. Like she was used to it."
I slumped back into the couch, staring at the ceiling.
"And the worst part?" I muttered. " I'm pretty sure I was so awkward about the whole thing yet… somehow even in silence, she didn't say anything mean about it."
Hazel turned her head toward me, eyes sparkling.
"Oh," she said slowly. "This is serious serious."
I groaned and shoved a pillow at her.
"Don't make it weird!"
But deep down…
I couldn't stop replaying the day in my head either.
"Hehe," she said mockingly, a grin tugging at her lips.
"Still.. I'm proud of ya, girlie. My cousin is finally taking her first steps out of the nest!" She giggled.
"Ha! Very funny… I'm not that helpless, okay? I was able to make a new friend this vacation." I said, grinning back, trying to sound casual.
"When you texted me to come over, I thought we were gonna do our usual gaming session," she continued, still laughing.
"But this… this is so much better! I never expected something new was happening in town!"
I pushed her lightly, and she fell over laughing on the couch.
"C'mon! I'm just so excited to talk about this! That time was… unusual, to say the least."
Hazel wiped tears from her eyes as she lay back on the couch.
"So… where is this new Elena girl? Have you gotten her contact info yet? Maybe the three of us can hang out together, y'know?"
"Well…" I said awkwardly.
Hazel squinted at me, then burst out laughing.
"Wait a minute… you forgot to ask her! After all of that? Hahaha!"
"Hey! Shut up!" I blurted.
"I was shy… I couldn't even think straight! And… she was so intimidating. If you were in my place, you'd get it!"
Hazel coughed through laughter before continuing, "But didn't you say she's super pretty? Like, a celebrity or something?"
I nodded slowly. "If you met her, you'd know what I mean, Zel…"
Clearly, her looks are intimidating, especially with that calm, confident demeanor of hers.
I leaned back on the couch, grinning despite myself. Wow… I actually made a new friend. Well.. not a close friend yet but a friend that I can call in the future hopefully.
"So," Hazel said casually, "shouldn't we… go over to her place?"
"Eh?" I froze.
"Well… I don't know about that…"
I mean, I've thought about it, but after our first encounter… It's been a week. Every morning, the first thing I do when I wake up is check my window.
But I've never really noticed her going out… except for Uncle Peter. I guess she might just be settling in or maybe feeling a bit homesick…
"Come on, Mayu! It won't hurt to try," Hazel said, practically bouncing in excitement.
"Let's just walk to her place and knock on her door!"
She sounded like she was about to kidnap her, and Hazel didn't give me a chance to back out.
"Come on, Mayu! It's literally just across the street!" she said, grabbing my wrist and pulling me out the door.
I barely managed to slip on my slippers before she dragged me through our gate and straight to Uncle Peter's. Twenty steps, max.
My stomach was doing flips the whole way.
Hazel knocked three times—loud and confident, the way only she could.
The door opened almost right away.
Uncle Peter stood there in his usual old shirt, looking like he'd been fixing something around the house. His hair was a bit messy, but he smiled when he saw us.
"Hey, Mayumi," he said warmly, then chuckled at Hazel.
"And Hazel too. What's this, a surprise visit?"
Hazel waved with her usual energy. "Yeah! We heard you have a new person staying here, so we got curious!"
My face was already burning. "Hi, Uncle Peter… we just wanted to say hi to Elena. If she's not busy."
Uncle Peter laughed softly and stepped aside.
"Of course. Come in for a minute. Elena's inside."
We kicked off our slippers and stepped into the living room. It smelled like fresh laundry and bread, same as always, but a few boxes were still in the corner.
Then Elena appeared from the kitchen doorway.
She was wearing a simple white shirt and denim shorts, hair loose over one shoulder. When her eyes landed on me, her expression softened and she gave a small, gentle smile—like she was quietly glad to see me again.
Well—I hope she was glad to see me, that was just me and my delusions anyway.
Hazel froze next to me.
She blinked once. Twice.
Then she leaned in and whispered to me, "Okay, Mayu… you weren't exaggerating. She's pretty as hell."
I elbowed her hard, mortified.
Elena's gaze shifted to Hazel, polite and curious. "Hello," she said calmly.
"I'm Elena and you are…?"
Hazel recovered instantly and flashed her biggest grin.
"Hi! I'm Hazel—Mayu's cousin. She's been talking about you nonstop since your walk the other day."
I wanted the floor to swallow me whole.
Uncle Peter smiled from the doorway.
"Have you girls eaten yet? I just baked some bread earlier—it's still warm. You should try it."
"It's okay, Uncle," I said quickly, "we don't want to bother you."
He waved it off. "Nonsense. It's no bother at all. Sit, sit—I'll bring some out."
It was impossible to refuse Uncle Peter when he got like that. We ended up on the couch, the three of us in a little triangle that felt way too small.
Hazel immediately launched into chatty mode.
"So, Elena, where exactly are you from? You look like you live in the city—must be super different from here, right?"
Elena nodded politely. "It is different. Quieter here. I like it."
"Yeah, quiet is basically our brand," Hazel laughed.
"No malls, no traffic—just rice fields and gossip. You'll get used to—"
Uncle Peter called from the kitchen.
"Hazel, come help me a second, will you? These plates are hot."
Hazel blinked. "Me? Uh, sure!"
She hopped up, shooting me a quick wide-eyed look that screamed good luck before disappearing into the kitchen.
And then…It was just me and Elena.
On the same couch….Alone.
My brain went blank.
Damn you Zel..
Why did Uncle Peter pick Hazel? Why not me? I could have carried plates! Anything but this!
The silence stretched. I could hear my own heartbeat. I stared at my hands in my lap like they were the most interesting thing in the world.
Say something, Mayumi. Anything. Don't just sit here like an idiot.
But my mouth wouldn't open.
Elena didn't say anything either, but I could feel her looking at me. Calm. Patient. Just like that same day.
My face was on fire. My palms were sweaty. Was the room always this warm?
Why is she so quiet? Is she waiting for me to talk? Does she think I'm weird now? Great, I finally get her alone and I freeze up like a total loser.