Just me and my best friends

 I go out in the garden and sit down on the patio among the flowers and crisp winds. We had just arrived and after having a whole hearted meal. I decided tk spend some time with mother nature. While I was looking at the splendid view in front of me and taking in nature’s beauty, I spot Blake coming out.  Blake’s always intrigued me, with his peppy and easy-going nature, he’s always cheerful and manages to make me laugh, making burping noises which are both gross and funny. I’ve always wanted to get to know him better and seeing this opportunity I call over to him, “Hey, Blake, what you up to?”

“Nothing,” he said, walking towards me. 

“Care to take a set?” I ask.

“Sure,” slhe says, plonking down on the beach chair. “What’s up?"

“The sky,” I reply, lamely. He smirks.

“Hey, that reminds me, wanna hear a joke?”

“You are going to say it nonetheless,”

“Why is the sky always upset?” 

“Um… because it’s gloomy?”

“Because it has the blues!” he says and breaks out into a fit of laughter, while I sit there looking at him.

“Are you always this lame?” I couldn’t help but ask.

“Are you always this boring?”

“Hey! I can be fun too,”

“Comes from the girl who’s never gone camping,”

“In my defense, I always wanted to but wasn’t allowed,”

“May I dare ask why?” 

“My mom says camping’s for the rowdy,” 

“Too bad. BTW, you are into fashion right?”

“Yes, Trendly. Inc.”

“I’ve always wanted to know, is it easy to get inspiration for your lines?”

“ In our dreams! It’s a strenuous job, in fact, I’ve been looking for ideas for Trendly’s next line,” 

“Then you are in the right place, Cayra Matthews.”

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t you get it? Inspiration is everywhere, this town is full of places to inspire the line- just try and take a walk down a street. Let the locals inspire you,”

“Even if I desired to, under no circumstances could I do that,”

“Oh, come on, why?”

“We are elite designers, with celebrity patrons. We need nonpareil inspiration from the finest. How can the locals inspire the line??"

“The last time I checked, fashion is for everyone. The locals have a unique style and can provide inspiration no one else can. Give it a shot! It may turn out to be something new and great,”

“I don’t know….”

 “Let’s do one thing, I’ll take you out on a town, you get acquainted with it and then decide. What say?”

“Okay, I am willing to give your idea a shot,” I

“Prepare a backpack and get ready…for the best adventure of your life! We’re are going to be two hippies wandering around streets and meeting new people,”

“Right now?” I ask.

“Yeah! Don’t look so surprised. Adventures never wait,”

“Shouldn’t we ask everyone else?”

“Yes, it would be rude if we didn’t,”

We skip down to the drawing-room where everyone was sitting and relaxing. Edi was helping Amma with the dishes and cleaning up. “Hey ,guys! Cayra and I are planning to go on a town tour, a little adventure. Who is in?”

“Count me out Blake, I’ll just stay in and watch football. I’ve had my fair share of adventure,” Udit said.

“Me too, I want a quiet day in,”

“I’m in,” Edi said, coming out of the kitchen

“Me too!” Ron and Tiya exclaimed.

“Uncle, Aunty?”

“You kids go, beta. I’ll rest,” Aunty said. 

“I’ll stay with Udit, spend some appa-son time,”

“Ok. Edi, Tiya, Ron, get geared up. We’ll leave in half an hour,” I said. 

“Roger that!” Edi said, doing a salute.

In half an hour, we gathered at the driveway, laces tied and shades on, wearing cargo pants. We opened our umbrellas, re-checked for everything, and took off on our escapade. An adventure awaiting!

We walked downhill, towards the main town. Lush green shrubs and trees dotted the pathway, the summer flowers were in full bloom, the dew on the leaves glistening due to the sunlight. There was an array of unique colors and sizes of flowers, from Rhododendron to sunflowers. Bees and butterflies flickered from one flower to another, sucking in nectar.

“Hey, look! An apple tree!” Tiya says, pointing to a short tree about a 200m ahead. She goes one of the many juicy, red as blood apples off the tree and bites into it. “Guys, come check this out. This apple is sucidus, check it out!” she exclaims, taking another bite. 

We follow suit and each pluck one apple off the many. It was indeed the ripest apple I’d eaten and its juice was so sweet. We looked at each other laughing as we took bites off our apples, enjoying the bliss it brought. “These are way better than the apples back home,” Ron said.

“Of course, they are straight off the tree,” We continue strolling down the street, making continuous stops and taking in the beauty of nature that surrounded us.  I felt free for the first time in my life like nothing holding me back, not my mom, not the society, not the expectations, it was only me and my best friends experiencing life first hand.

The fresh, crisp air felt pure and devoid of any pollution unlike that in the city, green landscape stretched as fast as the eye could tell. Instead of the noise of the cars, the melodious chirping of birds filled the air. The ponds had glistening water full of little fish.  

“Wow! This is fantastic!” I said, as we reached the town. Mesmerized by the sight. Houses lined the narrow streets and lanterns hung outside their doors, the shouts of the kids playing and occasional hissing of a pressure cooker going off in one of the houses just couldn’t be missed. Kids ran around the street, chasing and laughing, what a great childhood this must be. The elderly were sitting around, newspapers and cups of tea in hand. 

“So, Cayra, wasn’t I right?” Blake asks, nudging me. 

“You were Blake, this is amazing!” I said looking around with my eyes open wide and a goofy smile on my face. I was loving every moment of this. We further walk down the street and spot a large playground, seeing the boys playing football a smile lit up on Ron’s face. 

“I used to be just like them, running after that white ball. I miss those days,” he said.

“So, go relive them, go play with them,” Tiya suggested running into the field. 

“Mind if we join you guys?” she asked as the boys followed her into the muddy field. 

“Come on in, you 3 can join Edward’s team and you 3 can join mine,” he said pointing towards where I, Blake and Edi were standing.

“Oh no, I’m not playing,” I said. 

“Why the heck not? You promised, no uptight behavior,” Blake said, pulling me towards the field.

“The ground’s muddy,” I said pulling away.

“So what? Don’t be buzzkill Cay,”

“Cayra if you don’t play neither will I,” Tiya said.

“T, no!”

“Neither will I,” said Blake letting go of my hand.

“Fine guys. Count me in,” 

“I told you blackmail always works,” Tiya said laughing. 

I take my place mid-field, and we start play, everyone starts chasing after the ball and shouting out commands. The guy called Edward had the possession of the ball and he raced down the field, Edi tried tackling him but failed, his footwork was brilliant. He passed the ball to Ron, who raced forward and passed it to him again. Both of them together seemed invincible, dodging everyone. Edward strikes and ball goes straight into the net. GOAL!

I cheer and he is bombarded with claps and pats on his back. “They remind me of Udit and Ron,” Tiya said approaching me. 

As I ran across the field something  I cold brushed up against my hand. I  looked up to see and spotted dark clouds forming overhead, signalling another downpour. 

 My first instinct was to take shelter before it started raining but I couldnt get myself to. I wanted to stay, to play in the rain and get messy. This trip maybe my only chance to let loose, to escape everything. Once we return it's back to my work and mom,back to the perfect girl persona. 

I decided to stay and play and it was the best decision I made. As the rain poured, drenching me wet all my worries faded away. The water flowed down my body, releasing a sense of satisfaction. I felt liberated from everything, in the moment, for the first time I felt comfortable in my skin. 

We continued playing in the rain, splashing water everywhere, getting mud all over.  

It reminded me of the time me and ………… played in the rain, carefree. Only this time there was no one ti stop me, I could be me. 

Running around in all that slush turned out to  be more tiring than I thought. At the end of it all, I couldnt even stand straight, my legs ached so bad. 

I plopped down on a nearby bench, my hair dripping wet, my clothes soaked in and out. I was catching up my breath when I felt a warm touch on my shoulder. I turned around to find Blake standing with a towel wrapped around my shoulders. "You'll catch a cold if you carry on like this, go get changed." he said, indicating me to get up.

"Yeah!" I said, getting up. 

After drying myself and changing into a fresh pair of clothes. I made sure not to rub too harshly, ensuring that the setting today doesn't come off. It had saved me today! 

 I returned to see Blake sitting inside a cafe.

After having supper and hanging our for a while, we returned back to our cottage, back to our much needed vacation.