Morning and Night

Maria had always loved to watch the sunrise. She always woke up early in the morning to watch it. She was a morning person. She knew her girlfriend wasn’t though. She woke up in bed next to her girlfriend, Gabriela, sound asleep. She looked at the small digital clock sitting on the bedside table next to her and looked at the time. Five in the morning as usual. Normally Maria would have gotten up without hesitation but she knew that Gabriela was a light sleeper. With a deep breath Maria started getting out of bed, but before she could move too much she heard an alarm go off. She looked around, confused and shocked at the sudden noise. Before Maria had time to look for the source of the noise Gabriela had already woken up. Gabriela reached her hand under her pillow and brought out her phone. She tapped the small “stop” button at the bottom of her phone screen. Maria looked over at Gabriela in confusion before speaking up.

“Gab, why did you set an alarm this early?” she asked in a hushed voice. Gabriela turned to face Maria and smiled softly before replying.

“I know you get up early in the mornings to watch the sun rise and I wanted to watch it with you.” Gabriela responded as she sat up in bed.

A smile appeared on Maria’s face as she looked at the girl in front of her. Gabriela was tired and it was obvious. Gabriela usually was more of a night owl than a morning person but she found it sweet that Gabriela was trying for her. Just so they could do something as seemingly useless as watching the sun rise.

In the next hour before the sun rose Maria made coffee for the two of them and brought it to Gabriela in bed so she could be as comfortable as possible as she had her first cup of coffee. As the clock showed six am Maria picked up a blanket that she took with her in the morning, since it was getting colder, and took Gabriela’s hand. The two walked out of Maria’s house and into the large backyard. They sat on the deck in a small outdoor loveseat she sat in every morning, the blanket covering their legs as fog rose from their coffee cups. Their breath was visible in the cold and crisp morning air. Maria looked over at Gabriela, wondering if maybe she should go get a jacket for Gabriela to wear in case she was too cold. Gabriela looked over at Maria and raised her eyebrows as if asking why Maria was looking at her. Maria just smiled at the still tired girl in front of her and shook her head before looking out at the sky in front of her as the sun began to rise. A pale blue and orange began to paint the sky and clouds as the sun slowly let itself show over the trees.

It was simple. A simple sunrise. A simple moment as the two sat, sipping their coffee and watching colors paint the sky in a similar, yet unique, painting. Despite the simplicity, this moment would last forever in their minds. Sometimes the most simple moments have the most beautiful meanings. This was one of those moments. They were sure of it. Even if Gabriela was tired and maybe a little cold, the warm coffee cup in her hands and the warmth of the girl next to her kept her warm enough to be alright with it. All the irrational worries in Maria’s head seemingly disappeared as the two sat together.

They continued to sit there and watch as the sky became brighter and the orange glow of the sunrise faded. They were left with a light blue sky, empty coffee cups and a comfortable silence between the two as they thought about what they both experienced together. Maria took a deep breath in as she looked at the girl next to her with a soft smile on her face.

“Did you enjoy the sunrise?” Maria asked. This was a special occasion, she was sure of it. Gabriela smiled and nodded as she looked at the girl next to her.

“I really liked it, it was really pretty.” She said softly, her tired feeling finally beginning to fade, “I could do this with you every morning.”

“Really?” Maria asked, obviously surprised by her girlfriend’s response. Gabriela let out a small giggle and nodded once more.

“I could get used to this. It’s a really nice way to start the day.” Maria smiled as she heard these words. She was happy that maybe starting now she could share these small, simple moments with someone extraordinary.

They soon continued on with their day. The day was almost as simple as the morning was. Nothing particularly fascinating happened that day. They ate breakfast together. Spoke about their plans for the day. Except Gabriela left out something important in her plans for the day. She planned to take Maria out to the lake at the end of the day.

Gabriela knew Maria had a day that was full of schedules. Though the day was full of schedules, it was always the same schedule. The result of Maria working an office job. As a way of surprising Maria, Gabriela told her that she would take her to work and drop her off at home again before Gabriela went back to her apartment, since today was her day off. Maria agreed but didn’t know everything that Gabriela had planned for the day.

Gabriela planned on taking Maria to a good dinner at Maria’s favorite restaurant. It was a cosy, small restaurant but it was nice. Simple. Then they’d drive out to the lake and watch the moon rise in the night sky. Again, simple.

Gabriela had found out pretty quick that Maria didn’t care for the extravagant things like most people did. She didn’t care for the big, fancy restaurants or the expensive clothes and jewelry. Instead Maria loved the simple things. The simple things that had a lot of meaning. Like her favorite restaurant that she used to go with her family to as a kid. Her favorite bracelet that, though slightly expensive, had more meaning because her mother had a matching bracelet. It was something Gabriela found amazing about Maria. Some things that you think would be meaningless were extremely meaningful to her even if it was a small piece of paper with writing on it as a note from her mom or an old birthday card that was the last one her grandma had given her before her grandma passed. They were small, simple, but meaningful.

The reminder of Maria’s love for the small things were all around her house. A small fabric butterfly that hung on the wall. Something she made for her grandma as a kid. A coffee mug that her brother gave to her that soon became her favorite cup to use. The small angel sticker that she kept in her phone case that reminded her of home. Gabriela loved that about Maria. Her ability to find love and meaning out of the smallest and simplest things. Something she couldn’t do herself until she met Maria.

They walked out of the house together, Maria dressed and ready for her job and Gabriela in a casual outfit since she was going to go back to Maria’s house after she dropped her off at work. The car ride was full of random talk with the radio serving as background music to their scene. Cars, people and buildings passed by as they drove, making it seem like they were the only two people that mattered in the scene. They were the main characters and everyone else were just extras.

With a kiss, Maria left the car and made her way to the building in front of her, starting her job. It seemed almost monotonous at times. The same things every day, without much change. But she knew it was worth it in the end. The monotonous feeling only lasted for a little while until she found something to make her excited to work again. 

Meanwhile Gabriela drove off and made her way back to Maria’s house. She picked out a comfortable outfit for Maria to wear after she had picked her up since she knew they were going to be walking a good amount once they had gotten to the lake. She found something she knew Maria would like and folded it all before putting it in a bag so Maria could change easily.

The day went on quickly as the two both did their separate things. Soon Gabriela found herself in her car, a bag with a new outfit for Maria to wear in the back seat, sitting outside of the building Maria worked in. People walked out, a few at a time, some alone and some together, until she found a familiar face walking out of the building. She smiled as Maria walked towards the car. She got into the car and took off her heels to rest her feet. A small conversation started as Gabriela drove towards Maria’s favorite restaurant.

Confusion set in as she realized they were going in a strange yet familiar direction, “Gab where are we going?” she asked as she looked at the girl sitting in the driver’s seat next to her, “I thought you were taking me home.” She said

“I will. First we’re doing something fun.” Gabriela said as she continued to drive, a smile appearing on her face. Maria looked around as she tried to figure out where they were going. An excited smile appeared on her face as she looked over at Gabriela.

“Are we going where I think we’re going?” she asked. Her excitement made her seem like a child going to Disneyland. Gabriela giggled at her girlfriend’s excitement and nodded.

“There’s a bag in the back with some more comfortable clothes for you to wear while we’re out.” Gabriela said. Maria looked back at the bag and pulled up to the front seat. She looked in the bag and smiled before looking at Gabriela.

“How did you become so sweet?” She asked.

“It’s because you’re rubbing off on me.” Gabriela joked as she glanced at Maria before looking back at the road. It was true, Gabriela had changed since she met Maria and she knew it was for the good. Gabriela and Maria used to be complete opposites and as time passed they had become more and more like each other in a good way.

They had finally made it to the restaurant and Maria took the back to the bathroom to change. After she had changed she brought the bag back to the car and set it in the backseat again. They then sat at Maria’s usual spot that her family would sit at together and just talked. Mostly about random things. The restaurant was just as she knew it to be, comfortable, small but it had a good atmosphere.

Maria thought about how before when Gabriela and her first met Gabriela didn’t really care for the place that much. How Gabriela was more into the extravagant things, how she didn’t really care much about the little things. The things that were meaningful to Gabriela were the expensive things. And while Maria still loved the little things, the more extravagant and expensive things were things she learned to also appreciate as she gpt to know Gabriela. It was as if they were meant for each other. To balance each other out when one might go too far. She was grateful for Gabriela in more ways than one. There wasn’t a day where she thought that Gabriela wasn’t extravagant. 

As time passed, food came and disappeared and the two girls soon paid for their bill and made their way back to the car. Maria was happy with their little outing and was ready for Gabriela to make her way to her house but was once again faced with confusion as she noticed they weren’t making their way to her house.

“Where are we going now?” Maria asked. A small mischievous smile appeared on Gabriela’s face as she continued to drive.

“It’s a secret.” The girl said as she looked at Maria and winked before looking back at the road. Maria looked at the girl, a look of confusion on her face as they drove. Soon they were somewhere Maria knew almost nothing about. It didn’t look familiar in the slightest and she couldn’t figure where they were going.

They were surrounded by tall trees and wilderness as Gabriela parked the car, “Alright, let’s go.” She said as she took off her seatbelt and turned off the car.

“Here?” Maria asked, her voice laced with confusion.

“Yep.” Gabriela said simply as she got out of the car. Maria followed suit and met up with Gabriela in front of the car. Gabriela grabbed the girl’s hand as she began to walk. The sky was slowly getting darker as they made their way, the lake soon making it into their view.

“This is where we’re going? To the lake?” Maria asked.

“Yes.” Gabriela said with a smile as she looked over at Maria, “We’re going to watch the moon rise.” She said.

Maria smiled and looked out as they got closer to the lake. They walked over to a good grassy spot to sit as the sun slowly set behind them and the moon rose in front of them. Gabriela rested her head on Maria’s shoulder as she looked out at the lake in front of them as the stars began to show themselves in the night sky.

Maira took in a breath of the crisp night air, thinking about how similar, yet different, the morning and the night were. How effortlessly the two faded into one of another. As a kid they seemed like complete opposites to her but as she sat there with Gabriela she thought that they weren’t as different as she once thought. She could easily think of Gabriela as the moon and her as the sun. The two of them seemed so different at first but soon they seemed more like each other than ever before. The two changing each other for the better, helping them realize that the other wasn't as bad as they first thought.

Maria thought more to herself before she let out a small thank you to the girl next to her. Silence followed and she looked at the girl who was now sleeping, using her shoulder as a pillow. She smiled as she put her arm around the other girl, rubbing her hand up and down the girl’s arm to keep her warm.

She looked out at the water, watching a slightly distorted reflection of the moon above them move in the water. It was simple. She loved it.