The Reality of Now

Eleven

I sat down in front of him. "That's incredible. I just played the recorder in fifth grade."

Jules put down the guitar and reached over to a book shelf, pulling off a recorder that I hadn't noticed before. He brought it to his lips and started to play.

"That too?" I exclaimed. "Do you have to be good at everything?"

Jules laughed and replaced the recorder to the shelf. "I'll teach you something sometime. What do you want to learn?" He gestured to the whole room.

I ran a hand through my hair. "God, I have no idea. Piano, maybe?"

"Of course."

"Is this why you brought me up here, though?" I asked. "To brag about your musical talent?"

Jules waved his hand in the air, getting to his feet and helping me up as well. "Nah. I wanted to show you something else."

I followed him to the window. The sun was setting, the sky turning dark at the edges like a burnt piece of paper. Jules opened the window and a cool summer night breeze washed over us. He hoisted one leg out of the window, spun around and stood, bringing his other foot to the sill, then he pushed himself up and out of sight.

I leaned out the window and looked up: Jules was leaning on a steep piece of roof, holding onto the next level higher, where it was much flatter. "C'mon," he encouraged. "I do this all the time."

I looked at the ground, which was several more meters away than I was comfortable with it being. But when I looked back up at Jules, I felt more confident than ever. I could do this. Cautiously, I placed one foot on the window sill, and, grabbing the wall, I brought the other foot up as well.

Jules' hand grasped my wrist, and he helped pull me up to where he was standing. I clung to his torso, I could feel his heart beating slowly against my chest. I stared down at the ground, and suddenly felt superior to the fall. Jules kissed my forehead and brought me to the flatter part of the roof. "You did great," he remarked as we sat down.

I felt my cheeks flush. "Thanks." Staring out at the sunset, I finally realized why he brought me up here. "Wow," I murmured, "this is beautiful."

"I know," he said, still looking at me.

Together we watched the sun disappear, the sky turning an array of colours. Oranges and reds in the north, purples and pinks in the south, and a deep navy blue at the base of it all.

"Jules?" I asked quietly once the stars were shining overhead, drawing out constellations light years away from us and that moment.

We were laying down now, side by side. I could feel the ridges of the roof under my back and itchy mosquito bites all over my arms and legs, but I stayed perfectly still. Breathing in the night air under a cloudless sky with the person you loved was an opportunity of peace no one could pass up. Or, at least, no one like me.

"Yeah?"

I turned my head to face him, and his grey-blue eyes were already on mine. "Do you ever think about the future?"

Jules blinked. "Not a lot, I try not to think about it too much." He sighed. "Sometimes it's just better to live in the reality of now."

I looked back at the sky, suddenly missing the sun. When Jules said things like that, I couldn't help but be frustrated that I wasn't as profound. It felt like nothing I said could ever have the same kind of meaning he gave to words.

"Why, do you think about it a lot?" he questioned at my silence. I was aware that he knew the answer, but I found it considerate that he still asked.