everything, everthing

souvenir

❁

there's a little shop that is located right across the street from the eiffel tower. it has these beautiful trinkets inside and farkle insisted that it would have something nice to take home.

inside, i picked up a keychain with the words 'city of love' engraved on the side.

" i don't understand the meaning of a souvenir. what's its purpose?" i questioned.

farkle had already picked up a few items himself. a macaroon set for his mom and a book on france's most famous tourist locations for isa. "there's so that you remember to remember,"

"then i'll get this for shawn," i settled on a nice cd that has 'all of france's greatest hits'

"a great choice indeed,"

mom entered my thoughts as we headed towards check out. of course i loved her, but what do you send/ give to someone who kept you basically locked away your entire life? a postcard caught my eye, a painting of a little girl posing with her a teddy bear and smiling widely as the background. it was what i decided on and i immediately began on writing a message to send.

dear mom,                          |
i wish you knew how       |                        24959
beautiful paris is. you     |             Papillon Ln
would love it here. i'm    |       Los Angeles, CA
doing well. i love you      |
so much through              |
everything.                        |
love, your maya               |

-

farkle was on the phone with a buddy of his that lives in paris and he thought it would be a great idea to meet up. and so, the brunette boy and i made our way downtown to a quaint little restaurant called la lune.

i grasped tightly to farkle's hand, a bit overwhelmed with all the noise and people in one room. he gave my hand a tight squeeze to reassure me that everything will be alright.

"the genius has returned!!" a booming voice declared. farkle and i both glanced up to see a tall frame leaning towards our table. farkle and the mystery man greeted each other with an elaborate handshake.

"hey daniel! this is maya, maya this is daniel,"

"ohhh, so you're the chic farkle won't shut up about," daniel exclaimed. i grinned widely to see a blushing sparkles with his head low.

"i guess so,"

"well, it's a pleasure to me you maya," daniel said. "let's eat, i'm starving."

-

as dinner rolls on by, the conversations never seem to end.

"so, dude did you tell your parents about the thing," farkle asked with a mouthful of food.

daniel replied in the same way. "nah man, they don't understand about being gay,"

"you'll feel better once it's out,"

"yeah, but the difficulty level is up there,"

the boy turns to me and explains, "my parents believe that when you're older, you should have a respectable job and nice family to follow. by 'family' they mean a wife and children, and 'respectable job' is nothing like what i want to do," his eyes glow with a hint of disappointment and he runs his hand through his jet black hair.

"which is?" i ask.

"i want to be a music producer or artist but nothing involving art is allowed," he rolls his chocolate brown eyes back.

"maybe write them a song," i suggest.

his laughs fills the room and puts me to ease. "i like you, you get humor,"

"i like you too," i say back. "the song could be a remake of the camp rock 'this is me' ."

❁