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Trees moved abnormally, pulled close together yet far apart by a force with no name to man. Wind picked up, too. Debris swirled in the air like a vortex of dirty dreams.
Claribel saw this every Friday afternoon—the trees, the wind, the tiny tornado. And it first, it was crazy but interesting. She'd been fascinated by the unknown since birth, her mother told her so every day. So, her watching the enigma that warped the park behind her apartment complex was normal.
What wasn't normal... was that her boyfriend of nine months walked out from the trees once the abnormalities stopped. She'd first noticed three weeks prior, eagerly waiting for the ice cream date they'd planned. But when she saw him appear from a ship he'd hidden within the bushes, she ran. And didn't speak to him for days.
She'd always thought it was weird he'd only call on Tuesdays, text on Wednesdays, and take her out for food on Friday evenings. But they were teenagers and she'd summed it up to strict parents. Never had she thought the electrical pull just a block away from her home was his magical entrance.
Claribel knew she couldn't run from him forever. Deep down, she loved him, even if she hadn't said it yet. And this Friday, of all Fridays, she thought she could tell him.
After she confronted him and got all the answers to her questions.
With a deep breath, Claribel stood straight against the tree across the street and waited for his "arrival" to end. She'd texted him on Wednesday, apologizing for not showing up for their dates the past few weeks. He had responded that he'd forgiven her, he couldn't wait to see her.
But she knew he hadn't anticipated her waiting so close, just nearby. Because when he appeared out from the trees, he saw her and froze. The gift bag in his hands fell to his feet.
Claribel pushed her brown curls behind her ear and smiled. "Hey, Emmet," she said.
Emmet, with his dark eyes and matching brown skin, was always beautiful to her. Like a statue carved out of polished stone. Yet, in this moment, he looked terrified. The smile he gave was everything but happy. Nervously scooping down for the present he meant to give her, he couldn't look her in the eye. "Clari," he whispered before lifting his head.
Claribel slowly approached, tip-toeing from the opposite end of the street with a smile on her face. Her hazel eyes locked onto his, and when she was right in front of him, a foot under his head, she peered up at his shocked expression and scrunched her nose. "What's in the trees?" she asked, straight to the point.
Emmet stammered for a minute, stumbling noises leaving him in an array of gasps and grumbles. He slid his hand over his waves, fingers scratching forward. And he too lifted his nose, scrunching it up towards his eyes as he tried to figure out how to answer her.
Because he'd already broken too many rules to be in front of her. But telling her the truth of his hidden "secret" would be the biggest error he could ever do.
