Every day was something different. I knew, when waking up in the morning, I could expect the unexpected. Each of Bee's family members were fun to get to know. Being with each of them was different. Bee's grandmother would tell me stories of her days in Laos. The little old lady could make a joke to have me laughing for day, just at remembering it. His parents, my parents, were fun to have chats with, as they taught me something new everyday. They loved to mess around with their kids, but had always knew who was craving what.
Compared to my family, Bee’s were a lot closer to each other. Where once I used enjoy the comfort of my own room alone, I now cherished every moment we hung out throughout the day. I had never spent so much time away from my bedroom before. Still, there were days I had to pull back and get some work done. But, as I was taking a break from filming, I spent a lot of that time enjoying the presence of my new family members.
Being with Bee's siblings made me closer to my own siblings. It made me miss my own family, wishing I had spent quality time, like I did with my new family, with them. Since I was unable to see them, I went to the next best thing. Writing to them every other day, making sure they were still okay. They wanted me to continue my vlogs, so they could at least see how I was doing.
When I looked back at my life, and compared it to my present, I could see how different things were. Not only with my surroundings, there was something I could feel within me changing. I thought I needed to move out to gain a better light of my goals in life, but I was wrong. Sure I would still love to have my own house one day, but I wouldn’t trade living alone for the life of learning about this family. I didn’t need to be alone to see the good in life, I needed to have new experiences. To live life full of new things, to share the greatest joys of life with someone else.
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“I’m taking you out this weekend. Be ready for a hike. - Bee”
This was the note I received when waking up on a bright autumn day. It had not yet gotten cold, still many good days of warmth ahead. After getting the note, I check the internet and the weather forecasted for the weekend was to be a good one. I had to wonder about the invitation out for the week. There was no denying that I was excited. Hiking had been something I had wanted to do for awhile now. While I was ecstatic about the outing, I couldn't help think about the possibilities.
Bee had never asked me to go somewhere with him before. We had occasional outings, but they were almost always accompanied by Sophie and Chia. In the past few weeks, Bee had tried hard to make sure I was busy during the weekends, and even some weekdays when he came back early. He took me out to explore the city, making sure I knew the new city I was living in. But we had Sophie or Chia when either one as free. I could not help but wonder if this going to be a family outing, and he was just warning me about it? Or was my mind that brave to think that we would be alone, away from home?
The promised Saturday morning came. While I was still unsure of when I should have woken up, I tried my best to wake up as early as I could. Thankfully, I didn't have to wait for my alarm clock set at 6. With some noise of rustling around the room, I get woken up. In a daze, I look around, not seeing much. After not seeing anything from my view of the wall, I try a different method. Sitting up, I try to blink away the sleep in my eyes, with that not working out, I rub my eyes slowly. Turning around, I see Bee moving around the room. His back was to me, making it hard for me to see what he was up to.
“You’re up early,” I said, as I look down to my phone. It was five in the morning, a bit earlier than I had anticipated.
Bee turns around to face me, a smile on his face. “We have to get an early start. The drive takes up a bit of time and the hike will be awhile.”
“Do I need to get a move on?” I ask, crawling to the edge of the bed. Still dazed, I fall over the bed.
“Woah, calm down," Bee said, helping me up. We both get on our feet, and Bee continues, "I would like to leave soon, but we still have a few minutes before we leave. Sorry I didn’t want to wake you up earlier, I wanted you to get as much sleep as possible. If you’re still tired, you can sleep on the drive there.”
“It’s fine if you had woken me up early. I'll be okay, it's just going to take me a second to get ready,” I said as I go out to the bathrooms.
I was glad I was prepared for the day. Being excited made me pack my things before sleeping the night before. After messing around in the bathroom, I came back to the room to change into the outfit I had chosen the night before. Bee had been packing up his car, getting us ready to leave the moment I was done. I checked and double checked my bag. Running around, I look over everything I could need for the trip. After being certain of having everything I needed, my shoes are tied on and my bag in hand, I go out to meet Bee at his car. His vehicle was running and the driver already in his seat, ready for us to leave. Throwing my bag into the backseat, I go up to the passenger side of the care, and we were on our way.
While sitting there, it was becoming apparent to me how alone we were. Nobody was going on this trip other than just us. The beginning of our road trip started off slow and boring, but we pushed on through, and I stayed up during the whole ride. Soon enough, Bee was driving his little car into the mountains of the state, and I enjoyed staring off into the colorful leaves. Autumn was upon us, and everything green was being painted on. The radio played it's tune on low, and we had nothing to say during all this. As quiet as it was, I was glad. All my life, I had not once seen a mountain side of colorful trees.
“You can sleep if you want,” Bee finally said to relieve the silence, “We still have thirty more minutes.”
“I’ll be fine,” I said back. I sighed and continued to look out my window, “It’s a shame everybody couldn’t have come as well. Grandma would have loved to see the view, and I’m sure dad would have liked the hike.”
“Uh. Oh. I didn’t think you would want them here,” Bee said.
“What is that supposed to mean?” I said, turning to look at him.
“Well, you’re home with them all the time. I thought it would be nice to get away for a bit.”
“I guess I can’t help but think of them. I mean, we have been together for a while now, but we’ve never done anything like this, all of us together. I think it would have been nice to have them here too.”
“Next time. We can take everybody together.”
“Okay. I’ll remember that promise.”
“A promise? If I screw it up, what will happen?”
“Mmm,” I hummed in thought, “I don’t know yet. But it’s not going to be pretty.”
Bee laughed and continued driving.
Our first trip away from home, and it would be just us. The thought of it made me nervous. I had recently come to terms with how I felt about him, and now we would be alone. This was different from sharing a bed at night. We would actually have to converse without fear, and interruptions from family, and of our own thoughts.
Thinking of the whole day away from home, and alone with Bee, made my heart beat quicken.
The rest of the ride was quiet and quick. Wisconsin has many great mountain trails and we had come to one of the best. Interstate Park was known for their great hiking trails. I knew of this place and was pleasantly surprised Bee had chosen to come to this certain park in the whole state. Once we saw the sign up at front, I couldn't help but take in breath of surprise. I was happy to be going out before, but now I was ecstatic to be here.
Bee drove through the park and found some parking. We were yet to be at the entrance to the trails, and it confused me. I thought we would get right to the hiking. He stopped the car, and proceeded to unbuckle himself.
"What's going on?" I asked.
"We're gonna enjoy the view here for a bit first. Come on. Get out and breath some fresh air. I have some things I need to grab from the bags in back."
While I did that, Bee rummaged around in the car. The moment I got out, I was exploring the grassy vast area, immersed in the view Interstate Park had to offer. After a while I remembered my phone, the great technology it had to capture pictures. Fishing it out of my pocket, I got it ready to take pictures of the mountains. My phone did a great job, but I could not help but wished I had taken my camera along as well.
"Luna. I'm ready," Bee said, jogging over to where I stood with my phone out. "We have something to do before we start the hike."
Looking away from what I was doing, I turn over to Bee. I had to wondered what he could have possibly been up to. Hanging over his shoulder, Bee he had a bag with him. "Let's sit down for a second. This may take a while."
Bee takes out a blanket and spreads it out for us to sit on. The green patterns of the blanket matched well with the grass. Once the blanket is on the ground, I get comfortable. Bee joins me on the blanket, and sets the bag in front of him. "I know you are going to have a lot of questions, but please wait till I am done setting up. Can you promise me that?"
I frown, more confused by the minute, but agreed, "Okay."
Bee nods, unzipping his bag. With nothing else to do, I watch him closely as he takes out familiar items to me. Things I knew, since I had used them myself. I could have helped Bee, if he wanted me too. I thought about asking as well, but wanted to see how he did on his own. When he had all the items out, he started to set up the tripod to hold up a camera.
"What's going on?" I asked since I couldn't wait to find out. My curiosity was getting to the best of me, and I wanted to know what he was up to.
"Just wait. Be a little more patient will you. I'm almost done."
"Do you want to explain before you start rolling, or would it be more fun for you to do it after the camera is on?"
"After the camera is on. I want to capture the moment. So you can stop with the questions. And, just for your information, I am not some weirdo who like weird things, you can calm down. Plus, you promised to wait."
"Fine," I said. I sat, patiently waiting for Bee to continue with his plan, watching him grab a camera from his bag. Bee set that up as well and finally he was ready to tell me what was going on.
"Okay," Bee said as he set the camera within a good distance to capture us on the blanket. "We're ready."
Bee comes back to the blanket and sits down next to me. After catching his breath, from running around, Bee stares at me and I look back at him. We sit there staring at each other for a second, without talking. Bee starts to smile, and soon he is an excited little boy. Seeing him that happy, I couldn't help but laugh.
"Are you going to explain yourself now? What is up with all this?" I said.
Bee calmed down enough to explain, "it's almost been half a year since you've made a video. Even though you may not use these clips, it's good to get back into the habit."
"I make book videos though," I said to him.
"It could be time to branch out though. People want to know what you have been up to. This is what you could show them," Bee said.
"What are we filming? Us talking?"
"Yes, and no. I have an idea for this. We could do a bucket list type video. Don't be mad at this next part. I was searching your bookshelf."
My eyes widened in horror of what he could have found. I knew I shouldn't have left my writings in books. While cleaning my things when I had moved in, I had found a list I had made back in the day. Instead of doing the smart thing of finding a file for it, I had grabbed a book on my shelf and placed it in a random page.
"And I found this!"Bee gleefully said, as he reached to grab inside his bag. As if he had set it on top, Bee swiftly pulled out a piece of paper. From the colors and writing, I could tell right away what he held, and my worst dreams were met. Bee had found what I was hoping for him to not find. And although I was angry at what he found, I knew I wasn't that much out of bounds when it came to our room. I was finding weird items of Bee's all the time, but had never questioned them.
"Bee. Are you serious. My bucket list. You brought me out on a hike based off of some bucket list I made when I was younger?"
"Yup. It's the first one on there. I have to wonder though. Why hiking? It's so simple," Bee asked.
"Yes, I know it's simple. I know it's things that other people have done already by the time they are my age, but I've never been hiking. I was always busy with other things. It sounds weird, but it's one of my life enjoyments to enjoy the view. Plus everyone makes a list, don't you have a list?"
"Yes, I do. But we can talk about that later. This is about you. What is the point of having the list if you don't even do the things on it. If you want, and am willing to allow me, I want to help you finish the list."
"Seriously?" I ask him.
"Seriously. I think this could be really good for you. Let's just try it out for now. If you don't like how today goes, we can forget about everything."
I took a moment to think about it. It had been a while since I had made any videos, and there was so much more I had to do before I could even think about uploading any videos like this. But Bee had done so much to set this up, and it felt horrible thinking about turning down his offer. He looked so happy to have come up with his plan. I looked over at him now, and notice his pleading eyes.
"Okay, fine. We can try it out today. What do you have planned?" I said, giving in.
"After we're done here, we are going to go on that hike. Get some good footages of the view, talk a little while we walk. Finish the walk, and maybe grab dinner later to end the night."
"What about lunch?"
"I packed some sandwiches in my backpack. I also have water bottles and a first aid kit. I've thought about everything before hand, I even looked up what to bring."
"You've never gone hiking either, have you?" I asked.
"I have too. Back in the days, when school wasn't so bothersome, I went all the time with friends."
The conversation continued, making the two forget how much time was disappearing. They laughed and made jokes, enjoying their time together. While the camera got more footage of them, the two actually had a good conversation.
"Come on," Bee said after a while, "The hike is going to take some time. We should get started now."
"Okay."
Bee took the camera apart, while I folded the blanket. Getting back into the car, Bee drove his little car further into the park. Along with an amazing view, we finally reached the beginning of the trail. Once again out of the car, we got ready for the real journey.
Being at the actual trail, Bee is excited. Before we start, he is searching through his bags again. When he is done, he brings out more objects. "I got more things to show off. I bought these and want to try them out. "
Standing behind him, with my own camera, I am getting clips of him. His childlike behavior made me shake my head, amused at how much fun he was having.
With him, Bee had some helmet cameras. "I thought it would be cool to try these out. We can film with the one you have, but these might be interesting to try, since we may have to use our hands for the hike."
"You're going to be wearing it."
"Yup."
Before we started our hike, Bee made me do some embarrassing stretches. Despite my red face, I knew I would be thankful for them later. Although even if I did stretch, I knew I would wake up with sore muscles in the morning. While going through with the stretches, I promised myself to exercise more after today.
The day went smooth, and the view was breath taking with each corner of the trail. I enjoyed myself more than then I thought possible. Where once I was scared, unsure if we would be able to converse as smooth as we normally did, I was surprised how easily we got along. Laughter and jokes were heard throughout most of our hike, along with conversations of getting to know each other better.
While we did talk for most of the day, I had commitments with my vlogs and remembered the cameras. We stopped every few moments to take photos and clips of the great view. There were amazing things we saw while walking. Even the trail we took was camera worthy and I didn't want to miss a moment of it.
As promised, we took a break through the day, to enjoy the small meal Bee had packed. I knew sandwiches were pretty easy to make, but I was glad he made more than just one each. Since all the excitement of the morning, I didn't realize how hungry I was. We stuffed ourselves, enough to last through the last part of the trail. Packing up our picnic, we were once again hiking.
The trail came to an end before we got tired of the hike. As the hike took some time to finish, Bee needed a minute before he wanted to start driving back. I had tried my best to stay awake during the drive back, but after Bee tells me to take a short nap, I doze off. When I wake up, Bee is parking in front of a restaurant.
"Just in time," Bee said as he looks over to me.
Eating was a blur as I had just woken up. The whole evening went by fast as I was shocked when I realized we were already home.
"Are you that tired?" Bee asked.
"Yeah," I said with a yawn, "That took a lot out of me today. I'm gonna take a shower and get ready for sleep."
"Okay," Bee said, unpacking everything from the car.
Before I could get any time to myself, I took a moment to converse with my family. They had not seen me all day, and everyone was curious how we had spent the whole day.
Bee had been cleaning up, and as he wasn't tied up with family he had gotten the chance to shower for the night before me. While I was sitting in the living room with Sophie and Chia, talking about our day. After his shower, Bee had come up behind me, and leaned in to whisper to me.
"You should hurry and shower. I have another plan for your vlogs."