Hush, Howl {18}

Sapphire

The ride to our destination was fast. Being alone on a car with Darren seemed really fun since he got that sense of humor. He makes me laugh effortlessly.

         After tuning up the music, ‘Super Bass by Nicki Minaj’ began playing and he rendered me speechless when he began rapping along, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel. He was bobbing his head up and down while sparing me glances. His actions make me smile, and it seemed to me like he was trying really hard to make this night memorable.

         Even before I know it, Darren and Daniel were pulling off in front of a garden. Looking out of the window and scrutinizing my surroundings, I cannot help but allow a gasp to escape my lips.

         We weren’t going to the movie! Zoe was right!

         I opened the door of the car and hopped out, hearing my heels click against the cemented sidewalk. Trotting forwards, the cement was no longer supporting my feet; instead, I was now walking on a ground with a wide patch of freshly cut grasses. The sound of grasses rustling under my feet broke the eerie silence and the hum of the crickets all around.

         I found myself staring at the portion of the garden whereby two reclining chairs made out of woven rattan sitting near each other and another round-shaped chair placed opposite of them are. There was a picnic mat laid on the ground with a flat basket of comfy towels resting inside it. You can see the whole place being lighten up either by the modern bonfire placed on the center or the lanterns and lamps placed all around.

         The spot was absolutely scenic.

         There are bushes of different kinds of flowers growing all around. But what caught my eye was the oak tree decorated with Christmas lights and those lanterns. The moonbeams were penetrating through the clouds, shining above the sky,

         Spinning around, I was more surprised to see Darren sauntering towards me with his hands behind his back. Once he was just right in front of me, he took out his hand from behind him to reveal a bouquet of assorted flowers—mainly composing yellow tulips, white lilies, and roses. The flowers were arranged perfectly inside the wrapper.

         I can feel my jaws slowly dropping open. My heart was thrumming inside my chest erratically—I wouldn’t be surprised if he could hear it. My palms were turning slick and sweaty with anxiety. Did he and Daniel do this . . . for us? This is one of the most romantic ideas that I could ever think of.

         “So . . . um . . . I didn’t really know what kind of flowers you want so I—“ I cut him off by crushing him into a bear hug, a great sense of gratitude. Pulling away, I found myself blushing under his gaze as a smirk curved its way onto his lips. He handed me the flowers and I took them inside my hands with no hesitance just to show him my appreciation. He offered me his arm and I accepted it willingly.

         We trudged forwards as he began to speak. “I was going to open the door for you. But you opened it yourself. “He chuckled, making the blood rush to my cheeks. He looked down at me. “I hope we didn’t exaggerate . . . do you like it?” He threw a hopeful gaze down at me. I nodded him my answer, looking up to meet his eyes to express my sincerity. “Great!” he exclaimed. “So let’s get started.”

         I have him a questioning look while he led me across the garden and made me sit down on the picnic mat. Taking off my shoes and placing them just beside the mat, I complied within his actions and settled down.

         Rosy and Daniel came after. I watched them as they conversed and Daniel finally gave her the surprise bunch of flowers. Rosy was practically squealing when she made her way towards me, her tomato face painted with a smile. She sat down on the mat beside me and glanced at the flowers that I absentmindedly placed on my lap. Hers was different, composed of many other flowers with roses like mine.

         The Ds came back in no time with a pile of container in their hands. Once they reached us, they set it down carefully onto the ground and took some place to sit beside us.

         “Okay, so we brought sushi, spaghetti and meatballs, chocolate tarts, and Zoe’s famous macaroni salad.” He finished, opening each tupperware and revealing the food he just stated. My brows puckered at the last option.

         “Zoe’s famous macaroni salad?” Rosy repeated. “Hey. I never noticed it. But isn’t your mother—“ she pointed at Daniel, turning towards him. “—named Zoe, too?”

         “Yeah,” he scratched the back of his head. “She’s named after her.”

         I never really noticed that fact until Rosy brought that up. “So, which Zoe are you talking about?”

         “Uh . . . my cousin.” He answered.

         “No way!” she turned back to the food set on the ground, grabbed a spoon and scooped a small bit of the food. She smelled it at first before swallowing it inside her mouth and gently chewing it. We all looked at her as we waited in anticipation of what her reaction will be. She stopped and stared into space. “She has to give me the recipe.” She said, continuing on chewing her food and swallowing it completely.

         “So . . . let’s eat?” Darren suggested.

         We all grabbed our utensils and began to careless from grabbing a plate. We ate straight from the container. I tasted the macaroni first and got the same reaction as Rosy. The delicacy was creamy—not too bland or not too sweet. In fact, the macaronis were covered in a creamy coating of condensed milk and cream concocted with different fruits such as cherry, pineapple, sugar palm, coconut etc.

         It didn’t take too long for us to finish up very much everything. And by the time we were finished, our stomach felt really full. “I can’t take another bite.” Daniel grunted.

         “Because you’re full?” Rosy piped up.

         He sighed and fell back onto the ground. Since the mat wasn’t big enough to support his figure, his head ended up hitting the grass. “’Cause everything’s gone.”

         We looked at all of the containers and saw that he was right. We all burst into a pile of hysterical laughter.

         “Okay!” Darren held his hand up, catching our attention while looking down at his wrist watch. “Look up in the sky guys. It’s going to start soon.”

         “What? Which one?” Rosy asked, her head perking up into the sky. I followed everyone’s move and glanced at the dark, cloudless sky which was filled with twinkling stars and a bright moon flying high above in its glory.

         Within approximately three seconds, fireworks began erupting high up in the sky in different shades of colors. They all formed a rhythmic pattern, each colors alternating to give each some turns. Rosy gasped beside me while I just gave out a look of awe. Bursting colors in the sky with whistling sounds that seems to take my breath away.

         As for the grand finale, a single firework flew in the sky and exploded in a shape of a heart in a deep shade of pink. After that, everything grew quiet until the light faded and the darkness returned. I gazed at Darren who was sitting beside me, catching him looking at my face with admiration. He smiled at me and I smiled back.

         “Hey, Saf.” Rosy called, my head automatically drifted to the source of her voice. She was standing up with Daniel offering her his hand. “We’re just going for a short walk.” It isn’t really surprising for that to happen. This place was huge.

         I watched the couple as they entered a white-painted arch with rose vines crawling around the intricate bands. It seemed to lead to a bigger place.

         Looking at Darren beside me, I can’t help but feel my heartbeat accelerate. Now that I’m alone once again with Darren, I don’t know what I’ll do. Just staring straight to his silver eyes, I felt lost. “Not to be so fast, but I know that it’s only been what? Three to four days since we’ve met... but to tell you honestly, I like you. I mean—I really, really like you.” He paused and sighed while I just stared at him, dumbfounded. He isn’t serious, is he? “You’re different from the other girls that I’ve met. Y-you . . . you’re different. You’re talented, beautiful, cheery . . . special. You handle everything like a pro even with your condition.” He muttered the last part. “I know it may sound cliché, but . . . I know it was you from the first time that I saw you.”

         I raised my hands up and began to use my sign language. “Are you serious?”

         This time he got it right. “Yes, I’m serious.” He answered. “I’ve never allowed these words to escape my mouth until I found the right girl. And now, she’s sitting next to me.” He paused and gave me a look.

         My heart literally skipped a bit and knots began to form on my stomach. “I’m not ready to enter something I’m not sure if I can handle.” I formed the letters with my hands in a very slow pace, so he got it right.

         It took him about three minutes to take in everything I said. “I understand you. There are many times in the world for that. For now, I want to get to know you first.”