28

"Wait, wait, this looks familiar... Aren't you telling me we're going... there?"

When the strong salty odor weaved its way to our nostrils, Aly was the first person to open her mouth as soon as we stepped into a very exceptional park; way too exceptional, I would say. It had approximately been 20 minutes since we left school and I had left my bike chained at a nearby parking lot, as per her directions, but I never realized...

"Yeah... this is the same ol' park we would always hang out at," Adelynn murmured with a hint of laughter. "All thanks to a certain someone."

The park never changed; that one lone gazebo was still there, hidden amid the shrubs and overlooking the endless ocean, which had stayed faithful to its dazzling navy blue shades. I would never forget the nostalgic sight of the Ferris wheel adorned with a myriad of lights, although now, a newly added roller coaster had accompanied the attraction. And in front of those man-made amusement rides, a small pier docked the floating boats.

I could be in this park for hours; both a panacea and an escape from all of the stresses of our daily lives. Heck, if someone felt bored here, it would be a total disgrace. Relaxation seeped into my veins as the balmy wind rejuvenated me. Listening to the noises of the sea as it hit the shore made me want to close my eyes for a second.

When was the last time Edward brought us... or even me here? His haunting laughter had my heart ached a little, but it throbbed more as the ghosts of our pasts manifested inside my head, where we would go on about our days without worrying about other stuff, where we would play until we were out of energy, where we could just... have fun.

Everything was so simple back then.

If only that could go on...

Right after Edward's accident, this place barely crossed our minds again as we grew apart. Nevertheless, I somehow ended up visiting now and then, and if I was lucky enough, I would catch him alone in the gazebo and get lost in the scenery.

Only once I dared to talk to him.

Facing the concrete ground, a memory of the last time we properly interacted began to roll into my vision. And that was a couple of years ago...

***

2008

After all of those nerve-wracking exams, I finally stole this chance to stop by the park.

The snow from the moment I woke up continued to fall from the gray sky, carpeting most of the grasses. It crunched underneath my boots as I trudged slowly, making sure every step I took was into something even. Even with two layers of jacket and sweater underneath my school uniform, a thick scarf and a pair of red mittens, my body was still shivering.

Despite all of the seasonal changes, the sea, of course, remained the same. The Ferris wheel was covered with snow, and all the trees had only their branches left. Walking into the gazebo, I stopped when a boy had been there the whole time, and the first thing I noticed about him was his bright blond hair and the eyepatch covering his left eye.

He hung his head, blocking himself from seeing anyone. As the floor groaned at my step, Edward abruptly snapped up at me. His gaze followed me closely as I decided to go to the other side of the gazebo.

"Um... hi Ed..."

Honestly, I didn't know why I even addressed him; he would just avoid contact anyway. And as expected, only the roars of the sea greeted me in return. He already acknowledged my presence, so it was all up to him; if he ever wanted to talk, I would be happy to.

Playing with the fabric of my mittens, my body tensed up as I felt his eye focused on me, until finally...

"Why are you here...?" Edward asked nonchalantly, actually saying something to me for the first time after that accident.

"Oh um, well... I just wanna r-relax after all of the exams we had..." I answered, stuttering to the top. "R-Remember you would always say this is an a-awesome place to be in?"

He didn't answer. He shot up from his seat, and rubbed his eyepatch, as if he wanted to see if it was still there or not. He then let out a misty breath off his lips as he thrusted his hands into his fluffy parka.

"Heh, awesome?" Edward sneered as he snickered, "It's fucking shitty. I don't even know why I ended up going here every day. I can't... even feel anything good anymore. It doesn't make it go away."

"W-What? W-What do you mean?" What was he talking about?

"...it's something you'll never understand. None of your business either way," he responded before he walked away, leaving me with nothing but dread and a hurting chest.

***

And he was right.

Until this day, I could never connect the dots of our brief conversation.

Perhaps he desperately wanted to abandon everything that reminded him of his childhood, like visiting the park in particular, but the reason why? I wished I had a clue. I recalled reporting to Aly about our encounter, but she... just told me to leave that stupid jerk alone.

And for a while, when I continued to pay a couple of visits, Edward was no longer around, as if he was true to his claims... well, until high school came into being. I vividly remembered how my stomach flipped when he was standing there near the railings... watching the ocean while he buried his head in his arms. I decided to maintain my distance, however, and slipped away as he was completely oblivious of my presence.

So close... yet so far.

"It's not only beautiful, but it's always quiet... No wonder Ed loves it," Adelynn started, finally bringing me back from my reminiscence.

When she made a quick turn into our used-to-be gathering spot, Aly... seemed to be drowning in her thoughts, but she bit her lips—as if she changed her mind or something—and shook her head. With a lopsided smile thrown at my concerned look, she silently strode after Adelynn, before I decided to follow close behind.

Speaking of which, Aly never once bothered coming into this park after all of the debacle with Edward; heck, she even refused to go.

"Back then, he never told me of this place until you guys did," disclosed Aly as we assumed our seats. Somehow, it just happened to be the exact spots where our childhood selves used to gather. "That guy knew I was gonna bitch a lot since there's nothing to see here. Heh, I was never interested in nature let alone appreciate it..." she breathed loudly. "I was such a total simpleton."

Adelynn hummed as she crossed her legs. "Finally agreeing with what Seb's saying?"

"...as much as I don't want to agree with that stupid clown, I guess yeah... but not anymore!" My best friend denied, zooming her green eyes into her, before she turned her waist around to observe the wooden pillars.

"But Ed had always wanted to keep this place as... some sort of a secret base? Like he didn't want to spoil it so he only told us and no one else," Adelynn explained.

"Wait what, secret base?" Aly snorted with laughter. "Yeah, that's something he would have said back then. That Star Wars fanboy..."

"I-I've been here from time to time. I managed to meet him, but he said he hates it..." I decided to chime into the discussion. "W-Well, turns out he's still here..."

"Ah, you told me that before!" Aly said. "What a weird turn of events..."

Adelynn was quiet—perhaps too eerily quiet.

"Ed was and is... a very complicated man. And that's why I brought you girls here, so that we can talk and catch up about him," she divulged. "He's not the same energetic boy as we all know him for. He's been so reclusive, quiet and keeps everything to himself, but his temper issues... I think it's getting kinda worse. Once he got suspended from the team because he was involved in a fight and ended up punching his senior, but if not for Seb... he would have been kicked out."

Aly grimaced, contorting her face.

I guess his relationship with his basketball team... was not the best. Looks can be so deceiving.

She paused to take a breath, before resuming, "Most importantly, as we all know, he gets sick easily. An exposure on a hot day or getting drenched on a rainy day could put him in high fever and terrible headaches. But no matter how much anyone tries to remind him, he never listens and understands at all!"

She huffed, even needing to stand up. "He even tried to go to work when he was sick! Ugh, he can be so stubborn as hell..."

Adelynn then let out another frustrated sigh, before she cleared her throat and sat back down. I mean... based on what we had seen of him... he does seem a little too headstrong.

"It can be so frustrating, I know... I understand because I have been there too," said Aly as she forced herself to laugh. "But at least, you and Sebastian are his closest friends from then until now. I had known him for God knows how long, but ever since we had that one huge fight... we never bothered talking, let alone greeting each other again."

Only the breeze and the rumbles of the sea filled the ambience around us.

Aly was the one who had established the longest rapport with Edward. I was even unaware of their friendship at that time... until that fourth-grade field trip. He had cheeky grins as he constantly poked all over her just to annoy her. Even the teachers teased them, although countless times they denied having a thing for each other.

And honestly, I wished I had known him for that long as well.

"Ed pushed us away too, y'know. Everyone he knew... he drove them away until he was pretty much alone. And when Raphy moved out without us knowing, we fell apart..." She breathed, breaking the silence. Surely, relief washed over me when Raphael, at long last, was brought into the picture.

"Right, Raphael. God, we all completely lost contact with him..." Aly murmured. "Hope he's all well, though."

Adelynn nodded. "And then it took a while to re-initiate contact... and that's not even me who did it first, but Seb."

Before Aly could lean forward to remark, Adelynn quickly raised her hand. "I know you hate that guy's guts... but you at least gotta appreciate his determination," she said. "I would say he's the one who is the closest to Ed currently."

I did not need any proof from her to verify her explanations. I already witnessed them from our last trip; heck, Seb even told me of all the things Edward had been doing outside of my observations. And he's probably the one he had been relying on.

My best friend slumped herself against the wall and crossed her arms. "I mean yeah...I always see them together, so it's not like I can argue, unfortunately," she whispered on the last word. "But at least from what I see, I think he's slowly... coming out, all thanks to Rena." She shot a quick grin at me.

I almost immediately fidgeted both of my arms but did not say anything. Again, if it wasn't for her persistence, I would not be here in the first place. We would not be hanging out back on the weekends. None of us would be here, discussing our friends. I don't... deserve her gratitude.

"It's good for him..." Adelynn swung both of her legs back and forth, "Oh now that you brought it up, when I met Ed back on Sunday, he was so obsessed with the blue bracelet you got for him, Rena. Like he was so distracted by it. Never knew he liked bracelets that much."

My entire muscles turned stiff at her story. "S-Seb told me he wanted it... so yeah..." I felt the heat rising into my face, "It looked great on him."

And clearly, I made the last comment out of my reflex kicking in. Worst timing possible.

"It does, actually! Especially when he loves blue. Thanks for it, Rena."

I zipped my mouth from uttering more nonsense, instantly pushing down the brim of my hat. There was no way I would allow them to notice the glaring hues of my stupid face, but even hiding them was futile. Aly was chuckling and playfully nudging me.

Dammit, Rena. Can you at least try not to embarrass yourself?

"Say Lynn," Aly interrupted, "Aren't you supposed to be with your team today?"

"I asked for a day off," she replied. "Besides, they're not practicing that hard today since we had two people sick." Funnily, we were all entertained by a small boat zooming and bouncing through the waters.

"Oh, and speaking of sickness... do you wanna visit Ed tomorrow?" She suggested, stretching her arms when she was on both of her feet. "Might be a good opportunity for you both to bond with him again."

"Sure!" When Aly and I agreed simultaneously, we both looked at each other and she smiled cheekily. Of course, I would not want to miss this chance!

"I-I could bring in some pastries too..." Yet, this was a great opportunity to bless him with some food he loved, but my voice had to come out like a squeaking mouse. I held my breath as the two—more of Aly—threw me some sort of batting brows and impish smiles. Geez, and Aly's slowly turning into the girls...

"Ed's gonna appreciate that. He loves anything pastry," Adelynn began to list. "Chocolate, cheese, cream puffs, baguettes, croissants, bagels..."

"You're just mentioning a few," Aly snorted.

"I mean, you get the point. Dude embraced pastries like it was his personality." Adelynn shrugged helplessly. "Don't bring something that's gonna irritate his sickness more, maybe a plain one will suffice."

"S-Sure will..."

"Also Rena, you should make the bread this time." Aly slanted towards me. "Your baking skills are equally good as your mom's, you know! Your chocolate bread was so good!"

"Oh um, yeah... I was p-planning just that." Great. Not only my cheeks felt hot, but every inch of my skin was now tingling.

"In other words, it's carefully crafted by the product of your love," Aly chirped as her fingers made a sign of a heart. Adelynn then clamped her hands onto her mouth as if she was trying her absolute best not to burst out laughing. When was Aly ever this cheesy...? Did Naomi and Sam rub their jokes on her?

However, even with all of the annoyance, I couldn't help but soften at their silly actions. They're the ones who helped me in the first place... Aly, especially so why should I be angry at them?