Once in the spring

The springtime has come to the small town lost in the desert. It is morning. It is getting light. “Let’s take a walk,” a soft female voice is full of warmth and hope. “Nia, you know I’m working today.” “Natalie… it would be stupid of you to waste such a beautiful day. Look out the window!”, a girl named Nia pulls back the curtains. Natalie is always up to her ears in work: she works as a builder, and in this town there is always something to fix: one day the bridge is broken, another day the sandstorm smashes the roof of the building, then the store signboard is blown by the strong wind and needs to be replaced by a new one… As a result, Natalie has almost no time left to spend it with Nia, who actually studies in another city, but has recently come to visit a childhood friend. “I’m not sure,” Natalie still hesitates, but Nia takes her hand and looks into her eyes with a sly look, full of determination and not accepting rejection. “It’s only morning yet. We’ll just take a walk, get some fresh air. And then, so be it, you will return to your work and I will no longer distract you. So, is it a deal?” “Okay… I suppose you aren’t going to give me a choice, right?”, Natalie smiles, because she really also wants to take a break from her daily routine. “I knew you wouldn’t refuse me! You’re the best, do you know that?” Natalie just rolled her eyes. When she just arrived in this town, she missed Nia terribly, because she suddenly found herself in a completely unfamiliar place, among strangers, all alone. And even though Nia was constantly writing letters to her, Natalie still missed her friend madly. It is great that she has finally arrived, and now they can spend more time together. Of course, Natalie has a lot of work, but is it impossible to set aside at least an hour in her busy schedule for a walk with her best friend? “Where would you like to go?” Nia asked. “Well, we could go look at our famous tree,” Natalie suggested. “You know, there aren’t many trees in the desert.” “Great idea! I’ve already caught a glimpse of it, but I would never refuse to study it better!”, Nia replied enthusiastically. Nia studies at the University of Botany, which is located in another city. Her love of botany was also the reason she came to this town: the local flora was really amazing. Here, Nia studies the mechanisms of adaptation of trees and shrubs to the dry desert climate: these studies should form the basis of her future thesis. That is why Nia reacted with such delight to Natalie’s suggestion to walk to the oak tree, which was located on the mountain towering over the town. The girls left the house and headed for the mountain. In the desert, you can walk for pleasure only in the early morning or at night, when the air temperature drops at least a little. “We’re almost there,” Natalie announced as they climbed two-thirds of the way up a slope which luckily was not really steep. “Ugh…”, Nia stopped to catch her breath. Soon the girls found themselves on the mountain, right in front of a huge tree with dense foliage, which was extremely unusual for the desert. The plants here are usually low and weak, with pale, dry leaves. But this tree spread its branches majestically, as if trying to reach the sky. “Well, let’s have a picnic!”, Nia took off her backpack. The picnic rug was spread out, plates were placed, treats were laid out, and drinks were poured. How nice it is to just lie here, squint at the sky, and talk about everything in the world… “Do you remember when you hid in the doghouse and nobody could find you?” “Do you remember how we built a birdhouse together for a school project?” “Do you remember how…” The friends had something to remember. It was so peaceful and serene here on top of the mountain. It was as if the whole world had stopped so they could just lie down and talk without thinking about time. Although, of course, this is not true. The foliage continued to rustle. The insects continued their flight. People in the town were already waking up. But Nia and Natalie continued to lie in the shade of a huge oak tree, finally relaxing. During the conversation, the friends did not notice how the sky became darker. When the first drop of water fell on Natalie’s cheek, she sat up abruptly and looked up at the sky. “Is it really starting to rain?” she asked incredulously. “It almost never rains here! This is only the second time ever since I’ve been here!” “Seriously?”, Nia smiled. “I am lucky to catch this moment. I’ve never seen rain in the desert! You know what? Let’s climb a tree!” “What? Why?” “Well, I think it would be more fun that way. It’s like we’re getting closer to the sky. And to the rain,” Nia explained. Sometimes Nia acted just like a child. Natalie did not climbed trees since she had been ten, so she was surprised when Nia suggested this adventure to her. On the other hand… it would be nice to feel like carefree children who love to play pranks again. “Well, okay! I agree”. “Super!”, Nia squealed with pleasure and smiled broadly. “I like your smile,” Natalie suddenly said. “What? Oh, well, thank you…”, Nia was obviously embarrassed, and a blush covered her cheeks. “So, let’s climb? Give me a boost!” Pushing off from Natalie’s hand, Nia managed to climb onto the lower branch. She was going to climb higher, but suddenly her foot slipped and she flew down. Natalie rushed toward, and Nia found herself in her friend’s arms. She looked into the eyes of her rescuer, who suddenly pulled her closer, kissing her. It was so strange to kiss in the spring shower, having just fallen from a tree. It was weird even to think about what was going on. After all, they have known each other since childhood. Only silliness pushes people to do such things. Or is it something else? Only the tree witnessed their kiss. It was light, gentle, with a hint of spring and new life.