August 24, 2007
Summer Revelations
By Andrea Giang
Walking along the beach with her sandals in hand, Kaylie savored the feel of warm sand beneath her feet. Ever since she was a little girl, the ocean had always been her favorite place. The sea had a way of calming her when she was distraught. Kaylie remembered how, many years ago, her grandfather taught her to write down all her troubles on a piece of a paper and to fold it into a boat. He told her that if she let the paper boat float in the water, the waves would carry away all her worries. It was something Kaylie still did whenever she was troubled.
Climbing onto the coastal rocks to get closer to the ocean, Kaylie could feel the spray of seawater from the waves splashing against the rocks. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small paper boat she had folded earlier. Looking down at the piece of paper she held, Kaylie let out a sigh. What kind of a mess had she gotten herself into this time? She should have known better than to feel this way about him, especially since he was her best friend. They’ve known each other since they were children and she didn’t want to risk their friendship. Even knowing all of this, Kaylie had to complicate matters by feeling this way about him. With a sigh, Kaylie let the paper fall into the water and watched as the waves washed it away. “Kaylie.”
Her eyes widened at the sound of his familiar voice. Turning around, Kaylie found herself facing her childhood friend, Derek. Forcing herself to smile to disguise her true feelings, she asked him, “How did you know I was here?”
He shrugged. “It’s not hard, Kaylie. You always come to the beach. Did something happen? You left without saying anything.”
I only saw you with another girl, Kaylie thought miserably. “I… wasn’t feeling well so I thought I’d come out here to get fresh air.”
“Is that all?” Derek asked, giving her a rather odd look as though he knew she was hiding something.
With another forced smile, Kaylie nodded her head. “What else could it be?”
Seeing him hold a kite and… a picnic basket?, she quickly made an attempt to change the subject. “Were you planning to have a picnic with… Christine?”
Derek gave her a strange look before he said, “No… She’s with her boyfriend. I was thinking that if I found you here, we could have a picnic. It’s been awhile. Do you remember how we used come here all the time as kids?”
“You also taught me how to fly a kite,” Kaylie replied with a laugh.
“That’s why I brought a kite with me. I thought it would be fun,” Derek said as he handed her the kite.
She glanced down at the picnic basket and frowned. It looked like someone had carefully handwritten messages onto the strips of wood used to weave the basket. “That picnic basket looks odd, a little lopsided. Is there writing on the strips of wood?”
Kaylie looked up and noticed that he turned a little red. “Derek?”
“I made it for you,” he muttered.
She glanced at the basket and read a few of the messages. Kaylie looked at him in surprise. Those three little words were enough. She reached up and kissed him on the cheek. Perhaps things weren’t as complicated as she thought they were.
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