We continued meeting there every night, talking about everything and nothing. We didn't know when we became such good friends that we could understand each other.
But one day, I reached there a little earlier than usual. I saw her standing in the shade of the tree. She was kneeling down towards the trunk. I slowly walked towards her, wondering what she was doing. I bent down a little and asked softly, "Hey, what are you doing?"
She gasped and spun around. "Sky, you dummy, you scared me!" she exclaimed.
I couldn't help but smile at her reaction. "Sorry," I said.
She glared at me. "You're laughing?" she asked.
I shook my head. "No, May, I'm not... maybe."
She huffed and turned away from me. "You're teasing me. Hmm." She pouted.
I felt a little bad for startling her. I went in front of her and held my ears. "May, sorry," I said.
To lighten up the mood, I asked her, "By the way, what were you doing there?"
She calmed down and looked at me with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. "It's a secret. Don't tell anyone, okay?" she said.
I nodded. "Secret... okay." I thought to myself, "Who else would I tell about this?"
She pulled me down and showed me what she had been hiding. There was a small space between the roots and the ground. She pulled out a small box from inside it.
"What's that?" I asked.
"My secret," she said with a smile.
She opened the box and revealed several sketch books inside.
"So... you're hiding them here?" I asked.
She nodded and said, "Gotcha! This is for making fun of me."
I realized that she had tricked me into thinking that it was something important. She had said it was her secret to get back at me for teasing her.
I thought for a few seconds and asked, "So... why do you hide them here anyway?"
She shrugged and said, "Because it's a little troublesome to carry them here every time."
I was puzzled by her answer. Why would she need to carry them here? Where did she live? Did she not have a place to keep them?
I didn't pay much attention to that and let her continue her drawing.
I had nothing to do so I looked at the box that was lying near me. I thought to myself, "It won't be any problem if I look at the drawings, right?"
So I took the box in my lap and opened it. I started to look at the sketches.
They were amazing. She had drawn landscapes, animals, flowers, and even some fantasy creatures. They were so beautiful and detailed, full of life and color.
She had drawn me a few times too. I felt a warm feeling in my chest as I looked at her sketches of me. She had captured my expressions and gestures perfectly.
She had drawn me playing the harmonica. She had drawn me smiling, laughing, and looking serious. She had drawn me as I was, but also as she saw me.