We walked back from the forest with rabbits slung across our shoulders and mushrooms in our hands. The ground was covered in a shiny coat of morning dew, drying up where the sun shone through.
I finally did it. I kissed April Katz. I had never been more excited in my life. I felt giddy even when we got to the front steps of my apartment. We walked inside to find April's mom cooking already.
"Can you bring me one of those rabbits, Dominic?"
"Of course Mrs. Katz." I set one on the counter and she grabbed it excitedly.
While she skinned it, me and April walked out back, and climbed up and into the treehouse. We sat the same way we had a few days ago, but this time we held hands.
"So you've thought about how we're going to tackle this?" I said kind of abruptly.
"Not really, but I'm not going to stop anything from happening because the government hates us."
I nodded, agreeing but not wanting to. We sat there together talking about memories for at least an hour. We talked about first impressions, first crushes, and first kisses. Hers was in 8th grade, with a boy shed liked for a couple months. Mine was an hour and a half ago.
"I always thought you hated me." She said at one point. "You and Devin were always talking about how annoying I was, and how I would always ruin your fun."
"Devin said those things. I never agreed with him, I just didn't verbally tell him I disagreed."
She side-eyed me unsure, mumbling something under her breath.
We were still talking about our firsts of things when her mom came out and handed us each a plate and a cup. It smelled delicious. The rabbit was grilled and coated with honey, the mushrooms stuffed with a cheese we packed with us. And we had some juice made from the apples on a small tree on the side of the house.
"Thank you Mrs. Katz." She nodded gratefully.
"Of course, I love cooking but I never get to do it."
She stopped back inside and me and April finished our meals. We didn't talk much after dinner, but we did convince Mrs. Katz let us sleep in the treehouse as long as we brought blankets out; thank goodness for that because it was so cold. I would imagine it to be around 40 degrees (F). I don't think either of us minded. We got to sleep right up next to each other to stay warm through the night.
When I woke up, the sun was preparing to rise, and I was holding April in my arms. I woke her softly and asked if she wanted to watch the sunrise. She jumped up (of course) and sat facing the horizon. The small hills in the distance gave the landscape a certain feel to it, like we had lived here our whole lives and knew the details like the backs of our hands.
My favorite part of the morning was the smell. It smelled cold, and damp, but sweet. The river carried the smells of the trees from the whole forest to us, the pine and the oak mixing like a winter candle. And to tie it all together, I could smell April's hair, like coconut and lavender blended in one perfect scent. If I could capture everything in this moment and put it into one simple word, it would be perfect.