echo 1.
As you step into the apartment, you immediately notice them laying on the couch, fast asleep.
Even though the television is still on, you close the door as quietly as possible.
You lay your bag on the floor next to the couch, and lean over to press a gentle kiss on their forehead.
2.
“One more episode…” She whined with her head in her partner’s lap.
“Darling, it’s already 11 pm… it’s bedtime.” Her partner said.
“Pleaaaaaase…”
Her partner chuckled and reached for the remote. “Okay, one more episode, then bed after. Deal?”
She grinned triumphantly. “Deal.”
3.
Her phone rang next to her. The call displays her best friend’s name.
“Hey, what’s up?”
“I just finished the book you recommended.” Her best friend says. She didn’t need her to explain any further.
“You get ten minutes to rant.”
They talked over the phone for an hour.
4.
A doctor walks out of the hospital after doing a 24-hour shift on call.
Waiting for them in the pick-up zone is their partner in their Ford Explorer.
The doctor enters the passenger’s seat, and the two share a quick kiss before driving off.
They fall asleep in the car before their partner can inform them that they got their favourite waffles.
5.
“And he has the audacity to order the new girl to make him coffee, to which she immediately answers with, ‘You have two hands for a reason. Use them,’ and boy the face of that man…”
You smile as they talk about their day at the office.
“Oh, and there’s this other thing…”
6.
She pushes through the crowd of students to her locker. As she puts her books away, she observes in her peripheral vision that the sea of students surrounding her has dissipated.
She hears a familiar voice calling her name to her right. She closes her locker and turns her head.
Her boyfriend holds up a big cardboard sign decorated with rose petals.
In the middle of the board, written on using colourful markers, says: Prom?
7.
“Good morning, sleepyhead.”
You stumble into the kitchen in your pajamas, not bothering to change when you realise they were not in bed. A clear indication that you slept in.
They don’t turn their head when you wrap your arms around their waist from behind.
“You making french toast?” You ask.
“With maple syrup, babe.” They answer with a smile.
“I love maple syrup.”
8.
She notices the family’s golden retriever resting half of its body on top of her son, who was laying on his back and stroking its fur.
She asks if the dog feels heavy on him.
He says no, adding that he only feels happy.
9.
As you enter the office, your superior hands you a bouquet of flowers, saying it’s a delivery from someone.
You grab it, notice the small, folded card, and flip it open. It was signed by your tech-savvy partner.
01001001 00100000 01101100 01101111 01110110 01100101 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101
10.
“Why are we at the bookstore?” She asks.
“Well, for your birthday, I figured I’d give you thirty seconds to grab as many books as you like, and I’ll pay for it.”
She lifts her brow in excitement and surprise.
“I… uhh… I saw this trend on Tik Tok.”
She chuckled and smirked. “Get your credit card ready.”
11.
“…at that moment, Harry Potter felt just like everyone else: glad, for the first time in his life, that it was his birthday.”
She looks up at her child after finishing the first chapter.
Their eyes were closed, their face snuggled up against their plushie, and they were asleep soundly.
12.
“Chipotle?”
“No.”
“Taco Bell?”
“Not feeling tacos today.”
“Burger King?!”
“I already ate McDonalds for lunch a few days ago.”
“Seriously babe, what do you want to eat?”
“I don’t know, you pick.”
13.
You were working at your desk in the study room. Then, you hear a continuous buzzing sound that moves closer to the room.
In comes the remote controlled toy truck you got for your partner. A chocolate bar sat on the back of it.
It comes to a stop next to your chair so you can take the bar. You do so and call out to your partner who was probably controlling the truck from the living room.
The truck’s front wheels twitch left and right for a few seconds, as if performing a little dance, before reversing out of your room.
14.
“I need you…”
“Baby? I’m at work…”
“But I… I really need you… please…”
“I’ll be there in ten.”
15.
You and your sister were laying on your stomachs on the floor with a puzzle in front of you. The 1000 pieces needed to complete it were scattered around the frame.
The two of you had agreed that you would finish the top half of the puzzle while they did the bottom half.
“Ugh… how are you going this fast?” They groan. You’ve made quite significant progress with your half, but theirs had been less so.
“Not my fault that your half of the puzzle is grass tiles.” You say.
There was a brief moment of silence before you were startled by their excited squeal.
“Oh! I connected two pieces!”
16.
“Shh… it’s okay…”
Your head was pressed against their chest, and their arms were wrapped around you. You feel the gradual rise and fall of their chest, trying to follow their breathing to calm yourself after the sudden panic attack episode.
“I’m here… you’re okay…”
They continue to soothe you while you two remain huddled on the floor of the living room.
17.
He groaned as he put the fifty cents into the swear jar.
He didn’t mean to swear at his younger brother; he had just returned home from a difficult day at school.
His brother glanced at him sympathetically, before uttering a swear as loudly as he could so their mother could hear him.
“That’s another fifty cents! Jeez, what is with you two today?” They hear her yell from the kitchen.
As he turned to place his coin into the jar, he noticed an appreciative smile on his elder brother’s lips.
18.
“I’m hungry…”
“We literally just ate lunch.”
“Well it wasn’t enough. I’m hungry again.”
“Fine… what do you want?”
“Chicken nuggies.”
19.
“Honey, you already have that book…”
“But it’s the deluxe edition!” She holds up the book, its edges sprayed and covered with stenciled artwork.
“How much is it?”
She checks the price. “Thirty two dollars…”
“Take the fifty. Feel free to get yourself another book while we’re here.”
20.
“Hey… you okay?”
Their voice awakens you from your thoughts.
“You were fidgeting with your hands. Are you nervous?”
“Sorry, I just…” You stare out the airplane window. “… I’m a little nervous for take-off. I think I might get motion sick in this seat.”
Their eyes widen and your words. “Then change seats with me, dummy.”
“I didn’t want to bother you…”
“Shut up and change seats with me.”
21.
5:03 – Just got off work. Need anything?
5:04 – Could you get some eggs from the market? We’re almost out.
5:04 – What r u making?
5:05 – Chocolate muffins.
5:06 – What’s the occasion?
5:08 – Day whatever of me spontaneously wanting to try a new recipe.
5:10 – Can’t wait to taste them x
22.
We go for walks at the park every evening. Every time we walk to and from the park, you always take the side closest to the road.
You never say why. You just do.
23.
On cold days, they would frequently borrow your hoodie to wear. Most times they would forget to give it back to you.
At some point, you stopped asking. You like knowing deep down that they sleep in it.
24.
You were scrolling through your phone during your lunch break. A notification from your messaging app pops up.
You click into it, and it’s a link to Spotify. A few seconds later, another message followed.
Made you a playlist :>
You smile when you click on the link and it brings you to a playlist with over 200 songs. You smile even more as you scroll through and see that about a third of the playlist consisted of Taylor Swift’s songs.
25.
“I’m coming over right now.” You say as you get out of bed and grab your keys.
“…it’s 1 a.m.” She responds through her sniffles.
“And you just got dumped. I’m coming over to get you ice cream.”
26.
“Dad…”
“Hey girl. You okay?”
“I… umm…”
“Hey, it’s okay. Tell me what’s wrong.”
“The car broke down… I don’t know why… I’m on the highway, and I don’t know what to do…”
“Hey, calm down, okay? Wait by the side of the highway. I’ll head to you right now.”
27.
The headmistress eyes her colleagues suspiciously as they walk her to her office.
She opens the door, and her eyes widen as she realises her office is completely covered with wrapping paper from floor to ceiling. Even her office furniture, including her office chair, table, shelf, and cabinet, was wrapped in layers of green and red wrapping paper.
She turns around and raises an eyebrow at her colleagues, who all exclaim together.
“Merry Christmas!”
28.
“You owe me for this.”
“I know.”
29.
In less than a minute after your best friend entered your house, they had their fingers in your snack cupboard.
“That’s my last bag of Doritos.”
“I don’t care.”
“Ugh… we’re sharing that during the movie later.”
30.
Despite initially intending to go grocery shopping at Target, she ended up dragging him around the book aisles for at least an hour.
After an extended grocery excursion, she gets in the passenger’s seat, sighing because he was successful in persuading her not to buy another book.
As he fastens his seat belt, he says: “You know, we almost made it out of there without buying any books.”
She glances at him, confused. “Almost?”
He pulls out a book that he had covertly snagged off the shelves without her knowing.
31.
When I met her parents, they said she never let anyone touch her. Not even a graze.
However, she wraps her hands around my waist while we sleep; she doesn’t push my hand away when I place it on her thigh while driving; she always wants to hold my hand when we go out.
32.
“I’m so confused on what I’m feeling for this boy, because I like him, but he’s giving me mixed signals, and now I’m getting mixed feelings…” You rant to your best friend as the two of you stroll down the street towards a restaurant. “… and I also have this video project to complete but I’m worried it’s not good enough.”
“For real. Assignments are stressing me out; finals are in two weeks and I still need to study for them.” She shares.
“Oooh, are we gonna have sad boy hours?”
She gives you a puzzled expression. “What?”
“Sad boy hours…?” You repeated.
“But I don’t get sad about boys.”
“I—”
33.
It had snowed for the first time in ten years. Despite the risks, her daughter with cystic fibrosis insisted that she wanted to play in the snow with her sisters. The next day, her daughter’s oxygen levels had decreased to 88% as a result of her exertion.
As she hooks her daughter up to the oxygen tank beside the bed, she asks: “Was it worth playing in the snow yesterday?”
Her daughter answers with a smile. “Hell yeah.”
34.
“Oh my god, I’m such an idiot…”
“That’s nothing new, bestie.”
“Sometimes I wonder why I still put up with you.”
35.
You hear a sharp, high-pitched tinkling coming from outside your room.
“Verdammt…”
You head out and into the kitchen, seeing the shattered glass pieces on the floor. “Oh my god, what happened?”
“I was putting the dishes away, I dropped the glass… sorry.”
“No, don’t be… are you okay? Did you cut yourself?”
“I’m okay, just…” They let out a frustrated grunt. “… benimm dich einfach normal, du Dummkopf…”
“You’re not stupid.”
Their head snapped up. “What?”
You grab a paper towel and crouch down, carefully brushing the fragments into a mound. “You’re not stupid. Don’t call yourself that.”
“How did you…”
You shrug, then turn around to get a broom from the bathroom.
36.
You made it to the spot. It was by the waterfall. There were two large rocks; you climbed up one and sat down. Despite the sound of the water running and splashing, you felt alone.
Because the person you used to come here with; the person who would sit on the other rock, is gone.
37.
“Are you okay?”
“N… no…”
“Talk to me.”
38.
4:15 – Hey mom, it’s Addie. Loki was trying to defeat Ragnamop and bit off some of the cotton. Jasmine’s cleaning it up.
4:17 – What?
4:20 – [Sent a video]
4:22 – Remind me to get a new mop after work…
39.
When I was a baby, Mom would hum the same lullaby. She sang it when I couldn’t sleep, was struggling in school, or needed comfort.
After her passing, I still find myself humming that tune whenever I felt homesick while away at university.
40.
“Ugh… ow…” You grumble. You look around in a daze and see your partner among a small pile-up of rubble nearby.
“Shit…” You hurriedly crawl over to them and pull them into your arms. Their eyes were fluttering, straining to stay open. “Love, hey… stay with me…”
“W-what happened…”
“An earthquake… I think… ow— love… keep your eyes open…”
“Eyes…”
“Yes, your gorgeous eyes. They’re the prettiest thing in the world… please keep them open…”
You perk up when you hear the muffled sounds of sirens approaching from a distance. “Help’s coming love… please hold on…”
41.
Before she entered my life, I used to say: “Lay a hand on me and I’ll kill you.”
After she entered my life, I said: “Lay a hand on her and I’ll kill you.”
42.
You were left alone at the party. In a drunken stupor, you decide to simply walk home.
But to your surprise, you see your brother’s car outside of the house.
With his window rolled down, he called out: “Figured you might need a ride.”
43.
“What’s the difference between a piano, a tuna, and a pot of glue?”
Your brother shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know.”
“You can tuna piano but you can’t piano a tuna.”
Everyone around the table either laughed or sighed in mock dismay.
“Wait, but what about the pot of glue?” You asked.
Your father smirked. “I knew you’d get stuck on that.”
“Oh my god…”
44.
“Help…”
You hear them call from the bedroom. As you walk in, you raise an eyebrow at their predicament.
“What is this…”
They continue to struggle with their head stuck on the wrong end of the sweater.
“It’s embarrassing…”
“Yeah, I can tell.”
“Just… shut up, and help me!”
You give them a sympathetic giggle and help them out of their textile prison.
45.
My heart races whenever our gazes linger on one another for even a brief moment.
I think I can hear the beating of their heart too.
46.
We may argue over the smallest matters, ignore each other out of resentment after a quarrel, or frequently steal the other person’s toy.
But if anyone messes with you, they’ll have to go through me.
47.
You slide the last slice of pizza to them.
“Huh? Oh, you don’t need to—”
“Shut up. I know you want it.”
48.
You feel your phone vibrate in your pocket.
You pull it out to see who is calling you. It wasn’t a number you saved.
However, it was a number you recognised. One you’ve memorised for years and years.
Your childhood best friend.
49.
You weren’t a crier.
She knew it. She could count on her fingers the number of times you cried, and still had fingers to spare.
Yesterday, you cried.
As you watched her walk into the church, her stunning, elegant white dress flowing behind her.
You cried.
You meant every tear that fell.
50.
“Hey.”
“What’s up?”
“I love you.”
Written by: Isabelle
