Lylac Sky

Even if you're scared and hiding in a closet – love’s still gonna find you there.

Could the sky really be lilac? Who invented a lilac Sun?

Why did the wind suddenly decide to match the palette?

If the boy ever met a wise man who knew everything about everything, he’d probably just keep quiet. Not ‘cause he was shy. Nope. Just… why mess up something beautiful by asking dumb questions? Why ruin the bliss of being inside boundless happiness? Nope, oh knower of everything – the boy’s not walkin’ your path.

His path leads elsewhere – where the lavender dawn rises over an endless horizon. Where the lavender blossoms sway in the breeze, gossiping loudly about why this uninvited guest decided to start an early jog, disturbing their sisters and brothers. They were really curious – does he even need all of this?

Oh, yes! – He would’ve answered, if he felt like chatting with them. The runner would’ve challenged any attempt to stop him, because the swaying stalks just couldn’t understand how natural the joyful laughter was, pouring from his mouth.

How could the tears of happiness feel as they fall on his flushed, heated face.

How light and floaty his -breathing sneakers- with mesh in the middle feel, sucking in all the Earth’s air – and how heavy they are for the poor grass beneath.

How crucial it is to catch up with the ever-escaping silhouette of the girl sprinting ahead – not graceful like a regular deer (he’d never seen one), but like the fastest rocket ever launched in all rocket history.

Faster than them, faster than a paper plane, even faster than her fluttering eyelashes – this honestly feels impossible!

The smile on her turning head flickers in and out, and the boy realizes that this will be his guiding star, always shining, never letting him lose the way. And even if he does, he could just toss an imaginary lasso over her shadow and—no, no, that’s way too rude and disrespectful toward Miss Shadow. She’s majestic, a queen, nothing like her real owner.

The girl herself looks different. Sun-bleached hair never touched by scissors. Thick eyebrows, hiding tiny thoughtful eyes, with that weird kind of seriousness that totally charmed the boy the first time they met.

That was recently, but oh boy, so much had already happened! A boy from faraway, not expecting to find friends in France, somehow ended up with his bestie – who, just like him, came all the way from the US. How did they meet on this edge of the flat dinner-plate Earth we call home?

Pure chance. And a puddle.

That’s where the rascal was jumping, over and over, checking how far the splash could go. His scientific curiosity also pushed him to see just how soaked and filthy his shorts could get in such a hostile-for-clothing environment.

A big summer rain had passed, and the boy was now enjoying its leftovers – about to evaporate under the coming heat. So he was trying to squeeze in as much fun as possible – just one more splash before the sun wiped it all away.

First to join him was a cute little pup, probably escaped from its owners. How did he know that? Not from a chat – the pup just licked him and tilted its head, silently ignoring all questions. Around its neck, there was a tag, and opening it the boy read: M. K. - Probably the owner's initials. Or maybe the pup’s full name. Depends how you look at it!

After their walk, the temporary owner – or better yet, new friend (which meant, technically, he got two friends at once!) – was planning to find M.K.’s humans. For now, though, he just giggled, watching the pup gulp down puddle water like it was a five-star mineral spring. She was so into it, the boy almost considered joining. He looked around – anyone watching? If he dropped to all fours and took a sip… just a tiny one! Summer, after all.

And right in the middle of that internal struggle, he noticed a new character entering the scene from behind. The surprise made him twitch and flail like a cartoon, until he realized it was a girl his age, standing in a white dress below her knees. They looked so clean and crisp that he instantly got self- conscious about his own – scraped, muddy, and scratched up.

Someone had to say something, and the boy couldn’t take it – the question spun around in his head until it finally tumbled out, or rather stumbled:

– Who are you? Do I know you?

– No. Should you? – She replied with intense focus, like this answer would determine her entire future.

– Weird. So I don’t know you, you don’t know me, and we still haven’t met properly?! That’s nuts! Gotta fix that!

The look of confusion froze on both the girl’s face and the pup’s snout. Neither expected such a bizarre opener, and the boy already cursed himself for quoting that one movie he thought was cool. Up until now. Turns out, you can’t just throw cinema lines into real life and expect it to work.

– Whatever. Forget it. I’m Erich. What’s your name?

– I’m Nibi. – She reached out her elegant hand, which clearly didn’t match his super-grimy one with barely trimmed nails. He quickly wiped it on his shirt and gave her a very official handshake, adding:

– Why do you have such a strange name? Nobody calls people like that!

– I'm not all people. – She stuck out her tongue and pulled a face. – Right now, this girl's just borrowing my dog body, and I moved into hers. And as you can see, I can talk now and don’t even have to scratch my fleas anymore. So no, it's not a dumb nickname, it's my real name. Don’t be rude, okay?

The boy, stunned, glanced at the pup—who, by the way, looked freshly brushed and totally flea- free—and then at this strange Nibi. He took a step back, warily asking:

– How’d you even do that?! – Then Erich's face lit up and he waved it off. – Nah, you're messing with me! Making stuff up! You can't really be a dog. Scientists haven’t invented anything like that yet. If they had, I’d be the first to know. I’ve always wanted to be a Newfoundland—with a big fluffy tail.

M.K. barked suddenly, sending a chill down Erich’s spine. Nibi burst into loud, delighted laughter, and realizing that he was the dummy here, the boy laughed along without offense. Yeah, it was actually pretty funny! She totally got him!

– You’re cool, Nibi. I could totally hang with you. – He declared, handing her an impressive credit of trust, along with a compliment.

– You're not bad either. Kind of dumb, but honest. – The cheeky girl stated, and for a second, Erich considered pouting—but that just wasn’t in his nature.

He gave her shoulder a light bump with his fist and said:

– Have you ever looked at puddle reflections? If not—c’mon, let’s check it out! It’s cool!

He crouched beside the little rain-pool and melted into a blissful smile, soaking up the warmth rising from the sticky, humid ground. He stared deeply into the water, watching his distorted reflection morph into silly monster faces. The pup instantly joined in, staring just as intently, and Erich had to admit—yeah, the dog looked way cooler than he did.

But Nibi didn’t sit down. She stayed standing, and explained:

– I’ll get in trouble if I sit with you. My parents hate dirt. At our house, it's always super clean, and my dad buys everyone new slippers every week so there's never a single spot on the floor.

– Your parents sound boring… – Erich meant to think it quietly, but he was terrible at keeping thoughts inside his head. And surprisingly, the girl seemed to like that. She nodded slowly and said:

– No arguments here. They’re not exactly fun. But… they’re still the best parents in the world!

Erich practically bounced with indignation, which was quite the feat, given he was squatting. But he nailed it.

– Nope, mine are even better!

But Nibi didn’t rise to the bait. She just shrugged and asked:

– Do you even know what financiers are?

– Nope.

– That’s what my parents are. And I think my dad’s also like, a banker or something. Not really sure.

– That sounds awesome! – the boy admitted. – Maybe they’re like candy salespeople… or even cooler!

– Can't get much cooler than that. – Nibi sighed.

– We live on a farm. My parents work together growing agro-cultures. That’s what they call them.

Nibi agreed that was pretty interesting too, and mentioned she wasn’t allowed to pet the dog—her parents wouldn’t approve. The boy enthusiastically scratched behind the pup’s ear on her behalf, trying to cheer her up—and she visibly lit up.

– Even if you can't sit down, just stand next to me. You'll still see everything.