The End of Hide and Seek

Although I knew in my heart that Bea wouldn’t show up, I still waited for an hour and a half outside of my dorm building that Tuesday. I probably would have waited even longer if Tam hadn’t seen me on her way back from the dining hall.

“Who are you waiting for without even a sweater, Mia?” asked Tam.

“Someone...special,” I replied.

“Shouldn't you text them at least? Or did they ghost you?”

“I...don’t have her phone number,” I mumbled.

“Sounds like a recipe for heartbreak,” Tam said as she sat down next to me on the steps.

Close to tears, I ended up blurting out a summary of everything that had happened these past two weeks. When I finished, completely in tears, Tam looked up at the darkening sky for a moment, apparently lost in thought.

“You don’t believe me, do you?” I said, sighing.

“No, it’s not that. I do believe you, but I don’t really know what you should do. You think she’s hiding something, don’t you?”

I couldn’t say anything in response. I mean, yeah, I felt that way, too, but…my heart ached when I thought about it, because it felt like…Bea…did she even…like…

“Well, at any rate, I’ll support whatever decision you make.” Tam stood up, brushing the dirt off her jeans before holding out her hand to help me up.

“But, it’s getting late now, and you need to sleep early if you’re going to go on your morning run.”

***

“Hey Bea, why don’t you want to look for me?” I asked. This time we were swinging together on a tire swing attached to a silver oak tree. Well, except the tire was the remains of one of those evil-looking eyes. Turns out if the eyeball died, the eyelid would form a thick, somewhat squishy, but very sturdy, ring. On some previous adventure, Bea had managed to attach the ring to the tree with three metal chains so that the "tire" lay parallel to the ground.

“Would you really like to know?” Bea asked. She looked the picture of innocence, but she seemed like she was yet again hiding something.

“Come closer, then,” she whispered. I leaned closer until my eyes were barely an inch away from hers.

Bea then closed the distance between us and gave me a light peck on the lips.

“Bea!” I pulled back, flustered.

“Did you not like that?” She asked with a grin on her face.

“No, I did, ah, ah...”

“Hey, the stars are ready for you it looks like.”

“Bea why do you always--”

The pile of stardust didn’t even let me finish my sentence before knocking me out.

***

Bea, I hate to say this, but you’re really getting on my nerves right now.

Why are you doing these things but refusing to answer any questions?

Is this just a game to you? Am I the only one catching feelings?

“Mia, are you even listening?”

“Huh...oh yeah, totally!” I jolted back to my senses. Just like last week, I’d manage to arrive ten minutes early to my weekly lunch with Lori and Co, even though I had been completely distracted this entire day.

“Um…you were talking about how last week you told us about your life-changing moment!” I continued.

“Yes, well, it’s done! My feature story for The Daily Phoenix! Hot off the press.” Lori smiled, taking out a neatly folded newspaper from her backpack with a dramatic flourish. I took the paper from her hands and saw the headline dominating the front page, with Lori’s byline right under it.

Shining Star of the Classics Department Honored by Sister’s Award-Winning Essay

Classics Department? That’s where they studied Greek and Roman stuff, right? I quickly scanned through the article. Lori had written about this girl who was super famous in the Classics Department and was even a TA for the elementary Latin classes even though she was only a junior undergraduate. The focus of the article was on her little sister, who had brought new awareness to her sister’s impact through an amazing personal essay that had even won a bunch of teen writer awards. Sadly, the genius girl had fallen into a mysterious coma around this time last year. She had been super beloved by all her classmates and professors though, and some students were thinking about hosting a vigil in her honor later this month.

The part that made me catch my breath though, was that this amazing shining star was none other than a tall girl with a thin face named Beatrix Liu. Who apparently just about everyone called Bea.

Bea. My dearest Bea, I’ve finally found you.

Lori had included some photos from previous Classical Society events, so I could see that yes, that was definitely Bea’s face. Her hair was even in the same style, though black instead of white, and her eyes were a more natural brown rather than violet like when she was dreaming. This had to be her. I realized now that even her wings had been an obvious clue. She was a blue phoenix, and I’m pretty sure our school is probably the only one in the whole country that had a blue phoenix instead of a red one for our mascot.

“Woah, Mia, was it so good that it made you cry?” Lori asked. I brought my hand up to my face and realized that yes, it was indeed a little damp.

“Well, I almost cried too, honestly,” said Tara.

“Yeah, it was great, Lori. Life-changing, just like you promised,” I said, doing my best to laugh a little through my tears.

***

As soon as all my afternoon classes ended, I ran straight back to my dorm. I was even too impatient to wait for the elevator, so I ended up rushing up the stairs, too. Or, well, my willpower lasted for about two floors, and then I ended up taking the elevator for the last five floors, but still.

I guess I could have read Charlotte Cang’s essay about Bea on my phone in between classes, but I had really wanted to savor the experience and read it carefully on my laptop. I brought up the messaging app where Lori had linked me to the local paper where Charlotte’s essay had been published, took a deep breath, and clicked on the blue text.

As it turns out, Bea was an even better person than I’d known. A kind and gentle older sister, role model, best friend… Charlotte really was a great writer, and the little moments she showed me of her life with Bea made me feel all sorts of emotions. I laughed and cried and felt everything in between. Bea acted so mysteriously in my nightmares, but reading her sister’s essay made me feel like I was getting a little closer to her.

I feel bad that I get to see Bea in my dreams while her sister hasn’t even talked to her in almost a year…

But well, obviously, the solution was to wake Bea up so the real world could be blessed by her presence again. If I believed in the Power of Love, my sheer willpower would be able to find a way, right?

And when she wakes up, even if she wants to avoid my questions, at least she won’t be able to make a rooster fall on my head anymore...