Ivy explained it was an emerald dove, and we took in the misty wilderness.
I’ve got a lot to learn about ornithology,I thought, leaning back against the tree.
Ivy settled beside me and asked more about my life.
I answered carefully, filtering what I shared, but still… I felt myself connecting with her more than I ever had with anyone before.
As we peeled back the outer layers of our lives, she told me about some of the wild adventures she’d had with her roommates, and I told her about some of mine with Dyson.
“We’ve been best friends since we started school together. I spent a lot of school vacations with his family. We’ve had some epic adventures over the years.” I tilted my head, remembering the time we ambushed our ski instructor with snowballs behind the chalet.
“Dyson sounds awesome. That’s what it’s like with Sass and me too. She lives with me, but she was passed out on the couch earlier, so I couldn’t introduce you.” She smiled. “So what else do you guys like doing?”
“We’re into watching F1 when we can get to a race.” I paused—suddenly aware I might be revealing too much. Ivy had me talking like we’d known each other for years.
“F1?” Her smile widened. “Just don’t mention that around Sass. She’ll go crazy. She’s totally obsessed.”
We laughed, and I promised that if I met her, I’d try to avoid the topic.
After a while, we got up and explored around the waterfall, getting damp in the process before heading back up the track. We talked easily the whole way about what we liked… and what we didn’t.
She hated peanut butter. I hated Vegemite.
I watched her climb ahead of me, steady and effortless.
“How do you stay so fit?” I called, trying to catch my breath as she powered up the steep track. “You some kind of gym junkie?”
“Ahh, someone needs more cardio, huh?” She raised a playful eyebrow as she cut me a glance over her shoulder. “Nah, no gym for me. I mostly just surf, run, and do yoga.”
“Nice. Maybe I’ll run with you sometime—it might help me keep up,” I said, still caught in her smile as we reached the top.
The last rays of sunshine were starting to disappear as Ivy guided us to her special spot. We stopped and waited, hoping the fireflies would appear.
Standing there together, a symphony of nocturnal forest sounds rose around us.
We didn’t speak.
As the last silvery light trickled through the trees, I felt like I was seeing the world through Ivy’s eyes.
She breathed something new into everything, and it made my own world feel smaller.
She’d only known me for a day, yet, somehow, she’d pulled me into a different world. I couldn’t stop smiling as we stood there beneath the moon, waiting for the fireflies to light up the night.
They didn’t appear. But my night was already lit up.
Nothing could top the day we’d shared. We promised we’d come back and see the fireflies together another time… even though we both knew I only had one day left.
We made our way back to the car. I slid across the seat, and Ivy jumped in beside me. The engine made its familiar choking sound as we pulled onto the main road toward Surfers Paradise.
“You know, I might actually be able to buy a new car now I have this contract,” she said. “It probably won’t be a Porsche Cayenne though.” She grinned.
We laughed. My face ached from smiling so much.
Sure, Ivy’s car was no Porsche, but I was having more fun in her beaten-up old classic than I ever had in any of my father’s supercars.
“So where are you staying?” she asked, glancing at me.
“Near the Sea World Resort,” I replied, trying to sound casual. Technically, it was true. But guilt flashed through me for leaving out the part about the boat.
