By May Chreideh, November 2024
I picked an apple from the tree and gave it to my best friend; he took a hungry bite and spit it
into my mouth; bloodshed tears rolled down his cheeks afterwards.
It was the night before Christmas, a group of my six friends decided to host a sleepover for the
holiday. The group consisted of two siblings, two star-crossed enemies and two forbidden
soulmates. Fredrick and Mike had a three-year age gap between them, and they were the
inseparable duo who would get the craziest ideas, like taking over the world. It seemed so easy to take over the world, because their tongues ran lies; even their whole existence was, at one point, perceived as a lie.
Fredrick and Mike lived in Berri-UQAM for a lengthy year. They had met Nathan and Ronald at the hotel they used to work at. They got along so well; they lived under the same roof for more
then a year somewhere near Prefontaine. Fredrick, Mike, Nathan and Ronald were never driven
by passion, but by greed, who would make the most money out of the four of them. They never cared for one another, they only loved each other when they gathered around bottles of Vodka and coconut liquor. Fredrick was the youngest in the group, and the tallest one too. He was the most wicked out of the four guys, everyone could sense something uneasy about him, except for those who would fall head over heels for him. One thing about these four guys is that they were a bunch of womanizers, seeking to be showered in love without giving anything in return, manipulating everyone they see into, thinking that they’re one of a kind. Fredrick is Mike’s younger brother, and Mike was way worse than him. Even though Mike was calmer and older, he was not wiser. Mike’s the shorter brother, who hides in Fredrick’s shadows and wants everything his brother has. When Fredrick and I fell into each other’s worlds, the first thing he did was take me to the moon, and when I thought that he and I would be swinging our feet and looking at the galaxies, we were greeted by Mike instead, who couldn’t keep his eyes off me.
Two days after meeting Mike, I met Nathan and Ronald. I met them with my best friend Charlotte, a deer-eyed doll that smelled like peonies and lilies. She had the most gorgeous smile, a starstruck personality that could stand out in a crowd. Since she was the first one who knew about the boy who almost pushed me off the moon, I only confided in her to make sure my freefall wouldn’t break my neck.
I almost broke my neck when the six of us met for the first time as a group, it was too good to be
true. And after meeting over sticky floors and Moroccan tea, we’ve been inseparable ever since. I could recall our first hangout quite well, it took Charlotte and I 30 mins to arrive, and I lost the
way a couple of times since I was the worst in directions. I remember Charlotte containing her
laughter. I had slept over at Charlotte’s that night, and we were laughing until we fell asleep on the couch. We had this thing called “Skip your classes Thursdays” where they would pick Charlotte and I from school and we’d drive around the city then sneak into Montreal’s luxurious buildings and go up the rooftops just to sit there and watch the stars, or sometimes imagine what it’s like for the world to burn.
A week before Christmas, Nathan informed us that Ronald was missing. He was supposed to
came home after work one night, but he never did, and no one could reach him even though he had two phones, and when we wanted to call the police, Nathan panicked and refused to inform the police.
That’s when the first apple fell off the tree, leaving five apples hanging in confusion, pain, and
grief. Fredrick and I swayed on shaky grounds, whenever one of us would pull away the other
would tug on the other. Nathan always made sure Charlotte and I weren’t dazing out about
Ronald’s disappearance. Then there was Mike, who was silent most of the time, he couldn't keep his eyes off of me, he always knew things we never knew. He was the second oldest after Nathan, but we never knew Ronald’s age, for it wasn’t the first thing he lied about.
I could write books and novels on the amount of lies fabricated from these four guys, who
claimed that they wanted to take over the world. One of the five apples hanging on the tree was
bound to fall because one fell willingly, leaving four apples wonder if a shooting star will bring
Ronald back or not. Fredrick took the free fall, letting go of my hand, but it wasn’t the end of the
world for Charlotte’s hand tugged on mine, keeping me standing on my feet. If I knew one thing,
I knew that Charlotte and I will make it out the alive, surviving a friend group that walked on
charcoal and danced through flame. But that was the thing about friendships that last for a few
breaths, they fill you with butterflies that you end up vomiting weeks later.
It was Christmas Eve, the last night we gathered as a group. Ronald was still missing, so it was
Charlotte, Nathan, Mike and I. Fredrick showed up too, sitting next to me, and I could swear the roof began to shake. Cooking the Christmas feast in silence, I expected to hear a little bit of
laughter like the good old days but all I heard was weeping crickets. Things were starting to feel
a little bit better when we helped each other set up the table and play Christmas music, it was
snowing wholeheartedly that night and I prayed for miracles. I prayed for Ronald
to come back and save the day, I prayed for Charlotte to feel like she was at home, I
prayed for Fredrick to thank me for cooking for hours, I prayed for Mike to get his eyes off
me, and I prayed for Nathan to remain truthful. I didn’t pray for myself that night because I thought I had everything I wanted, even though everything was crumbling.
Everything was perfectly set, and I was wearing a beautiful black dress that Charlotte picked for
me, a dress that was almost too loose for me to tighten; two hands reached for my waist and tightened it for me, the same two hands that let go of mine, Fredrick’s. Thorns dug in my waist as I smiled in the name of the holiday spirit. Eventually, I pulled away and asked everyone to gather around the table.
“I am so grateful that we are gathered here tonight for this family dinner, I know we have
planning this for months. Maybe I was the only one planning this for months, but it doesn’t matter who did what as long as we are all here together,” I looked at each one of them, and all I saw was knives peeking out their eyes, and I knew it was over. “It is quite sad that Ronald is not here with us tonight, even though he had been looking forward for it-“
“He also made a lot of empty promises,” said Charlotte, looking at Nathan as if he was the one to blame, the latter stared at the food in silence.
“You know what, let us hope for a miracle to happen tonight,” I had already given up on the idea
of giving a speech, no one deserved a speech except for Charlotte who knew that the right words can be sent from one’s heart to the other. I was seated in the middle between Fredrick and Charlotte, both intertwined their fingers with mine gently. Fredrick’s sweaty hands disgusted me.
We all prayed with our eyes closed, and I opened my eyes first after the prayer. I looked around
the table; I am losing my friends tonight. I remember the way we all jolted at the sound of the
door after the recitation of our prayers, everyone gave puzzled looks. Who could it be?
It was Ronald, smiling from ear to ear, with a ring in his hand alongside an unfamiliar face;
someone we never knew, someone who had been there before all of us.
“Aren’t my friends happy that their boy is home?” exclaimed Ronald, eyeing Charlotte
maliciously, smiling from ear to ear.
I lost my friends that night, and the rest of the apples fell off the tree.
Comments