Page 102 of From Beijing, With Love

Daniel’s good old anxiety raised its hand at that moment, radiating a pick-me energy that no one needed. Pushing it aside, he smiled at Poppy. “Let’s do it.”

With a flourish, she parted the curtains to reveal an illuminated pool and a two-story-high waterfall stretching across an incline. Daniel hesitated as he stepped into the calf-deep pool, then he felt Poppy’s gentle nudge on his arm. The only way through the exhibit was up the waterfall. They climbed the slope against the cascading current like salmon swimming upstream. The misty air around them smelled of pine and moss while the rushing water roared. It was immersive in the most literal sense, and thanks to the timed entry, there was hardly anyone around to distract from the experience.

“That was different,” Daniel said after they climbed up the waterfall, two parts excited and one part worried about what lay ahead.

Poppy, on the other hand, was glued to her phone.

“Is work bugging you? It’s Saturday!”

“It’s nothing,” Poppy said, promptly locking her phone screen. “I’m here. Present. Accounted for. Ready for fun.”

“I’ll be the judge of that,” Daniel said as he dragged her toward the next set of velvet curtains.

This time, the glowing plaque read “ACT II—EXPLORATION.”

Daniel registered the faint scent of chlorine as Poppy pulled open the curtains. It took him a moment to make sense of the space in front of him. The room was an Olympic-sized pool filled entirely with a white-hued liquid that went up to their knees. Hand in hand, they walked through the water like they were treading through the Milky Way.

He heard the gasps before he saw them in the water—brightly colored koi fish, everywhere all at once like a magic trick. Before he could move out of the way, an orange koi swam right up to his legs, then through them. He let out a chuckle. They were projections.

“Apparently, they are attracted to our movement.” Poppy read the text projected on the wall.

Daniel nudged his foot forward, tentatively, to test Poppy’s theory. Sure enough, another koi materialized and swam to him.

“You’re not doing it right.” Poppy stomped her foot, summoning half a dozen fishes toward them.

Following Poppy’s lead, Daniel kicked and splashed in the water, feeling like a kid, or what he imagined it’d feel like to be one. Even when he was young, he hadn’t played like a kid. He couldn’t. There had been far too much worry in his little head—worries that hadn’t made sense yet seemed so imminently threatening. He hadn’t known what OCD or anxiety was back then. He’d just known that he wasn’t normal. Hell, he didn’t feel normal now, despite being a functioning adult.

Mostly functioning adult.

But honestly, what was normal? Half of the people he knew were in therapy, and the half that weren’t really ought to be. They were all just people, trying their best to make life work.

He nudged Poppy. “This exhibit is awesome. Good idea.”

“I know. Told you so,” Poppy said with a hair toss. If her best quality was always being right, her even better quality was that she never failed to rub it in his face. He was going to miss her so damn much.

“I know being my best friend isn’t always easy. Wo ai ni.”

“You’ll miss me?” Poppy teased.

“No, the real meaning.” Daniel stuck out his pinkie. “Platypus forever?”

Platypus. Platonic soulmates.

“Aww.” Poppy linked her pinkie with his and sounded like she might cry, then she swung her foot up and splashed water all over Daniel’s shorts.

“Did you just …” Daniel had to retaliate. He scooped up a handful of water—germs be damned when revenge was on the line—and threw it at Poppy, avoiding her hair because he wasn’t a monster.

“Ugh, I’m going to kill you.” Poppy looked down at her wet tank top.

“Yeah, right. You’d never pull it off. You love me too much,” Daniel said as he draped an arm around her shoulder. “Come on. Let’s check out the last act.”

They were greeted with plush white towels at the exit. As Daniel dried his feet, Poppy was once again on her phone.

“What happened to … what were your words? Being present, accounted for, and ready for fun?” Daniel snatched Poppy’s phone away, lifting it high beyond her reach like he used to do when they were teenagers. “Who have you been texting all day?”

“Don’t! Give it!”

“Geez, I wasn’t going to read it. Here.” Daniel handed the phone back.