The next Saturday Orenda had a less sulky vibe, and a more it's-the-best-day-of-my-life vibe. I figured that, because she flung open my window that afternoon (at 1 PM, of course) and started jumping up and down, right after she tossed her possibly soaked shoes to the far end of my room, ending with an uncomfortable bang. She went and retrieved it after, probably because she needed them to walk and all that.

        I just sat there, on my bed, like I usually did. The sound of her jacket sleeves rubbing against her jacket and her quick breathing suddenly made me very anxious, so I asked her, "um, what's wrong?" It wasn't like a what-is-wrong-with-you-what-are-you-on kind of 'what's wrong?', even though she was probably too hyped up to even care, even if I just turned into an alpaca right then and there.

        "Quick! Grab your jacket!" She ordered with flair, so I quickly ran to the closet, felt around and eventually grabbed my jacket, then neared her slowly.

        "I've got it."

        "Good. When are your parents going to be home?"

        "Not for another two hours. Why-"

        "No time for questions!" She grabbed my hand and slowly pulled me across the room, her fingers and mine intertwining. "Grab your stick."

        "White cane," I corrected.

        "Right. Sorry. Oh! Your shoes! Get your shoes, Finnegan. I mean, Finn." And so I did, and I bumped into the wall on the way there, but I still got them.

        "Here I am." I sighed, exasperated.

        "You're going to love this, I promise. Just... hurry!"

I liked that Orenda. Not that I didn't like the other Orendas, I did. But I especially liked the Orenda that couldn't contain her excitement, that talked with a certain bubbliness that even bubbles couldn't surpass. She pulled me out of the window and I struggled to put on my shoes as I was half-in, half-out. Even though she offered to help me, I kept struggling, because I wanted her to know that even though I can't 'see', I could still put on my shoes without falling out of the window head-first into the snow.

        Even though I did.

        "God! Sorry! Here!" She was laughing and pulling me out of the freezing snow, handing me my glasses and white cane. I made sure to keep my eyes closed as she handed me them, which resulted in a silence that only meant memories were being brought up.

        "I'm fine, really. My face is just numb, and snow is in my nose, that's all." I told her, and she laughed even more. 

We ran. Orenda had to yell out things like, "CURB!" and "TREE!" and "PEDESTRIAN WITH A CHIHUAHUA!" but I still ended up falling a few times. I didn't mind, though. In fact, the excitement that her laughter brought me and her cold fingers rubbing against mine, and the snow in my shoes gave me this whole new feeling that I absolutely loved. 

        When we reached a street that was full of commotion, we slowed down and I managed to finally pull out my white cane and start walking by myself. "You've got snow in your hair," Orenda muttered, and she fiddled around with my hair until it was 'presentable'.

        "And you say that you're an introvert," I said, once I caught my breath. A cologne covered man brushed against me and Orenda dragged me closer to her so that the cologne and her garden smell mixed.

        "Ah, well. An introvert, but also a shy extrovert. I would go into detail, but we're already here." She grabbed my hand yet again (her hand was now warm and cold at the same time) and directed me into a warm and sweet smelling room, full of clamouring and Italian words.

        "Where are we?"

        "It's my mom's bakery." She squeezed my hand and led me in, and I could smell a thousand smells all hitting me like the baseballs Egan used to throw at me, until we finally settled down on some very comfortable chairs.

        "It's nice, but why are we here?"

        "I figured, since today's the grand opening, you might like some free food. I know I like free food, way better than non-free food."

        "Free the food!" I said in an announcer voice, and she chuckled.

The clamouring got louder and softer, louder and softer, until it kind of droned out of my hearing range and there was nothing. I used my jacket and attempted to wipe off the cold snow water that was rolling down my face and dripping off the end of my nose. Orenda just sat there and I heard her sigh, like she wished there was more to what was happening.

        "Uh, so," I started, but I didn't really know how to end it off, so I just let it float into the void.

        "I have one of those feelings, Finnega - um, Finn. Like today's a good day. And that there's going to be more good days, and this is not the last good day of my good days."

        "Uh huh." I shifted towards her voice.

        "I think it's because the snow is beautifully new and white, the best stage before the cars screw it all up. And the bakery is warm, and the sky is my most favourite colour, a baby blue."

        "Oh." I trailed off, mostly because I didn't understand half of the things she said. How could I know what she loved if I didn't know what she said?

        "Oh, Finnegan. I'm sorry." She paused. "I mean, Finn."

        "No, don't be." And in that moment I had the most amazing idea, and I just blurted out, "what's baby blue?"

She didn't say anything for a good minute, and all that was really there was the noise of her mom's employees, and her mom of course, along with the sound of my heart beating to the beat of their footsteps. I realized that they seemed completely oblivious about us, or maybe we were just oblivious about them. 

        Orenda spoke up after the long silence, and said, "baby blue is... the feeling of a nice warm day, when it's warm enough to have a watergun fight but not too hot, not to the point that you're streetside barbecue. And when you wear fuzzy warm socks inside and there's a nice vanilla latte in your hand. Also when you're next to a cool stream and you put your hand in that water, feeling it move around you so freely and so purely. That's my perception of blue, anyway."

I listened to her voice and let it flow around me until it faded away, and the corners of my mouth flicked upwards.

        "What?" She asked, her voice full of curiousity.

        "I can see it."