Submission (#3683) Approved

The evening was calm. It was pleasantly cool after a hot day. The sky gradually darkened, turning from light blue to deep blue. The stars were beginning to twinkle one by one. Fosa paced uncertainly through the unknown, looking around and listening for any sounds of the swamp. The birds, as if on purpose, had no way of settling down. Hes gaze slid slowly across the endless expanse of the green lake, stopping here and there, trying to catch the slightest movement among the reeds and bumps. Silence hung in the air, broken only by the rare cries of birds and the rustling of the wind in the grass.

Fosa searched carefully for his friend who had called him here, calling it a surprise. "What's in store for me? What surprise is in store for me?" These questions swirled around in his head like a whirlwind, raising more and more conjectures. Fosa felt a frenzied excitement mixed with curiosity. But whatever it was, he was sure of one thing - it would be something special and memorable. All memories with Oleander had been like that, one way or another.

Finally a faint light showed among the trees. Fosa slowed down, taking a deep breath and quickly traversing the trees. Oleander was sitting on the ground, leaning his back against a stump. He wore a brightly coloured holiday cap. The cap was slightly off to the side, giving the image a certain carelessness. Fosa's gaze examined the image, curiously making him lean to one side or the other. There was clearly something behind his friend's back, but wh-

Suddenly, Oleanedr pulled something out from behind a stump and with a loud pop the clapper exploded, immediately rising from the ground and revealing a cake to his friend's gaze. Confetti flew in different directions, creating a bright and colourful firework display of paper. Pieces of multi-coloured foil and paper fell to the ground, reaching all the way to Fosa as well, adding fun and joy to the atmosphere of their meeting. Only when the colourful ambush was over did Fosa's attention reach the pie.

In front of him lay a fish pie. Its base was a thin but dense dough kneaded with local flour and water from a nearby stream. It was perfect for holding the succulent filling of freshly caught fish inside. The fish for this pie was apparently caught in the neighbouring lake in the morning by Oleander himself, making him proud to await Fosa's reaction. The top of the pie is covered with a layer of pastry that has been baked to a golden brown colour. Pieces of fish and vegetables could be seen on the surface of the pie, adding to its appetising appearance, and a note lay beside it, "One month since I taught you to read." Despite the fact that it was done under such circumstances, Fosa was immensely pleased at this surprise, a little tentatively, but with all the joy of hugging Oleander tightly, to which he only patted his friend briefly on the shoulder and quickly put a second cap on him.
Thus, the friends celebrated their first month of companionship, not much, but very important.